American Idol 10: Top 13 Performance Show

Singer: Lauren Alaina, “Any Man of Mine”
Will you be upset when I say that I agree with Randy that it was a bit boring? Because it was. Technically she sang it really, really well. But I found my mind drifting about halfway through the song. Not a good sign. But hey, at least she had fun.

Singer: Casey Abrams, “With A Little Help From My Friends”
Casey cracks me up. His intro clip was hilarious. Having said that, why did he just begin screaming the song near the end of the song? Because he was screaming the song, not singing it. Joe Cocker didn’t scream the song. He sang it with emphasis. No screaming. Also – I was shocked that Steven knew the word “plethora” and used it properly in a sentence.

Singer: Ashthon Jones, “When You Tell Me That You Love Me”
I didn’t care for this much, but I’m not a Diana Ross fan in general (except for “The Wiz” which was an awesome movie). Ashthon seemed really nervous – like she knew the song was too big for her.

Singer: Paul McDonald, “Come Pick Me Up”
I was really looking forward to what Paul would do. And while I like his choice of musician (Ryan Adams) I thought he picked a horrible song. At least the judges acknowledged the kind of artist that Paul wants to be, because between last week and this week, I wasn’t sure. I love Paul – I want him to go far. But he can’t pick songs that are so obscure that only trendy, indie people will know what he’s singing. Because trendy, indie people don’t generally vote for American Idol.

Singer: Pia Toscano, “All By Myself”
I have only one thing to say about Pia, which has nothing to do with her singing. SOMEONE at AI needs to show her footage from last night and last week and TELL HER TO STOP DOING THAT THING WITH HER LEFT ARM. Seriously.

Singer: James Durbin, “Maybe I’m Amazed”
I was very nervous when I saw the song James picked. However, he did a great job! He mostly sang it, but when he got to that one high note he nailed it (of course). All in all I was really happy with what he did to the song. And I’m even happier they didn’t add a hip hop beat like that stupid producer recommended.

Singer: Haley Reinhart, “Blue”
I hate this song. Despite this, she did a decent job. But Randy’s right: Alicia Keys, LeeAnn Rimes – who does this girl want to be?

Singer: Jacob Lusk, “I Believe I Can Fly”
Remember how I said I hate “Blue?” Well, I hate this song even more. So much so that I fast forwarded through the whole performance.

Singer: Thia Megia, “Smile”
Poor, poor girl. She should yell at whoever made her do this atrocious cover of Michael Jackson’s cover of Charlie Chapman, er, Chaplin. What was with that random beat halfway through? It was awful – absolutely terrible. She may get cut tonight, and if she does it’s because of that awful mid-tempo change halfway through the song.

Singer: Stefano Langone, “Lately”
I didn’t like this at all. Which is a shame because Stefano blew me away when he “sang for his life” last week to earn a wildcard slot.

Singer: Karen Rodriguez, “I Could Fall in Love”
Ah ha! So that explains it! She’s a pageant girl! I knew there was something too polished about her performances. Except for this one, which didn’t work.

Singer: Scotty McCreery, “The River”
I would have preferred he sing, “Friends in Low Places,” but what’s a girl gonna do? Either way, Scotty continues his easy march to victory. Just you wait and see, though – as much as the judges love that he’s being himself right now, in about 4 weeks they’ll be complaining that he’s not branching out and that he seems stuck in a rut. I’ll eat Garth’s hat if they don’t say that.

Singer: Naima Adedapo, “Umbrella”
Um…wait… is this the same girl that’s been singing lounge stuff for the past several weeks? Despite some very iffy vocals, it’s an engaging performance, to say the least. Certainly the most brave.

Best of the night: Scott, of course.
Worst of the night: I’ll have to go with Thia
Getting the boot: Thia