Now that was a pretty good show wasn't it? Oh yeah, nearly all 11 of the contestants delivered last night on "American Idol" week 3 of the finals performances - each vying to stay in it at least one more week and get into the Top 10 and so onto the tour. Elepharts is going to call this the Week Of Jimmy Iovine because the uber-producer finally told some of these people what they needed to hear to really help them improve their performances. Everything the man said to them was spot on. Those that listened did amazing, those that didn't.... well, here now, the Week 3 updated list of Likeliest To Least Likeliest To Win:
1. James Durbin: the dude is rapidly morphing into a rock and roll band frontman before our very eyes. Did you see him feeding off the energy of the crowd last night? He LIVES to be on that stage. And he's going to just keep getting better. But can a hard rocking guy really win the thing? Better ask Chris Daughtry...
2. Pia Toscano: Jimmy basically told her to "stop thinking so much" during her performance and it helped. The girl can stand and deliver a song like few people can - but she has tended to be a bit robotic. That said, she needs to completely ignore the advice of Randy and Jennifer who desperately want her to stop doing ballads and run around on the stage to some current pop tripe. DON'T DO IT PIA! She looked and sounded like a diva last night. Amazing.
3. Jacob Lusk: Jimmy effectively finally told the guy what we've been saying for two weeks - "standing on the stage and screaming at the top of your lungs for a minute and a half does NOT equal singing." Jacob listened and then actually SANG a song for the first time last night... it was unbelievably good. Now we understand why everyone else has been in love with him.
4. Scotty McCreery: we all knew Scotty was going to be in trouble the moment they said it was Motown week. What on earth was this country crooner going to do? Well, he did his best to spin a great Stevie Wonder song in a country way - it was better than most of us expected to be sure, but that's not to say it was actually, you know, good. Still, he survived.
5. Lauren Aliana: so it seems she's been letting the internet "haters" bring her down which is at least partly responsible for her lacklustre performances. Jimmy basically told her to "get over it and bring confidence to the stage" - and she did. This was easily her best so far - and she looked great too!
6. Naima Adedapo: Naima made a major leap forward last night by just finally getting it all right. She sang well. She danced well. She showed all of her passion and energy and enthusiasm. She was REAL. It all came together - if she can keep it up she could really move on up even further on this list.
7. Paul McDonald: he didn't quite get the moment he could have last night. If he'd really slowed "Tears Of A Clown" down and just played it with his acoustic guitar without accompaniment of any kind, he would have KILLED. As it was he was good, not great.
8. Casey Abrams: things are rapidly going downhill for Casey. Last week's dismal Nirvana cover and now this lame, uncomfortable Marvin Gaye impression. He's getting worse instead of better. Uh-oh.
9. Thia Megia: she was better this week, sang well, looked pretty but once again she simply looks like she's in way over her head.
10. Stefano Langone: unlike Jacob, who listened to Jimmy Iovine, Stefan over-sang, again, refused to open his eyes, again, and then adding insult to injury whispered "I love you" to the camera at the end of his dreadful performance - thinking that was all he needed to do to convince people he "felt" the song. No. Nu-uh. Nope.
11. Haley Reinhart: she's still here? Really? Why?
See also:
WK2: Who Will Win American Idol S.10?
Who Will Win American Idol S.10?
Karen Rodriguez Gets The Boot
Ashthon Jones Gets The Boot
