Stefano Langone Fights, Haley Reinhart Stumbles on “American Idol”

The two remaining “American Idol” females better hope America shares Jennifer Lopez’ desire to see women remain in this competition, because neither Lauren Alaina nor Haley Reinhart truly delivered Wednesday night.

Performing songs from the movies, both struggled to make major impacts on a night in which all but one of the male contestants was solid. Instead of proving why “American Idol” would truly suffer if the male bias reared its head again, the two confirmed that this season’s competition would not be all that bad if it came down to six males.

To her credit, Alaina was fairly good and might have actually left a positive impression on tween viewers. But she started her version of “The Climb” at a huge disadvantage thanks to some beyond-unnecessary comments made by the increasingly-unlikable mentor Jimmy Iovine.

First, for no reason whatsoever (or at least no reason that would be clear to the average “Idol” viewer), Iovine buried Miley Cyrus, saying that the inexperienced Alaina should be able to absolutely murder Cyrus’ wildly-successful version of the song. The situation put Lauren unfairly on the spot because while she does not yet have the confidence to argue with the veteran record executive, she clearly did not want to be associated with a “Miley Cyrus bashing.” At least some vocal Miley fans are apparently holding the situation against Lauren.

He then noted that if she performs well, she should be able to “steal” Pia Toscano’s lingering fans. In all honesty, Lauren was probably the most likely target for Pia’s fans–she’s the closest thing to a straight-ahead female vocalist left in the competition. But to treat Pia’s fans like they’re sheep who just blindly gravitate to balladeers is utterly insulting, and it again risked creating unfair animosity towards Lauren.

With all of these factors in play, she was also hurt by the fact that her performance was not amazing. Was it better than Miley’s live versions? Absolutely, but like Miley on some notable performances of this song, Lauren also stumbled through the first chorus. She definitely made the song seem more difficult than it is perceived by the masses, failing to make people ask, “Miley who?” after the performance.

Her pretty tone and charm were definitely there, though, and some late vocal tricks made the performance come to life in its final moments. It was a reasonably strong showing for Lauren, but given how perfectly-suited this was for her youthful, country-pop persona, it was also reasonable to expect a bit more out of Lauren. And the pre-performance nonsense did not help.

Reinhart, meanwhile, totally missed the mark with a version of “Call Me” that epitomized cheesy karaoke. After two weeks of stealing the show and in choosing a song most assumed would be perfect for her voice, Haley seemed in position to elevate herself to frontrunner status Wednesday. Instead, she simply butchered the song, seemingly failing to take control of the notes from the very beginning. The chorus felt very desperate and forced, and there was no control or ownership whatsoever in the verse. The Illinois-native did look beyond “hot” in her short dress (maybe the most-conventionally sexy look ever on “American Idol”), but if the goal here were to prove she belongs from a talent standpoint, she failed to continue the momentum she had built over the past few weeks.

Worse, the movements and enthusiasm that had made her performances “pop” in recent weeks came across as excessively cheesy and unauthentic this week. It seemed that Haley was simply trying to emulate “sexy” popstar moves she has seen the likes of Beyonce and Fergie do on stage–in the process, however, she never dialed the choreography back to the song and came across, interestingly given the Lauren situation, more like Miley Cyrus trying a “grown-up” song.

Fighting for your life
If Stefano Langone somehow leaves the competition this week, it will not be for lack of fight. The underdog contestant, who received the rawest of raw deals for how he was treated when America learned of Pia Toscano’s shock elimination last week, poured his heart into “End of the Road.” Like the lyrics, he proved that he simply cannot let go of the “American Idol” dream. Hopefully, however, America focuses on that part of the song rather than the “end of the road” part.

For only the second time of the finals (“If You Don’t Know Me By Now” being the first), Stefano’s intense emotions felt real, and his vocals soared brilliantly. This was simply a smooth, relevant performance that again proved how vastly superior this year’s “weak” contestant is to the JPLs, Tim Urbans and Sanjayas that came before him.

Paul McDonald, meanwhile, continued performing in his own world with “Old Time Rock ‘N Roll.” This time, however, that world was one in which no one would want to spend time–at least not without earplugs and a blindfold. This was bad karaoke at its finest, and the dancing was utterly pathetic. Very reminiscent of JPL’s goofy “Jailhouse Rock,” also on movie night and also for the top 8 finalists, this performance utterly sealed the deal that Paul is not talented or poised enough to be an “American Idol.” Whether or not America will realize that this week remains to be seen.

Sorry, Jimmy Iovine
A noteworthy aspect of Wednesday’s show was how heated a few of the Jimmy Iovine/will.i.am mentoring sessions got. Notably, Casey Abrams rejected Jimmy Iovine’s suggsetion that he sing “In the Air Tonight,” while James Durbin flat-out said he was uninterested in a song recommendation.

Both, therefore, were effectively “buried” by Jimmy in the pre-performance packages. Their risks–essentially sticking to their guns rather than going with performances that would more-obviously resonate with the American mainstream–were made all-the-more clear. Luckily, both risks paid off.

For Casey Abrams, it was this season’s “Summertime” moment with “Nature Boy.” The vocals were far from perfect (although the notes he hit at the end were nothing short of brilliant), but the passion, investment and artistry he displayed were utterly remarkable. This was the kind of performance that would steal the show at any musical awards show–it was not a traditional “American Idol” cover performance. Casey’s haunting, authentic jazz dynamic made a very unique impression, and America would really be costing itself a tremendous entertainer if it opted not to accept the risk the talented performer took.

For James Durbin, it was a totally-outrageous, totally-over-the-top rendition of “Heavy Metal.” The kind of song that never appears on “Idol” in any circumstance, Durbin approached it like a totally-authentic rock number. He was all over the stage. He sacrificed some vocal time to rock alongside guest guitarist Zakk Wylde, who shredded away on the track. And it totally worked. James, again, had the entire crowd eating out of his hands; he could have gotten this live audience to do or say just about anything. It, again, might not translate well to an audience that has typically received a far safer version of “rock” from “Idol” contestants, but it absolutely should.

Though the exchange was less heated, charismatic Scotty McCreery also went against Iovine’s recommendation, choosing to perform “I Cross My Heart.” As expected, it was an authentic, reliable country performance from Scotty, but it again failed to produce anything memorable in the impression department. On the one hand, it is hard to fault Scotty because he’s playing the game so perfectly–he’s doing exactly what his audience wants, not risking having a “bad night” and assuring he comes across as likable every week. On the other hand, it would be nice to see Scotty try something different. He most likely will not need a risk until top 5 or top 4 week (and, at that point, he could probably just pull out his classic “Your Man” and get the most insane crowd reaction in the history of “Idol”) and is still the frontrunner to win, but as someone who wants to see great performances each week, it is hard not to want more out of the country teen.

Thank you, Jimmy Iovine
While the aforementioned contestants all moved away from Iovine’s recommendations, Jacob Lusk, needing some coaching after his “mirror” debacle last week, embraced the mentor’s pick. Lusk sang “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” a song immortalized on the show by Clay Aiken, and owned the vocals. The emotion was not quite as strong as it was for some of his previous numbers, but when he built into the ‘power’ part of the song, he totally killed it. Within that thirty second stretch, Jacob proved how absurdly superior he is to every other contestant in the vocal department, and it is a shame he lets weird dancing, weird comments and some poor arrangements and vocal decision-making occasionally mask that talent.

Elimination Thoughts
Although the judges loved the performance, Paul’s “Old Time Rock N Roll” was both weak and unremarkable, and he thus has to be at risk of getting the boot this week. Haley is certainly not safe either, while Casey’s risk may or may not be welcomed by America. Stefano did everything he could to score votes and received tremendous marks from the judges, but his fanbase is definitely small and good performances may or may not be enough for him at this stage of the game.

Performance Rankings
1) Casey Abrams
2) James Durbin
3) Stefano Langone
4) Jacob Lusk
5) Lauren Alaina
6) Scotty McCreery
7) Haley Reinhart
8) Paul McDonald

Rankings Average After Six Weeks
James Durbin – 2.67
Casey Abrams – 4.33
Jacob Lusk – 4.5
Haley Reinhart – 5.33
Lauren Alaina – 5.33
Scotty McCreery – 5.83
Paul McDonald – 6.5
Stefano Langone – 6.83