So the judges saved Casey last week. Ho hum…. just kidding. That was big. That kind of situation is EXACTLY what the save should be used for. I’ve made it no secret that I’m no Casey fan, but there is absolutely no reason he should finish 11th in this year’s competition. None whatsoever. I’ll chalk his “elimination” up to lackadaisical voting by America (along the lines of Jennifer Hudson and Chris Daughtry). Great use of the save by the judges, and great job getting the silly “sing for your life!” gimmick out of the way early on.
Tonight the Top 11 tackled the iconic songs of Elton John, one of the most done artists in Idol history. Makes sense. Let’s get right to it, shall we? Tweet form again!
Leading off…
- Scotty - Country Comfort
Scotty with the guitar! I’ve never heard this particular song before… but I like it. Not Scotty’s best, but solid. #ai10 - Naima - I’m Still Standing
A reggae version of “I’m Still Standing”, Naima? I don’t know about this…. #ai10
I appreciate changing it up…. but eek. That was not good.#ai10 - Paul - Rocket Man
Paul doing “Rocket Man”… so, is he just going to do the Jason Mraz version? #ai10
I didn’t love the entire performance…. but well done, Paul! I love “Rocket Man”, and he did the song justice. #ai10 - Pia - Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
Wait, Pia is doing a ballad? Whaaaa? #ai10
One of Pia’s better performances, vocally, sure…. but c’mon now. I’m ready for a nap. #ai10
Pia will be doing “River Deep, Mountain High” next week…. soooo, Tina Turner week? 1960s week? Songs done on Glee week? #ai10 - Stefano - Tiny Dancer
Stefano does karaoke! C’mon, Stefano. I’m liking it…. but c’mon. #ai10 - Lauren - Candle In the Wind
I didn’t realize that “Candle in the Wind” was the best selling song in Billboard history. The more you know! #ai10
And that might have been my favorite performance of Lauren’s. Brilliant. #ai10 - James - Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting
Wow. There was a FLAMING PIANO. It was on FIRE. James just brought down the house. Wow. #ai10 - Thia - Daniel
Thia doing “Daniel”…. by far her best performance. Good song choice, connection to the song, strong vocals…. who is this chick? - Casey - Your Song
You said it, Rosie. #ai10 RT @Rosie: casey - just beautiful ….truly beautiful - Jacob - Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word
Oh good, Jacob is back to being his old self…. melodramatic to the extreme. Ugh. #ai10 - Haley - Bennie and the Jets
Haley is doing “Bennie and the Jets”? TRAINWRECK ALERT! #ai10
Ok, I was wrong. I loved that performance. Easily Haley’s best on the show… not sure about best of the night, but still excellent. #ai10
In all, this was probably the strongest of the 3 weeks since the semi-finals. There were some true stand out performances, some performances that fell in line with the previous performances, and some performances that did no favors to the people who are considered to be in trouble.
Last week, the bottom 3 consisted of Thia, Stefano and Casey. Thia was there for a reason… she deserved to be there. She helped her case this week… but I’m not sure it was enough. I’ve already touched upon Casey. And Stefano? Him I don’t get. If his vote totals last week were so low due to it almost being his time…. I have to say he didn’t do much to help his cause this week. That said… I don’t see it being his time. I’d hazard to guess that like Casey, Stefano’s scare was due to lazy voting. I think he should be set.
Winner of the Night: This is very hard tonight. When I pick someone, I think of someone else who won more. James, Lauren, Casey and Haley were all fantastic tonight, so I could easily say any of those four…. but I’ll go with Casey. His performance tonight was unlike anything we’ve seen from him so far, so I’ll hand it to him.
Loser of the Night: Hard not to pick Naima here. As I tweeted, it’s hard not to appreciate the “artistry” she brings to the show… but tonight was a mess. “I’m Still Standing” is already a stylized song, adding more just doesn’t work.
My Prediction: Two people are going home this week, which makes this week something of a free-for-all. Going by this week alone, Naima, Stefano and Jacob are in trouble…. but we all know Idol doesn’t go week-to-week. For my bottom three, I’m going to throw Naima, Haley and Thia in the ring… with Naima and Thia going home.
