Just one week before the finals, the 20-year-old Wheeling, Illinois native was voted off the show leaving teen singers Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina to battle it out in next week’s finale. Haley’s elimination also ensures a country artist will win this year.
After taking a nasty fall during one of her final performances on Wednesday, Hailey still managed to give great performances, even receiving praises from judges Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and guest mentor Beyonce.
Haley is however taking her elimination in stride. “This is the biggest platform anybody can ask for and I rocked it out and had a blast,” said Haley after being voted off. “It’s only the beginning,” she added. The raspy-voiced singer bid farewell with a performance of Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets.”
And not only are Scotty, 17, and Lauren, 16, both country artists but they also become the youngest finalists in the history of American Idol!
Also, a record 95 million votes were cast this week, over 15 million more than the previous season. The finale airs next week Tuesday and a new winner will be crowned next Wednesday, so the obvious question is…
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TELL US – WHO ARE YOU ROOTING FOR TO WIN THIS SEASON? SCOTTY OR LAUREN?
On Wednesday’s episode of American Idolthe Final Four remain and things got Gagalicious as Lady Gaga descended upon the competition from her home planet Gagalore, sans pants, to mentor the remaining contestants on glitz, glam, and all things related to being a truly fantastic performer. The show’s theme which seemed to be inspirations or legends, was about as hard to figure out as Lady Gaga herself, and had the Idol finalists choosing any song that inspires them and another from legendary songwriting duo Leiber & Stoller.
For the most part the judges felt each artist made his or her mark on the songs they chose. James Durbin nailed both his performances – especially Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin” and Randy Jackson felt he was “having a moment” each time he sang.Haley Reinhardt covered Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song,” in round one, but had some difficulties since the song just wasn’t really compatible with her vocal range – Randy said it sounded like “screaming.” In the second round Haley majorly redeemed herself with a performance of Ben E. King‘s “I Who Have Nothing”, which got a standing ovation from the judges – another one! Haley’s big rock n roll voice is certainly perfect for the classics.
Country cutie Scotty McCreery – who seemingly can do no wrong on Idol – had two high notes with his performances: an emotionally charged rendition Alan Jackson’s of “Where Were You” that included him playing guitar and a hilarious Gaga-ized version of The Coasters’ “Young Blood.” Of course, the saucy humor he brought performing to his girlfriend, “the microphone” excited judge Steven Tyler who exclaimed: “You made Gaga’s yaya go lala.” Um… I’m not sure what a yaya is but something tells me it might not be family friendly! Keep it in check, Steven. Also, going Gaga was blue-plate special Lauren Alaina, whose performance featured a sparkle-encrusted ensemble that matched her spunky personality, and an amazing rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Trouble” which Jennifer Lopez dubbed “really, really good!”
Thursday night’s results show started with Jlo experiencing her weekly fashion fiasco with some scary drop-crotch MC Hammer looking pants as she walked out on stage and I think Steven was wearing a jacket with J.Lo’s face on it. Not sure – but something crazy was happening there!
With a whopping 72 million plus votes cast to determine who would be getting the deluxe trips home, Ryan Seacrest announced Lauren was the first person to make it into the Top Three. And then Idol teased us with not one but two celebrity performances and a sneak peak of Steven’s new very un-Aerosmith video. Seriously – I couldn’t stand the suspense! Ryan, finally, got around to announcing the rest of the results and Haley moved into the second safe spot. The final spot went to none other than Scotty, meaning the teenage girl army was out in full-force voting furiously by any means necessary.
Sweet, sensitive James was sent home leaving Jennifer in tears. James departed by serenading us with an emotional version of Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” and reminding us to “give metal a chance!” James – America will totally give metal a chance and I agree with J.Lo, you are “magical!”
Next week the final three get to arrive via private jet for first-class hometown heroes visits. Do you think James should have been sent home? Who do you think will make the final two?
On Wednesday night’s episode of American Idol, the theme was “Now and Then,” giving each Idol hopeful the opportunity to perform a song that was popular back in the 60’s and 70’s and one that has been a recent chart topper.
Idol fave, Scotty McCreery managed fantastic performances in both categories, choosing Montgomery Gentry’s “Gone” and Elvis Presley’s “Always on My Mind” which caused an excited Steven Tyler to exclaim that Scotty – the sweetest of country boys – had “danced with the devil!” Good job Scotty – and of course, as long as teenage girls in America have access to phones, Scotty isn’t going anywhere! Despite Scotty’s successes, it was underdog Haley Reinhart who stole the show with a performance of The Animals’ “Houses of the Rising Sun” that resulted in a standing ovation from the judges and Randy Jackson declaring it the best performance of the night.
Thursday night’s results show began with J. Lo debuting an ill-advised gold lame pouf skirt she wore to her prom in 1985 as she walked out on stage and Steven debuting his new autobiography: Walk This Way to Sweet Misery: How Bad Plastic Surgery Ruined My Life. Just kidding! It’s actually called Does the Noise in my Head Bother You?: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir.
With 60 million votes cast determining who would move forward to the final four, Idol decided to drag out the suspense by not revealing which side of the stage featured the safe contestants; Ryan Seacrest asked Haley and James Durbin to stand on one side and Lauren Alaina and Jacob Lusk to stand on the other, with Scotty receiving the last critique from mentor Jimmy Lovine. Since, of course, Scotty was moving forward – even if his performance consisted of yodeling – Ryan unfairly asked him to choose the side of the stage he felt featured the safe contestants. Scotty chose wisely, opting to stand with Haley and James, who as it turned out turned were the other members of the top three, leaving Lauren and Jacob as the bottom two.
In the middle of all this drama of who’s safe, who’s not, we were treated to a performance of Jennifer Lopez’s new song: “On The Floor” featuring Pittbull. I couldn’t even pay attention to the song because I was so distracted by J. Lo’s second unfortunate outfit of the night which featured silver sequined harem pants (oh so terrible) and a fringed – yes FRINGED! – sequined, crop-top with Dynasty pouffed sleeves. Oh the nightmare… Isn’t J. Lo supposed to be a fashion icon?
After a rocky performance of Jordin Sparks’ and Chris Brown’s “No Air”, Jacob was eliminated. Jacob has an amazing voice and I am excited to see where his talent will take him. The man who Randy thought had one of the best performances ever on Idol and who Steven Tyler decided had been brought to Idol by “divine intervention” went home with a beautiful and fun performance of “A House Is Not A Home.” Good Luck Jacob!
Next week – the final four! Who do you think will go home next?
Guess that first elimination wasn’t a fluke after all.
A month after being saved by the judges, Casey Abramswas yet again eliminated on American Idol… For good this time. Following his energetic performance of “Hi De Ho” on Wednesday night, the 20-year-old Wilmette, IL native received the fewest number of votes landing him in the bottom three with Scotty McCreeryand Jacob Lusk.
“A lot of fans are going to be disappointed with tonight’s result,” said Ryan Seacrest at the beginning of the show and he was right. While this wasn’t a shocking Pia Toscano type elimination, Casey’s ousting was still a bit of a surprise.
“This is what talent looks like,” said Ryan while the judges gave Casey a standing ovation. Casey went on to give an excellent farewell performance, singing “I Cast a Spell on You.”
With Casey’s elimination, five contestants – Jacob, Scotty, Haley Reinhart, James Durbin and Lauren Alaina – live to perform again next Wednesday on Fox at 8/7c. This season’s American Idol winner will be crowned on May 25.
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TELL US – THOUGHTS ON CASEY’S ELIMINATION? WHO DO YOU PREDICT WILL WIN THIS SEASON OF AMERICAN IDOL?
On Wednesday night’s episode the Idol contenders had to pick any song from 21st century. Casey “Soft Lips” Abrams clearly stole the show with his rendition of Maroon 5’s “Harder To Breathe.” He also took Jennifer Lopez’s breath away when he kissed her during his performance, giving her the most action she’s had since marrying Marc Anthony. Steven Tyler was so excited by the sexual chemistry between J.Lo and Casey – errrrr, I mean, the performance he used the F** word on live TV! Whoops! We expect that from some more low-brow reality shows (see: Housewives, ANYWHERE), but not family-friendly idol. Scottie McCreery was, of course, safe simply for being the cutest person in the world with the most adorable accent. Who cares if he can sing!
62 Million votes determined that Jacob Lusk’s touching, but sappy rendition of “Dance With My Father” put him as the first member of the bottom three. Also hanging out in the bottom three were Stefano Langone and HaleyReinhart. Haley turned out to be safe after an awesome version of Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep.”
Then Katy Perry assaulted both our ears (with her weird, whiny song E.T.) and our fashion sensibilities by wearing a white satin spandex, caped, sequined jumpsuit. Yes – I just typed the words WHITE SATIN SPANDEX, CAPED, SEQUINED JUMPSUIT to describe an article of clothing. *Shudder*
As for the elimination, Stefano’s long reign in the bottom three ended as the judge’s wild card pick was sent home. Poor Stefano! I know you have great things ahead of you – after all Jennifer Lopez thinks you’re “hot” and she loves you! He very graciously left by singing “Lately”
Next week we are treated to a series of fun and exciting Carol King songs as interpreted by the six finalists!
TELL US – DID THE VOTERS GET IT RIGHT? WHO ARE YOU ROOTING FOR TO WIN THIS SEASON?
Wednesday night onAmerican Idol, judge Jennifer Lopezvoiced her support for girl power, making it clear she did not want to see anymore girls going home, and she got her wish.
A week after Pia Toscano‘s shocking elimination, Paul McDonald was eliminated from AI. The 26-year-old Nashville, Tennessee native became the first guy to be eliminated this season following the eliminations of five female contestants.
Joining Paul in the bottom three were Haley ReinhartandStefano Langone. Stefano, who has been in the bottom many times this season, lived to sing another week.
“We’re bummed about this, man. You’re the life of the party,” said host Ryan Seacrest to Paul after delivering the bad news. “You’ve had such an amazing impact on our show. You really have.”
The remaining top 7 Idols return next week to sing songs from the 21st century. Katy Perry will perform her new single “E.T.” on next week’s results show, wtih season seven winner David Cook returning to premiere his new song ‘The Last Goodbye‘.
TELL US – THOUGHTS ON PAUL’S ELIMINATION? SHOULD STEFANO HAVE BEEN SENT PACKING INSTEAD?
Following the judges’ use of the one time save last week on American Idol, it was double elimination night and there were no do-overs.
It seemed the fans of the show were well aware of this as they voted in record numbers. Over 55 million votes were cast this week according to host Ryan Seacrest, 25 million more votes than last week.
Last week’s least vote getter Casey Abrams was able to rest easy as he was safe from elimination. In the bottom three were Naima Adedapo, Thia Megia and Paul McDonald, with Naima and Thia getting the boot.
Not exactly a surprising elimination night as the two contestants have had a bit of a roller coaster season. Naima’s reggae rendition of “I’m Still Standing” on Wednesday night was panned by the judges, while Thia’s “Heat Wave” did not fare much better plus she was also in the bottom three last week.
Naima and Thia will still get to tour with the other remaining finalists as it was revealed during last Thursday’s elimination that the entire top 11 will get to participate in the summer tour.
Another interesting fact? The latest elimination makes this season the first time ever in Idol history the first four eliminated finalists were all women.
In other Idol news, In Touch Weekly is reporting that Casey Abramsand Haley Reinhartmight be dating! An insider tells In Touch that Haley and Casey, both age 20, have become quite the cozy couple.
“Most of their downtime is spent together and they have a very touchy-feely relationship,” reveals the insider. “They’re always lying on each other when they’re around the other contestants and everybody thinks they’re hooking up.”
TELL US – DID THE VIEWERS GET IT RIGHT? WHO ARE YOUR ROOTING FOR?
It was elimination night on American IdolThursday and not surprisingly, 21-year-old New Yorker Karen Rodriguez got the boot.
Following the performances of songs from the year they were born the previous night, the top 12 contestants learned their fate with a bottom 3 that included Naima Adedapo, Haley Reinhart and Karen.
The judges ultimately decided against using their “save” on Karen, even though she gave a good performance of Mariah Carey’s “Hero.” Judge Randy Jackson admitted the decision was not unanimous, and judging from Jennifer Lopez’s reaction, it was pretty obvious she wanted to save Karen.
Meanwhile, JLo had her own problems last night as she was the target of some catcalls via two members of the audience who took issue with what they saw as her flirting with contestant Stefano Langone. According to E!, two ladies yelled to Jennifer, “You’re married!” and pointed out her husband Marc Anthony in the audience. As for Jlo, she didn’t react to the words from the two women while some people sitting near the yellers appeared taken aback.
And as of this morning, some fans of the show now feel perhaps Naima, who has been repeatedly criticized for her “pitchy” vocals, should have been the one to get the axe instead of Karen. “I’m beginning to have a passionate hate for the word ‘pitchy,’ ” said Naima to Ryan. “And by the time this is done I will love the word ‘pitch,’ and we will be in perfect harmony.”
While the jury’s remains out on whether or not Naima should have been the one eliminated, one thing’s clear – the viewers got it right this week with the bottom three.
TELL US – THOUGHTS ON LAST NIGHT’S AI? DO YOU THINK NAIMA IS WORSE THAN KAREN? THOUGHTS ON JLO GETTING CALLED OUT?
