It was Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame night on "American Idol" season 10 last night and the Top 9 really took it to heart and KILLED IT! Each and every one of them delivered an outstanding performance, even the ones Elepharts doesn't like. So how in the heck do we preview who will be going home? It's such a crapshoot now - really depending on how strongly they have developed their fan bases and how well their fan bases supported them. But of course we have our guesses - and here they are in the latest Who Is The Likeliest To Least Likeliest To Win list:
UPDATE: In a HUGE shocker, Pia Toscano is sent home!
1. James Durbin - retains his top dog position for us by taking a big risk (and ignoring Jimmy Iovine's advice) by delivering a ballad... on rock week. Crazy right? Nah, crazy like a fox. He's been tearing up the stage for weeks now, last week bringing down the house with an Arena Rock Concert performance. Every rocker knows you have to modulate your performance, slowing it down sometimes to make those rock the house numbers all the more powerful. Anyways, it was crystal clear that James really felt "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", his tears afterwards kind of gave that away. And his voice? Awesome.
2. Pia Toscano - yup, she's still at #2 after finally delivering the up-tempo number Randy has been begging her for - and totally nailing it. This girl's voice is just amazing. To sing "River Deep, Mountain High" your voice has to go... river deep and then mountain high - and Pia's does. Effortlessly. The only complaint from J.Lo and the rest of the world at this point is the stiffness of her performances. If she conquers that - look out.
3. Scotty McCreery - oh man - this could have been an EPIC disaster. Scotty, we already knew, was a huge Elvis fan as a kid - and he chose an Elvis song. It is really hard at this point in time to sing any Elvis song without coming across as total kitsch. So we didn't have high hopes. But... Scotty brought so much energy, humor, personality and great voice to that stage - he had the whole place smiling and just having a great time. And he showed that he can do more than just traditional country when he wants. This kid is good. Really, really good.
4. Haley Reinhart - she took on the late great rock goddess Janis Joplin's classic "Piece Of My Heart" and showed that Randy, Steven and Jennifer might know a little somthin' somethin' because they've been telling her she's got a Joplin thing in her voice all along - and man did she ever slay that song! A few weeks ago she wasn't even on our radar and now she's closing in on the top of the pack. Dark horse anyone?
5. Jacob Lusk - thankfully before he sang "Man In The Mirror" Jacob informed the world that if he lands in the bottom 3 this week it is NOT because he sang poorly or performed badly, but rather because we're to blame for being stupid. That was good to know. We only put him this high on the list because we know all you all out there love him anyways. Us? Not so much. Like at all.
6. Paul McDonald - thank goodness Paul listened to Jimmy Iovine and Will.I.Am last night and stood up and brought some manic energy to his performance of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues". He was planning a more subdued, sit on a stool version, but Jimmy was having none of it. And so Paul brought the crowd to its feet with his best performance of the season.
7. Lauren Aliana - she just can't shake the "deer in the headlights" look on her face out there on the stage. At this point in the competition that has become a real liability. Her voice is great. She did a strong version of Aretha's seminal hit "Natural Woman" - but just not strong enough.
8. Casey Abrams - we'll see if the charitable voting bump continues for Casey this week. That is not to say that his version of the CCR hit "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" was weak or anything, but he's just not as strong as some of the others. An original artist? Yes. A commercial artist? No.
9. Stefano Langone - this was easily his best performance of the season. He delivered Percy Sledge's "When A Man Loves A Woman" with better phrasing and more emotion than he'd show previously, but still, he's the weakest of the lot. That said, the young girls who do all the voting may well want to keep him around.
See also:
WK2: Who Will Win American Idol Season 10?
WK3: Who Will Win American Idol Season 10?
WK4: Who Will Win American Idol Season 10?
