Top 8 Perform

After (arguably) one of the most shocking eliminations in American Idol history, Pia Toscano is gone, and there are only 2 ladies left, Lauren and Haley. After reading and listening to executive producer Nigel Lythgoe this past week he mentioned that Pia was not the front runner that we all thought she was. She wasn't getting the votes that she deserved. He mentioned that the way the show is formatted may change next year, meaning how contestants are voted out, how many votes per phone line, etc, but this year we have what we have. We could go on and on about why Pia was prematurely eliminated, and who's to blame, and how big an impact the judges lack of criticism plays but unfortunately it's not going to bring back Pia. We can only hope that the judges get better and the American audience chooses the right person to go home from here on in.

There are 8 contestants left, some very good, some that need some help, tonight's theme is Songs From the Movies. This theme is one of my favorites, hopefully the 8 remaining contestants will step it up. So as we always do, let's get to it:

How Were The Contestants?:

Paul(Old Time Rock n Roll): This song is from "Risky Buisness". For the second week in a row Will.i.am is helping Jimmy Iovine with the contestants. I don't have a clue to what Paul is wearing, or why he thought it was attractive. He sounded very screechy despite having a lot of energy and powering through it. Not nearly as good as last week. Grade=B
Steven: Liked it, and agrees with how the audience feels, good.
Jennifer: Thinks he is going a bit further each time he is out there. Finds that he is a diamond in the rough.
Randy: Loved the outfit, and thinks this was a song that could be part of his concert.
Do The Judges Agree With Me?: Sort of. I didn't think it was terrible, but there was nothing particularly unbelievable about it. The judges were far more enthusiastic about the performance than I was.

Lauren (The Climb): This song is from "The Hannah Montana" movie. Jimmy Iovine thinks that Lauren is a much much better singer than Miley Cyrus and that she could bury her with this performance. Ouch. Given that Miley Cyrus was a "mentor" on American Idol, I don't see her coming back.  He also thinks that she could snatch a lot of the Pia fans with this performance. With only 2 girls Jimmy really wants to make sure that Lauren sticks around for awhile. The beginning of the song was just okay, but once she hit the middle to end of the song she really started to pick it up. Her vocals were fantastic all the way through and I agree that she probably a better singer than Miley Cyrus even at this very young stage. Grade=B+
Jennifer: Thinks she sounds beautiful and wants her to push even further
Randy: Believed in her since Day 1, and made the song sound like it was written for her.
Steven: Loves what she brings to a song, and what the song brings to you. Finds it beautiful and moves him beyond tears.
Do The Judges Agree With Me?: They do. Lauren can still bring even more, but she did a really beautiful rendition of this song.

Stefano(End Of The Road): From the movie "Boomerang". After being this close to getting voted out, Stefano needs to pick it up. He has had some rough weeks recently. I enjoy this song, I think it was a right choice for him, but I thought he was a little flat and pitchy at some points. He's always okay, but he's never really outstanding or has a moment. He probably had a better week than last, but not sure if it will be enough to get him out of the Bottom 3, or going home. Grade=B-
Randy: Thinks he slayed the song. Is happy that he now believes in himself and thinks it was his best vocal to date.
Steven: Thinks he can really milk a song. Doesn't think this is the end of the road for him, just the beginning.
Jennifer: Feels that he now knows the key to being a great performer and has it in him to win.
Do The Judges Agree With Me?: Sort of. Again they think he was much better than I did, but they loved him last week and he landed in Bottom 2, so ya never do know.

Scotty(I Cross My Heart): This is from the movie "Pure Country". Never heard of the song, or the movie, but Scotty knows it so that's all it takes. He changed his mind from singing another song, so it'll be interesting if it was a good change or costly. Have I mentioned how I hate when Scotty uses his second hand to hold the microphone and continuously makes his eyebrows go up and down? It's so odd. But his voice is just as solid as it always is. The performance was pretty boring, but whoever votes for him will probably vote for him again. The high note was very pitchy but the judges have yet to say a bad comment about him, so it's tough for him to know when he doesn't do a great job. Grade=B
Steven: Loves his voice, and thinks all of America is falling in love with him.
Jennifer: Wants to be critical but just can't, thinks that it might not have been her favorite song choice.
Randy: Loves the song choice, and thinks a star is born and just continues to grow.
Do The Judges Agree With Me?: Sort of. Again, the judges are just over the moon about this kid. They have zero negatives about him, and don't even want to say anything bad about him.

Casey(Nature Boy): After almost going with "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, Casey goes against the advice of his mentors, and sings this Nat King Cole song from the movie "Moulin Rouge". The song made Casey sound very jazzy and cool, but he wasn't particularly in tune or on key through a large part of the song and lost some of his musicality. He was also pretty pitchy and all over the place. Good try, but not really good. With the judges giving him a standing ovation I feel we might differ today. Grade=C
Jennifer: Loved that he is so different and feels he crosses the boundaries.
Randy: Thinks he is a real true artist and hopes America gets Casey's whole thing.Thinks it was brilliant and genius.
Steven: Took a song that was old and made it into something great. He has a certain sophistication about him.
Do The Judges Agree With Me?: Um, no. I thought he was so all over the place, I give him credit for going against the mentors and being different, but I didn't think he sounded all that great.

Haley(Call Me): This song is from the movie "American Gigolo". I think this was a great song choice by Haley. She goes out there and seems to have a great time while she's performing. She has a really fun and cool performance. It probably isn't her best, but it's still really really good. Grade=B
Randy: He didn't love the beginning, or the song choice in general. Didn't think it showcased her voice.
Steven: Agrees with Randy, but nailed the chorus beautifully.
Jennifer: Is afraid to say anything bad about a girl, but probably doesn't think it was her best, but still thinks she is a contender.
Do The Judges Agree With Me?: Pretty much. Definitely not her best, but she is still a strong singer.

Jacob(Bridge Over Troubled Water): This song comes from the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness".  Jimmy Iovine kind of scolds Jacob for preaching to people about what he said last week, that it would be America's fault if he landed in Bottom 3. He tells him that you don't preach to people when you haven't even put out a record yet. Plus, I don't know if Jacob knew this, but he didn't actually write the song or create the song. I am glad that Jimmy said something to him about that major faux pas. After being told to sing this song by Jimmy, Jacob listens. I'm mixed about Jacob. I thought he actually did a pretty nice job, and his vocals were on par, but I don't know if will ever make non fans into fans. He is pretty much the same week in and week out. He has those really high moments, a couple odd facial expressions, and that's his shtick. It was nice, I'll put it that way. Grade=B
Steven: Loves all that he puts into the song. Thought he was incredible.
Jennifer: Thinks he is a gifted vocalist and gave her the chills again.
Randy: Thinks that Jacob believes every word he sings, and makes everything so special. Thinks it was perfect perfect harmony.
Do The Judges Agree With Me?: A little. The judges have yet to say a negative word about Jacob even when he said that odd thing last week, so they thought he was perfect and loved it, I'm pretty indifferent about Jacob this time around. I don't know if he did enough to escape Bottom 3 again.

James(Heavy Metal): This song comes from the movie "Heavy Metal". James, Jimmy and Will.i.am go at it a little bit this week. James disagrees with them about his song choice and his decisions. Is James a good performer? Sure, but this week was nuts. If you like all the guitar riffs and jumping up on the judges table,and a good amount of screaming then you'll love this week, but if you are looking for a good vocal and some control then this is not the performance for you. This really wasn't the performance for me. Grade=B-
Jennifer: Loves how different James is and it's America's choice.
Randy: Thinks we were just at a James Durbin concert. Thought it was unbelievable. Thinks Durbin Rocks!
Steven: Thought he was outstanding and went with his decision.
Do The Judges Agree With Me?: Nope. I thought it was waaaaay too over the top. If America loves it as much as the studio audience and judges did then James will be safe. If they thought it was crazy like I did, then he could be in a little danger.


How Was The Show/Judges?:

*Jennifer Lopez said it tonight, she knows that the public wants the judges to be tough, but she/they can't do it because they are all so good. These judges have been in the music business all of these years, and performed for millions of people, and have had albums upon albums, but they can't come up with 1 constructive criticism to give to some of these contestants? Not even one? Please. These contestants are very fresh, very young up and comers. They need the help to move forward and they just aren't getting it.

*Jennifer also stating that she doesn't want to say anything bad about Haley because she is afraid of another girl going home is exactly what the problem is. We don't know who votes, or doesn't vote for these girls, but for J.Lo to be scared to actually give some criticism to a girl is an issue. A big one. Plus, if she doesn't want a girl to go home, then you can't tell all the guys that they were perfect. You aren't giving the audience much of a choice.

*There's also a bit of problem with only being 2 ladies left, (which is a problem in itself), but the problem is that because there is a disproportionate amount of men to women, it's unlikely that a female will end the show, which happens to be best slot of the night. It's unlikely they will ever go with that many performances by men in a row before a female. Could it happen? Sure. But the odds of that happening are unlikely. The last slot of the night, also referred by many as "the pimp slot", leaves the last impression with the voting audience, so if a female doesn't get that slot because of there being so many men left, then that's just another unfortunate result of all these women leaving the show before the guys.

*No one expected Pia to go home, since she was never in Bottom 3 prior to her elimination, so really anyone is at risk tomorrow.

Bottom 3 Prediction/Who's Going Home?:

Bottom 3?=Haley, Stefano, and Casey
Going Home?=Haley. Prove me wrong America, PLEASE. I only say Haley because she is a girl, and because she is the only one that got even a slight bit of criticism. When the judges say that the majority of the performances were perfect, unbelievable and the best, then you have to look at the one performance that they didn't go crazy for. Haley's performance might not have been great, but she's been consistent, Casey, Paul and Stefano have not. I hope one of them, or even Jacob goes, but I'm nervous Haley is going.

Come back here tomorrow night for the results, the feedback and to see if any more craziness occurs. You know there is always craziness so check back in here tomorrow to see what it was.