Well they all sure came to sing last night didn't they? Oh yeah, it was Elton John night and those superstar hopefuls on American Idol season 10 stormed the stage, standing and delivering some of the strongest performances of the season - from each of them for the most part. But some are simply better than others and getting better - so really clear divisions have developed: 1) front-runners, 2) middle of the pack and 3) bottom feeders. There was some movement on the Elepharts list of Likeliest To Least Likeliest To Win so let's review the new standings:
Front Runners:
1. James Durbin - James wanted to deliver an "arena rock" performance last night - and did he ever! Like Jimmy Iovine, we were scared when he wanted to do "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" because the song doesn't really go anywhere. But James brought down the house with an electrifying front man roaming the stage and the crowd performance complete with a piano on fire. Nice.
2. Pia Toscano - thank the music gods that Pia opted to listen to Elepharts instead of Randy Jackson. Yup, Pia delivered another ballad and - WOW! Her best so far. This girl has serious pipes. Serious. Pipes.
3. Scotty McCreery - Scotty is back where he belongs in the 3rd position after a tough week last week. He found the perfect Elton song "Country Comfort" and looked and sounded like a total professional. We don't even like country music (not even a little) but we love this kid.
Middle Of The Pack:
4. Jacob Lusk - yes, we know everyone loves him - but we are 100% with Jimmy Iovine on this kid - he OVERDOES IT with the emotional pyrotechnics and screeching. After a great week last week, James didn't over-sing as much this week as he has before but could he have wrung anymore overwrought emotion out of "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"? No. He wrung the heck out of it.
5. Lauren Aliana - okay it is really time for Alaina to lose the "deer in the headlights" look on her face during every performance. It is really off putting. But she sang wonderfully and looked pretty. So there's that too.
6. Paul McDonald - Paul is his own man. We love that about him - he's a true artist who already knows who he is and he delivered a great understated "Rocket Man" last night despite what those complaining judges said.
7. Haley Reinhart - and now the BIGGEST move on this chart - the gal who we've to this point entirely ignored - suddenly got our attention last night. What a growl this young woman has! Who knew? Well I guess some of you out there in internet land because you already liked her. Anyways, it all came together for her last night.
8. Naima Adedapo - this is a tough one. We loved her reggae swag version of "I'm Still Standing" but the audience and judges seemed less impressed. So... our guess is she's lower on the ladder than we would really put her.
The Bottom Feeders:
9. Casey Abrams - he may not be in the bottom 3 this week as he gets a surge of sympathy votes - but the bloom is definitely off his rose. He was much, much, MUCH better last night with a performance way more about singing than grimacing for once, but he's now a racehorse with a broken leg.
10. Thia Megia - another tough one - because Thia easily gave her best performance last night and she can sing! Oh yeah she can, and she lost alot of her "pagaent" sheen last night but she's still not in the same league as the others.
11. Stefano Langone - this guy never EVER has any idea what he's singing about. The judges claimed he was finally feeling it last night - but nah - he wasn't. He's a lounge singer. Period.
See also:
Who Will Win American Idol Season 10?
WK2: Who Will Win American Idol Season 10?
WK3: Who Will Win American Idol Season 10?
