5 Contestants - 2 Songs Each - 5/4/11

Hello one and all. I am so topsy turvy with my opinions on tonight's show so bear with me.

I goofed up on my tape so actually missed the opening of the show. I did however hear Ryan Seacrest ask Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler if they were ready to go and of course they were as I am finally so let's get started.

Tonight our contestants will sing two songs each; one a current contemporary song and the other a classic from way back which is a mixture of different decades as we shall soon see. Jimmy Iovine is joined by 9 time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow to mentor our idols. Sheryl is not only a good singer but she has written alot of songs and has been a back-up singer for many artists including the late Michael Jackson. While I appreciate her talent I really did not think she gave the contestants alot of advice but you could tell by her personal remarks she thinks our idols are going to be successful and she would love to jump on their bandwagon.

One last note before we get to the performances is Randy (who looked great in his attire) gives our top 5 a pep talk about doing their best to show them "they are in it to win it" (a statement we will hear quite often tonight).

Round 1: Contemporary

I am a big fan of James Durbin however his choice for tonight was not one of my favorite songs for him to sing. He is performing "Closer To The Edge" by 30 Seconds From Mars. Flat out I hate this song but do feel James did a fair job with it. His stage presence and working the audience was awesome but I think I did detect a few off notes here and there. Our judges and I sort of disagreed on this rendition by James. Steven thought he kicked that song's ass and loved how James worked the audience. J-Lo firmly believes that the title is James to take. Randy thinks James is showing all of us where he can go with his career. I personally hope it is not into this type of music and I was surprised none of the judges mentioned his off notes. Oh well! My grade: B+

Jacob Lusk has a brief conversation with Ryan about how Jacob feels about winning the competition. He is very positive he has a chance. I sort of doubt that. Tonight he has chosen to sing a song that was a duet with season 6 Jordin Sparks and pop singer Chris Brown. The song is "No Air". In spite of all the good vibes that Jimmy and Sheryl gave Jacob I truly thought this was one of Jacob's worst performances. He kept switching his range and frankly his high-pitched notes sounded so off to me personally. Gabby Jennifer talks about his showmanship, his great voice and should pick songs that show off who he is as an artist. Randy on the other hand did not like this choice for Jacob and calls it corny as well as mentioning his sharp notes. Steven is waiting for him to find his niche and this statement I agree with because "pop" is just not our Jacob. My grade: C-

I am seriously wondering if the judges and Jimmy are pimping Lauren Alaina to win it all. I keep hearing from each about what a great voice she has when in reality I think she can sing but for me personally it is nothing special. Tonight she sings "Flat On The Floor" by season 4 winner Carrie Underwood. She does display some power in her vocals but overall I just found it to be okay. Not so with the judges as Randy mentions this is the right direction for her and she is amazing. Steven thinks she has found her niche. WTF, she has been singing country pretty much every week. Jennifer is excited because she thinks she finally did it. Did what I ask? Oh Brother! My grade: B

For once I am impressed with young Scotty McCreery. Tonight he is singing country (what else?) song "Gone" by Montgomery Gentry. He gives a very good vocal but what impressed me most was his stage presence and how he too worked the audience. I was not bored at all watching him. Steven thinks he is like a puritan but danced with the devil tonight. J-Lo is excited and felt like he owned the stage and thinks he is some American Idol stuff right there (whatever). Randy felt like he was watching a Scotty concert and feels he is in it to win it. Aren't they all I wonder? My grade: A

Disaster has struck for Haley Reinhart as Jimmy Iovine has talked her into singing a non-released song by Lady GaGa called "You and I". This song was terrible I think and sadly Haley did not perform it well as I felt she was shouting most of the lyrics. The judges and I were in agreement that this was a bad song choice. I am wondering if Jimmy knows what he is doing? Jennifer did say she had some good moments in spite of the song itself. Randy did not feel the song did her any favors and called it risky. Steven on the other hand thought she made it work and feels she is one perfect song away from winning it all. My grade: D

Round 2: Classic Songs

:( James is performing the 1970 song "Without You" by Harry Nilsson. This was maybe not a good choice only because James became so emotional over it. In rehearsal he starts crying because the lyrics make him think about his family and how much he misses them when they are not there. He is unable to finish the rehearsal and almost loses it on stage as well. What I did appreciate about this performance was how vunerable he was and you could tell he really felt the lyrics. Sadly he had a few off notes but overall I so much appreciated him as a true artist which is brought up by the judges as well. Randy calls him a true performer, felt the emotion and although not pitch perfect was "emotionally perfect". Steven mentions the pitch but still calls him beautiful. Jennifer says everyone knows you can sing but by showing his heart and soul he backed up the fact he was a true artist. My grade: A

The judges are nuts on their comments regarding Jacob singing his second song which is "Love Hurts" made famous in 1975 by Nazareth. I basically could not understand a word that Jacob sang throughout most of the song. The second half seemed like he was screaming the song and he did have a bad note in the middle which was difficult to detect considering the rest of the song was not done very well. Steven thinks he got lost in the song and loved his passion. Jennifer does mention the sour note but thinks he brought it at the end. Randy thinks he redeemed himself and loved his high note (huh?). Sorry Jacob fans I really did not care for this at all. My grade: D

Hey Kelly Preston with her daughter and Sir Anthony Hopkins are in the audience. Filler moment for sure.

Lauren is choosing to sing one of my favorite songs by The Righteous Brothers. The song is "Unchained Melody" made famous in 1965. Right away I am once again amazed how pretty Lauren is in her evening dress and how much older she looks than her 16 years. That is where the admiration stops as I felt she had many pitchy notes and seemed almost disconnected with the lyrics of the song. More pimping by the judges as Jennifer just says this was a beautiful song sung by beautiful you. Randy also appreciates her tender moment and thinks she sings like a bird. Steven agrees and says it was just right. I honestly do not get this at all. My grade: D

Once again Scotty is back to his boring performance as he sings "You Were Always On My Mind" made famous by Elvis Presley in 1972. Willie Nelson also had a hit with this song in 1982. The vocals were just okay for me. I heard a few off-notes but none of the judges mention this. Mainly I was bored. J-Lo on the other hand thinks Scotty is a well-rounded artist. Randy thinks he does country music so well and loves it. Steven says America loves his voice and it was a beautiful rendition. Okay, whatever. My grade: C

Haley finally has her moment as she sings "The House of The Rising Sun" made famous by The Animals in 1964. She starts out the number acapella and then goes into one of the bluesy and soulful renditions I have ever heard this song sung. I thought it was great! Randy goes so far to call it the best performance of the night. Steven loved her sweet and sour rendition and feels her raspy notes sold the song. Jennifer calls it a great job. I should mention the judges gave her a standing ovation. One last note I have to mention is while she was singing this song I saw a trace of jazzy Casey in her vocals. My grade: A+

Final Thoughts

As I mentioned earlier I am so topsy turvy with my thoughts. I like some of the performances by each but not both by each if that makes any sense. Hard to say who will be in the bottom 3 but have a strong feeling Jacob will be one of them and might possibly go home. Haley might also be in danger in spite of her awesome performance as the last contestant. Jeesh, anything is possible I guess.

Tomorrow we will be entertained by Lady Antebellum and our own Jennifer Lopez. So with that being said I now bid you goodnight.

Well Crystal, with the exception of Scotty's second song and Haley's too we pretty much agree on all counts. I loved both of Scotty's performances. I truly believe this young man is going to be a fantastic country singer. He's talented and has the looks too. Ya gotta admit....the girls love him. LOL

I hated Haley rendition of House of the Rising Sun. It got on my nerves on so many levels. That's all I have to say about that.

James! What can you say about this guy? OMG! He may not have been pitch perfect in either song but....DAMN....he can belt those notes out. AND...I might add....this is only the third performance in all the time I've watched American Idol where I cried. First being Taylor singing In The Ghetto and Danny Gokey singing What Hurts The Most.

Looking forward to your comments about the results show.