American Idol 10 Top 11 Redux – Videos and Recap

The American Idol 10 Top 11 sing the songs of Elton John. Stay tuned for my live blog!

What a difference a week makes!  Tonight’s performances were so much better than last week’s Motown covers!  Elton’s got some great songs, but they aren’t that easy to sing, especially the early tunes that are tailored to Elton’s vocal abilities and vibe.

Making comebacks tonight were Casey Abrams, who did exactly what I hoped he would do–he took a chill pill and sang.  The haircut and shave wasn’t necessary. He just need to scale back the performance art and focus on the vocals.  At his best, Casey is a fantastic interpreter of songs. Tonight he was at his best. He ain’t going nowhere.

I’m probably in the minority here, but I really really dug Paul McDonald’s understated rendition of “Rocket Man”. Again, beautiful phrasing and interpretation–I thought it was perfect the way it was. I appreciated Steven Tyler’s note about some vocal styles not needed to hit the note perfectly. Actually, that was the smartest thing Steven said all night. He’s really become kind of useless.  He’s become totally unable to criticize the contestants.  He began to say something to Jacob about the 2nd half of his song, but then inexplicably pulled back (speaking nonsense instead).

Don’t know what the hell the judges were smoking as they critiqued Haley Reinhart’s performance. The sex-kitten routine was way over the top, as were the hisses and growls.  I’m thinking the judges based their critiques on her rehearsal, where she could have been better.  The iTunes recording is actually way better than the live performance.  In any case, she’s not going anywhere.

The bottom 3 will be: Stefano, Naima and Thia, with Thia and Stefano or Naima going home in this week’s double elimination.

Recap and VIDEOS after the JUMP…

Of course we can’t begin the show without a recap of last week’s heart stopping results show! RELIVE THE MAGIC OF CASEY ABRAMS NEARLY BARFING ON STAGE.

Here come the Top 11! AGAIN.

ELTON VIDEO PACKAGE. I loves me some Elton.

Jimmy Iovine on Elton. Blah blah blah. Next, EW fashion shoot.

Scotty McCreary – “Country Comfort” – It had the word “country” in it, so I thought I’d take a look. Lulz. Scotty speaks his mind with the producers. He knows who he is. Scotty breaks out the guitar. He sings the “grandma” line even though the producers advised against it. The shoutout to grams in the audience is corny, but that’s country. GThis is RIGHT in Scotty’s wheelhouse. Very nice job. He manages to add his own little Scotty spin to it. Jennifer: You have amazing instincts I encourage you to always stay grounded. Never doubt yourself. Randy: You have seasoned so fast on this show. You’re already there. You are so much in the zone right now. It could be on your record. Very nice – 1-866-436-5701 VIDEOPERFORMANCE

Naima Adedapo – “I’m Still Standing” – Ha ha reggae style of course. Oh geez. Jimmy wants to turn it into a social statement. Oh boy. Fake Jamaican accent for the win. Snarking aside, it works for the most part, though she should back off the accent. That’s not how she normally speaks. Seems contrived, but I like this arrangement. Good vocal. I hope this isn’t too weird for people. I want Naima to stick around. Jennifer: I believe that you’re supposed to still be standing. Not sure this song was suited for that. It was a better idea than payoff for me. I love the way you perform. Randy: I agree. For me, it kind of came off corny. That’s not who you are. You weren’t quite into it. I didn’t love it for you. Steven: Good for you for picking a song that fits you. Ryan: For you for me for you for you. Lulz at mocking Randy. – 1-866-436-5702 – VIDEOPERFORMANCE

Ryan and Taio Cruz introduce the new contest. You can submit lyrics at AmericanIdol.com to help Taio compose a song that will be performed on the finale.

Paul McDonald – “Rocket Man” – His band covered this song years ago. Jimmy says he’s got to sing it like it’s his encore. Paul busts out his guitar once again. He’s got his nudie suit on. This is the best Paul has been in AGES. Intimate, beautifully phrased, heartfelt. Wow. PAUL IS BACK Y’ALL. A fantastic interpretation of this song. Quietly beautiful. GO PAUL. Randy: There were a couple of things that were a little pitchy, your quiet voice is very infectious. But you’re holding back Jennifer: There’s a little bit more to your voice than you even know. Steven: You always do a little something…I like the character where you sometimes hit a note and sometimes you don’t. I dunno. I liked that he pulled it back. I wouldn’t have changed it. – 1-866-436-5703 VIDEOPERFORMANCE

Pia Toscano – “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” – Pia Pia Pia. You are so FREAKING predictable. Sigh. She’s got to go somewhere between Fergie and Axel Rose here says Jimmy. Wut? Big notes big notes big notes. Celine Celine Celine. Whitney. YAWN. You sang that exactly as I expected. YOU GOTTA SHAKE IT UP GIRL. C’mon. You know you can do it. The gospel choir behind her? Also predictable. Steven: Pia you’ve done it again. That’s what you are. You nailed. it. Just about as good as it gets. Jennifer: The notes take us to another worldly place. I felt you more than I have before. I feel you trying to break the barrier. Crazy. Randy: I don’t know what’s going on. You sung a ballad every time. You slayed them every time. The world knows you can sing. Pia was great once again. Pia promises she’ll go uptempo next week. – 1-866-436-5704 VIDEOPERFORMANCE

Pia says she’ll perform “River Deep, Mountain High” next week. Hm.

Stefano Langone – “Tiny Dancer” – Jimmy thinks Stefano will have a problem with the range. Much better than last week, but still kinda lounge act for me. I wish he’d added just a little bit more soul to the vocal. He kinda lost me when he walked up to the judges table and offered his hand to Jennifer. Yeesh. Pander much? Jennifer: I could really feel you taking our notes, connecting with the audience. You moved the crowd today. Amazing. Randy: What I loved, you started connecting with the audience. I liked that you were moving around the stage. You were right on the money notes. Nice job. Steven: There’s a real sweet thing to your voice. Tonight, you just connected with the audience. You nailed it. – 1-866-436-5705 VIDEOPERFORMANCE

Howie Mandel is pimping his new show “Flashmob” via Stefano’s dad?

Lauren Alaina – “Candle in the Wind” – Jimmy thinks Elton songs are well suited to Lauren, and country singers in general. I’m not a big fan of this song, but she’s doing a nice job interpreting it. She’s turned it into a real country tearjerker. Some very nice vocal choices. Nice catch in her voice when she switches up to her falsetto. Very pretty and heartfelt. That could be a country cover. Randy: That’s one of the greatest Lauren Alaina songs ever on the Idol stage. songs on stage. Very hot. Steven: I’ve loved you since the first moment you laid eyes on me. That was just perfect. You keep singing like that and you’ll be able to afford the rest of that dress. Jennifer: That was amazing. You were gorgeous, you sounded gorgeous. That was it baby. That was amazing. – 1-866-436-5706 VIDEOPERFORMANCE

James Durbin – “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” – Huh? Jimmy changed his song last week? Jimmy thinks he’ll have a hard time making it back to the stage on time if he goes out into the audience. Once again, rock solid vocals from James. Dude can wail. He goes out into the audience, works the stage, jumps on the piano. THE PIANO BURSTS INTO FLAMES. OMG. Lulz x 1000. That was pretty entertaining. Steven: You brought the heat, didn’t you. You got a really good rock voice. Don’t wear out your welcome. Don’t be up there too long. When youre up there, I forget that I’m in a competition show. It was a reallyfull performance of a great song. Randy: You enjoy yourself. I really felt like you were having a great time. Great great great performance. – James said he had so much hairspray in his hair, he was afraid of having a “Pepsi moment”. Heh. I bet they bleep that on the west coast. – 1-866-436-5707 VIDEOPERFORMANCE

Thia Megia – “Daniel – Jimmy tells Thia to get away “from all those things you learned when you were a little girl.” In other words. STOP SINGING LIKE A PAGEANT BOT. Still smiling through sad songs. I don’t think she can help herself. Yep. Still boring. Zzzzz. She manages to look! Real! Sad! at the end. Jennifer: That was beautiful. This was very well suited for your voice. Randy: I liked that it was a very relaxed side of you. It was still very safe. I don’t know how that’s going to help you. Steven: When you find the right song, the voice appears. You sang a great Elton John song well. – 1-866-436-5708 VIDEOPERFORMANCE

Casey Abrams – “Your Song” – HOORAY. I suggested this song! Jimmy had him look at his performance. You know what was wrong with that? Everything. Now he’s got to come back and earn it. Rodney told him to trim the beard. We see Casey get a makeover. OK. Casey’s doing exactly what he needed to do this week. He’s not the best singer, but when he’s on, he can interpret a song with beautiful, perfect phrasing. He’s totally killing with this. WOW. This is gonna put him back on top. I love this song so much, and he did it justice. Randy: One of the greatest saves we’ve had on the show. Hearing you sing but not losing Casey. Well done man. Steven: One of the finest moments of this show was saving you. True artist. Jennifer: One decision I didn’t save one ounce of sleep over was saving you. You proved why tonight. It was very Casey. – 1-866-436-5709 VIDEOPERFORMANCE

Jacob Lusk – “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” – Mary J. Blige, who covered the song JUST HAPPENED to be hanging out in the room. Not only is there oversinging in the second half, but Jabob’s interpretation of the song is way over the top. He’s got this weird vibrato that’s even more pronounced when he’s nervous. Audience seems to love it, though. Steven: You slayed me. Jennifer: Tricky, the arrangement of that song was amazing. You made it your own. Randy: You know I love you. I liked the arrangement. The first half was brilliant. Give me one spot where you go all the way up. Funny, Steven almost called him out on the second half, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Randy was right. – 1-866-436-5710 VIDEOPERFORMANCE

Haley Reinhart – “Benny and the Jets” – Pimp spot for Haley. Ugh I hat that she’s bringing her “sex kitten” routine to “Benny and the Jets”. She’s putting too much rev in her voice. This is so lounge act. She’s got all the basics–her vocals are strong and bluesy. But she has no idea how to interpret a song because she has no fricking clue who she is as an artist. She’s just play acting up there. I can’t believe she got the pimp spot. SERIOUSLY?. Jennifer: That was it Haley! It all came together. It was amazing. Randy: For me, Best Performance of the Night. Steven: You sing sexy. – 1-866-436-5711 VIDEOPERFORMANCE

About mj santilli 34832 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!