Odds are that it is impossible to count the amount of groans and eye-rolls that were issued in response to the way the “American Idol” judges handled Haley Reinhart’s first performance on “Now and Then” night Wednesday.
No, her rendition of Lady Gaga’s “You and I” was not perfect. But as a vocally-strong performance that only suffered a setback in the form of a lack of connection between Haley and the song, it, in no way, deserved panning from the judges–especially when two of the other Top 5 contestants delivered legitimately terrible performances.
Having covered the show for more than half a decade, Headline Planet has often, correctly, debunked the “conspiracy theories” and supposed “favoritism” from the “American Idol” judges and panel. And, even this year, there is no question that online “Idol” commenters are exaggerating the alleged mistreatment of the Illinois-native. But there was no debate over the fact that the judges got it wrong with Haley’s first number Wednesday and seemed to be putting the singer out to pasture.
Things changed, however, with her show-stopping, show-closing rendition of “House of the Rising Sun.” It is unclear whether the judges bashed her earlier performance to setup for a major moment at the end or if they, against their desire, could not help but love the performance, but they gave it the appropriate standing ovation. From the breathtaking a capella open to the unique, jazzy middle to the tremendous ending, Haley owned this performance, delivering what was unquestionably one of the best of the season.
Last week, she, along with Jacob and Casey, was written off as not clicking the way James, Scotty and Lauren does. And, from a personality/likeability standpoint, she still does not. But from a performance standpoint, it is impossible to dispute the fact that Haley Reinhart made a big case to advance.
James Durbin, on the other hand, came up short at the worst possible time. After weeks of consistently ranking near the top of the pack, becoming the top cumulative performer and a likely candidate to win, he seemingly choked on Top 5 week. On a week in which Haley, one of the safer bets for elimination, stepped up her game, Durbin struggled with both of his song choices, adding some uncertainty to the results process.
Granted, “Closer to the Edge,” his first pick, was pretty much dead on arrival–it was an absolutely terrible song choice. The song itself is not beautifully melodic–if he felt compelled to go with a 30 Seconds to Mars choice, “A Beautiful Lie” or “Kings and Queens” would have been infinitely better fits–and the arrangement made things even worse by featuring no build. The performance basically amounted to some fairly off-key screaming, and because Durbin’s “rock” voice is a bit smoother and more dramatic (more like a lesser version of Bruce Dickinson than the raspier Jared Leto), the whole thing just felt weak. He is always a great performer, but even that element fell short of the previous spectacles he put together for songs like “Heavy Metal” and “Uprising.”
There were definitely moments of greatness in his “Without You,” and his emotional attachment to the song was obvious, but the vocals were far too weak to celebrate. He went blatantly off pitch on several occasions, and while the judges are correct that tangible emotion can often compensate for technical shortcomings, James confirmed on many of his previous songs that he is able to make a real connection without sacrificing vocal strength.
Notable, especially given how Haley Reinhart’s first performance was treated, is the fact that the judges absolutely showered BOTH of James’ performances with praise. Given his tears, it was reasonable to expect praise for the second performance, but the “Closer to the Edge” number was an absolute trainwreck. And neither supported Randy Jackson’s notion that “Idol” is now James’ competition to lose.
Still, what might have been a worrisome 24 hour stretch for James was probably made easier by the fact that Jacob Lusk, already a likely candidate for elimination, also struggled Wednesday. Instead of going with a more soulful pop song like Cee-Lo’s “Forget You,” which would have been an impossibly perfect choice for his voice, as well as a buzzworthy “Idol” selection, he chose the Jordin Sparks-Chris Brown duet “No Air” as a sign of where he would go as an artist. As Randy Jackson said, he should not be trying to be Chris Brown or Jordin Sparks, and this performance proved it. It was painful at times–the vocals were often off, and the dancing and delivery bordered on comical.
For whatever reason, Jacob has been brutally-underrated by “Idol” fans, and brilliant performances like “You’re All I Need to Get By” do not get the recognition they deserve. But with performances like “No Air,” he is not exactly convincing doubters of their error.
The same was true of his “Love Hurts.” This was just bad, overly-dramatic karaoke. The song was felt irrelevant, and the connection developed by Jacob would have required a microscope to locate. Successful Jacob performances require subtlety and honesty–this had absolutely neither, and probably sealed the deal for his elimination.
Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery, the country teens who cemented their frontrunner statuses last week, were strong again. By no means have they been as consistent as James, but they’ve started delivering in the rounds truly matter, and they have thus assured they remain in contention for slots in the finale.
Lauren, in fact, stole the first round with a believable, energetic rendition of Carrie Underwood’s “Flat on the Floor.” One of the best, most-overlooked songs from Carrie’s “Carnival Ride,” “Flat on the Floor” was an infinitely perfect song choice by virtue of combining big-time vocals with a fun, upward beat. Lauren’s movements are not fantastic, but she is still much farther along than Carrie was at this point in her “Idol” journey. And though the 16-year-old’s vocals pale in comparison to those of the season four “Idol” winner, this was still a well-sung, honest, endearing rendition. Lauren again proved she belonged with this number.
In theory, she did the same with “Unchained Melody,” her second choice. Instead of handling the song the way Kellie Pickler did in season five, Lauren took it on straight, delivering honest, controlled vocals throughout. It was a great performance.
What held her back, however, was the arrangement. Designed to eliminate a lot of the higher, “glory” notes, the song lacked the punch it normally does. For as ridiculous as Constantine Maroulis’ results show version was a few weeks ago, even he went right for the “NEED” note at the end. Lauren went lower with those kinds of notes, thereby turning what is usually perceived as a risky song into something that, while still challenging, was reasonably safe.
Scotty, meanwhile, all-but-guaranteed he can top the contemporary country charts with a great version of “Gone.” He did not necessarily do anything the original did not do, but he just sounded so believable, confident and commercial on the track. His movements were also far less awkward and far more engaging than they have been in past weeks. Scotty continues doing more and more to show he is not just a kid who happened to luck into a deep voice; he “gets” country music and “gets” this competition. He knows how to make himself matter.
His “Always on My Mind” was also compelling. Scotty definitely tested the line between “boring” and “emotional,” but when he notably skewed in favor of the latter, he was definitely on. As was noted by the judges, Scotty showed how complete he can be as a country artist and how enticing his eventual album will be. There was litle to fault with this performance, even if it was not quite as hard-hitting as Fantasia’s unique rendition from season three.
Elimination Thoughts
It really has to be Jacob this week. James, theoretically, needs to sweat more than he ever has before, but he should still be safe given his consistency and the judges’ praise. The others should definitely be fine, although one never knows how America will react to Haley (she’s not that popular with the masses, so will they care that she stole the show?)
Performance Rankings
— Round One —
1) Lauren Alaina
2) Scotty McCreery
3) Haley Reinhart
4) James Durbin
5) Jacob Lusk
— Round Two —
1) Haley Reinhart
2) Scotty McCreery
3) Lauren Alaina
4) James Durbin
5) Jacob Lusk
— Overall —
1) Haley Reinhart (breaks out of tie due to dominance of second performance)
2) Scotty McCreery & Lauren Alaina – tied
4) James Durbin
5) Jacob Lusk
Performance Rankings Average after Ten Solo Performances
James Durbin 2.6
Haley Reinhart 4.3
Lauren Alaina 4.3
Scotty McCreery 4.7
Jacob Lusk 4.7
