‘Something Pitchy:’ ‘American Idol’ Top 3 Semi-Final Marathon!
Who’s really “in it to win it”? We’ve got a few thoughts on that, as well as some interesting tidbits on country radio’s reaction to down home favorite, Scotty McCreery, plus who’ll be around for next week’s finale showdown. Find out what myself, MJ Santilli (MJ’s Big Blog) and Rickey Yaneza (Rickey.org) have to say about tonight’s two-hour, nine performances marathon on this post-Top 3 edition of AOL’s ‘American Idol’ talk show, ‘Something Pitchy.’
Watch the Video at TV Squad
‘American Idol’ on the scene for Top 3 performance night: Haley falls, Lauren struggles, and Scotty wants ‘just to be your man’
Birthday cake: After the show, Haley sprinted down to the judges’ table to talk to J.Lo. They were laughing about something — it’s nice to see that there are no hard feelings between the two after J.Lo’s recent harsh critiques of Haley. And then some stagehands rolled out a birthday cake for Fox executive Mike Darnell, and the Top 11 contestants — I didn’t see Karen or Ashthon — walked onstage to sing “Happy Birthday” to him. I’m guessing they were all on hand to rehearse for the finale. Or they really like birthday cakes.
‘American Idol’: Inside the Rehearsal for Tonight’s Show
The judges listened intently to each song and Jennifer Lopez, after Haley’s song, put her producer hat on and told Haley and the stage manager to use the fan better during the performance. She took a few minutes in fact to demonstrate and explain to Haley where she should stand (“you could turn around”) and where the fan should go (“put it here on an apple box.”) And if there appears to be a little bad blood between Haley and Randy Jackson on screen because of his criticism it’s not there this week. They were yucking it up.
Live at American Idol: Will Lauren’s Minor Mishap Kill Her Idol Dream?
Followed up with her backstage leg shimmer rubdown that was carried over to the stage, Lauren was letting her awkward, shy side show with an embarrassed smile. It was cute, but her lack of confidence is her biggest downfall in the competition, and it could stop her one week short from the finals. As always, Scotty McCreery was cool, calm and collected, sipping on water and casually waving to fans during commercial breaks. If you’re a Scotty fan or not, the kid has what it takes to be a big star.
American Idol, Haley Reinhart, Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina Michael Becker / FOX
That wasn’t the only thing we noticed. It seems Lauren’s fan base was slightly faltering. While Haley and Scotty were getting immediate standing ovations, enthusiastic “in it to win it!” from Randy Jackson and incessant screaming from fans during commercial breaks, Lauren’s performances and appearances seemed to get slightly less love from the audience.
American Idol Recap: Destiny’s Riled?
Welcome to American Idol Books! This week, we’ve got three selections on special:
* Goldilocks and the Three Judges: This one’s about a little girl named Lauren who likes to do cartwheels in her backyard and sing along with her BFF to Faith Hill on the radio, skills that — along with sugary feedback from a trio of highly paid court jesters — bring her within spitting distance of a pot of gold confetti at the end of the magic rainbow.
‘American Idol’ recap: Three for the Money Shot
Welcome back to American Idol, where the contestants trip, the pantyhose rips, and it takes four people to tell Ryan Seacrest that they love him. This week, each of the top 3 performed songs chosen by Jimmy Iovine and the judges in addition to one they chose themselves. Beyoncé, who had a video of herself clomping around in multi-faceted gem shoes to promote, wiggled up to the plate as a guest mentor. Let’s get to it!
‘American Idol’ Recap: Country Kids Kick Up Their Heels, Haley Reinhart Stumbles In Hers
Does anyone remember when American Idol used to make a huge deal about the Idols’ hometown visits? Now it feels like an afterthought. Heck, even James Durbin got one! I guess we’ll see the mania on Thursday’s show, for now, it all took a backseat to a night where Beyonce was the mentor and Neil Sedaka was the only celebrity in the house to get a Ryan Seacrest shout-out. According to our own Shirley Halperin (did you guys buy the book yet: American Idol: Celebrating 10 Years?), other celebs in the audience included Priscilla Presley (who looks amazing), Elijah Wood, Lisa Loeb, Idol alums Didi Benami and Brandon Rogers and Olympian Dominique Dawes.
Despite slipups, Haley rules ‘Idol’s’ semifinals
The Internet over the past few weeks has been filled with Haley Reinhart fans alleging that the criticism she has received over the past few weeks indicates the judges are out to get her and are hoping she gets sent home.
Any notion of that being the case were put to rest on Wednesday, as the comeback story of the season got every break and made the most of each and every one to give herself a chance at reaching the finale.
‘American Idol’ Recap: Scotty McCreery Or Bust!
The home visits are in the can! The judges have their strategies set! The contestants have their hideous flower earrings picked out!
Wednesday was Top Three night on “American Idol X: Scotty McCreery or Bust!”
Sorry, females of the world. The two representative specimens left in this high pressure ultra-important competition had a night full of stumbles, bumbles, and crumbles. And while fans debate which is worse — tripping on a step, or tripping on a key change? — some of us are busy asking the important questions. Such as, do we prefer Scotty with a buzz-cut or Scotty with an inch of hair? Have we ever heard Scotty “sing a chorus like that” before? What about one song later? And are you going to kiss him or not?!
Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart Fight For ‘American Idol’ Finale
This is it. Wednesday night’s (May 18) “American Idol” performance show was the last, and best, chance for this year’s top three to make their final impression on voters before next week’s finale. With two teenagers and a 20-year-old vying for the title, the pressure was on to deliver the best three performances of their lives.
American Idol Trips Along with the Top 3
Last night’s American Idol was two hours and nine performances long, with filler that ranged from the replaying of each remaining contestant’s audition (remember when we all heard Scotty sing the “babylockthemdoors” bit from Josh Turner’s “Your Man” for the first time?) to the hometown visits that doubled as plugs for AT&T to the half-airing of Beyoncé’s video for “Run The World (Girls), ” which made me nostalgic for the days when all she needed was a couple of backing dancers, a leotard, and the occasional exploding car. (This video had an exploding car, too, but it also had a phalanx of dancers and an attempt to recreate the animal-wrangling magic of the cover for “Ring The Alarm, ” only with hyenas, and cross imagery and a lot more stuff that just underscores my point, which is that I miss the relatively minimalist days of Beyoncé videos. This is all Gaga’s fault, isn’t it?)
American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Sees the Light at the End of the Tunnel
Man! Home stretch! Feels good! And also like I’m not done! Maybe that’s how our final three have been feeling, cooped up in Hollywood all this time. As Seacrest foretold, the kids get to go home and rub everyone’s faces in it. All three of them are so excited to be going back to their hometowns. Watching them makes me yearn to go home, even though I am already there. That’s how much this show has worn me down. My home, which I am currently in, feels a million miles away. Not helping: The information that the contestants will be singing three songs each. I am two thirds dreading this. Oh, and it’s a two-hour show. It’s possible to sing six songs in under 30 minutes, in case anyone was wondering. Next time, ask me first.
Top 3 Recap: “Would She Go Down With You to the Theater?”
When the top 3 have to sing 3 songs a piece, I just count my blessings that Haley is still here and there’s still a little excitement left. I mean how many boring country ballads can one person take? Scotty starts off with “Amazed” by Lonestar and it’s a typical, boring Scotty performance. When he hits the higher notes, it’s a struggle and he loses his place in the song. Other than that though, there’s nothing to say as I fell asleep 2 or 3 times during the performance. Steven says he kicked the song into the middle of next week. Jennifer says that Scotty has grown a lot since the beginning of the show. Randy says there were pitchy spots, but he put a period at the end of the song. And we all know how much every girl loves when it’s time for her period.
