Having received the “pimp slot” and the sole standing ovation on Wednesday’s “American Idol” Top 3 show, Haley Reinhart certainly did not seem to be positioned for the failure many online “Idol” commenters and critics cynically expected.
Even going against Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery, the country teens many believe “Idol” producers have wanted in their finale since the beginning, Haley found herself on the receiving end of praise for the majority of the show.
Interestingly, “You Oughta Know,” her final performance and the one that generated the least excitement from the judges (and the one that did not include her tripping as she ran back up the stage), is the one that is generating the most online search buzz. Alanis Morissette, the 1995 hit’s original artist, currently ranks at number 10 on the Google Trends chart. At number five, guest mentor Beyonce is the only other “Idol” search on the trends chart–neither Scotty McCreery nor Lauren Alaina appears.
(Update: Though Reinhart was the only contestant with a presence on Google Trends by 11PM EST, by 2AM on Thursday, Lauren Alaina’s rendition of “If I Die Young” had been generating more buzz on that search engine. The Band Perry became the second-most-searched term on Google, while Alanis Morisette was at fourth)
— While the “Idol is mistreating Haley” buzz should definitely be lighter this week–there was no Randy Jackson-Haley Reinhart verbal sparring–some discussion has emerged over Jennifer Lopez’s reaction towards Haley. J-Lo was the coldest towards Reinhart’s initial take on “What is and What Shouldn’t Be,” not joining Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler in the initial standing ovation for the performance generally viewed as her best Wednesday.
Later, she caught heat for forecasting that Lauren Alaina’s “I Hope You Dance” would be the best performance of the third round despite the fact that Haley’s had not yet performed her Alanis cover. When evaluating that final performance, she also seemed to take the criticism of Reinhart’s verses to a greater extent than Randy Jackson did, questioning whether Haley’s movements affected the vocals.
By the same token, for all the praise Lopez delivered to Scotty (she ranked his “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” as the best performance of the second round) and Alaina, she did not give them standing ovations the way she previously has for Reinhart.
So how did the nine performances stack up? Did Scotty McCreery seal the deal on “American Idol” season ten, or was it ladies’ night? Headline Planet’s full review is due Thursday morning.