TV Review: AMERICAN IDOL – Season 10 – “The Top 6 Perform”

By PETER BROWN / Contributing Editor

Posted: April 28th, 2011 / 01:02 AM

Cast: Ryan Seacrest, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler, Randy Jackson
Network: Fox, airs Wednesdays and Thursdays
Original Airdate: April 27, 2011

And then there were six on the world’s greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL.

After losing two men in a row, will the last females remaining continue to win over the hearts of America enough to stick around? We’ll see.

And once again we are stuck doing just one performer for the entire night – Carole King. While the pop legend has a great catalog, why pigeonhole them and the audience into hearing all these songs? I got it that you need to challenge them with something out-of-the-box, but how about getting more modern? Something that today’s audience will relate to and not those in the 50+ demographic. I guess that’s me.

With only six remaining it is getting down to the point where one flub may cost them the entire thing, so let’s get to it.

Jacob Lusk – If you read my reviews regularly you’ll know what I’m about to say comes as no surprise. I’m bored with Jacob. Totally bored. It’s been building for me for quite a while and his performance of King’s “Oh No, Not My Baby” just reaffirmed it. I’m not saying he can’t sing or he can’t sing well or the song wasn’t good for him or that he has a mastery of his voice that is unique in the competition right now. I’m saying he’s boring. I watch him and I want to change the channel. When he first was on stage in the early competition and in the run up to the final 13 I loved him, thought he was an early favorite, but obviously I’m not the only one that thinks the same about him as he’s been in the bottom the last two weeks. I’d expect to see him there again. Grade: C

Lauren Alaina – I know that the judges and the producers that are helping them with the songs this year love Lauren, but I’m starting to sour on her. I dunno what it is, but I just can’t get behind the cheesy moves and the constant changing of her style from country to adult contemporary and back again. I don’t think she is ready to be voted off yet but I just don’t see her going toe-to-toe against the likes of James or Casey. She’s not nearly as good as Haley either but the fans seem to like her more for whatever reason. Her version of King’s “Where You Lead” did nothing for me. Yeah, she was up there pulling kids on stage and moving around and that was cute, but the song was a bit boring. I was waiting for it to be over. And can anyone give a decent critique? J.Lo and Steven just talk about how great they are or whatever and Randy said he was bored yet still gave her mad props. What the hell? Grade: C

Scotty McCreery – Hmmm well this is an interesting choice from Scotty. After a subpar performance last week, I was expecting him to go full force and belt out something upbeat and exciting. Instead we got King’s “You Got a Friend,” which was anything but upbeat or exciting. Up until last week, Scotty was winning the fight on the show by just picking the right songs, which is sometimes half the battle. I don’t think this did the live-action Alfred E. Newman any favors. He can sing, don’t get me wrong. He’s got one hell of a voice, but I think going more upbeat would have been better for his voting bloc. Grade: C+

James Durbin – What? No marching band? Damn I was hoping that would be a regular feature with James, but that’s OK, I think he did pretty good with King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” While it was different than his usual fare of blasting it out, it worked in an interesting ’60s vibe mixed with James’ ability to bring whatever he sings to the modern era. I liked it. It was toned down from his blockbuster performance last week but still he proves that he can sing the phone book and make it interesting. That is the key difference between James and Jacob. James makes it entertaining and puts on a good show every week. Both can sing but it is this difference that will decide who stays longer. Grade: B+

Casey Abrams – At least Casey went all the way with his version of “Hi-De-Ho” complete with the outfit and everything. The producers talked about how this song needed a personality, well, Casey has plenty of it and he showed it on stage. Was it the best song to showcase his vocal talents? Not at all, but it was a great song to show off what type of a performer Casey is and how he can command the stage and interact with band mates. He did this in spades. I don’t think Casey is going anywhere anytime soon. Much like James, he’s got that certain something that keeps it from being boring each and every week. And J.Lo feels so intimidated to offer critical advice, she tells Casey he needs to move his legs more! Huh? Wrong show J.Lo. This is AMERICAN IDOL, not DANCING WITH THE STARS. Grade: B+

Haley Reinhart – First off, the duet she did with Casey was really good. I would not be surprised by the rumors that they are a couple as they certainly seemed to enjoy playing off each other. And it would be nice to see the dorky looking guy get the hot chick. That performance can only help her out in the voting because she really was well. Her performance of King’s “Beautiful” totally reinforced that she should be staying while some of the other dudes should really be gone. I don’t think she’ll make it to the end, but she’s giving it her all and showing she deserves to be in the Top 5. Grade: B

So who is in the bottom this week? Well I think that Jacob, Haley and Scotty will be in the bottom this week even if Haley does not deserve to be in the bottom. I think Jacob will be going home this week.

Follow me on Twitter @Pet3rBr0wn

UPDATE: Find out who got the boot (HUGE SURPRISE) by CLICKING HERE

Check out photos of the performances below.

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