Idol Live with Nicole!! Top 3!!!

So last week I didn't blog about Idol so let me say how EXTREMELY bummed and surprised I was when James was eliminated. I really thought he was going to be in the finale and thought he might even become the next Idol. Clearly my instincts are VERY off this season!

So tonight the show has 3 singers left and is TWO HOURS LONG!!! Seriously?!?! WTF Idol, you have less contestants and the show gets longer??? Each contestant does 3 songs a piece which means 9 songs in 120 minutes. Generally the songs are cut down to less than 2 minutes, but let's pretend that they will get to sing for 3 minutes per song (which they won't). That still only adds up to 27 minutes!!! Then you add in the 30 or 40 minutes worth of commercial time and you get about 60-70 minutes. Still leaves 50-60 minutes of time left. WTF?!!?! Well this should be interesting...

Beyonce mentors the kids tonight. Kudos for getting two current singers in a row to mentor them. I will say that I seriously dislike Beyonce's new song though. I was thrilled when I found out we get to see her new video tonight...blah.

Commercial break #1 and we are only 7 minutes into the show and NO ONE HAS PERFORMED YET!!!

Round 1: Contestant's Choice

Scotty McCreery "Amazed" by Lonestar. Beyonce LOVES Scotty. Sounded good during his rehearsal. LOVE this song!! Well his vocals are good like they always are. Nice to hear him sing in a tad different octave than normal. He is actually holding the mic in front and not off to the side tonight. He seems to get really into the performance towards the end with lots of emotion. Nice job. I give it a 9/10. Oh just saw someone with a sign that says "Scotty the Body" and I HATE hearing that. Seriously where did that nickname come from because the kid is 16 and doesn't appear to have a Taylor Lautner-esque physique so it really doesn't fit at all other than the fact that it kinda sort rhymes. Steven likes that he took the song up a notch. Jennifer used the word bravado a lot and said its a great way to start the show. Randy name drops again by saying he produced and recorded that song with Boyz II Men a couple years ago (totally didn't know that at all). Said there were a couple of pitch spots, but says that Scotty's got MONEY. Gets to be his normal excited self at the end of his critique by yelling the last sentence.

Lauren Alaina "Wild One" by Faith Hill- Wow back to back songs that I am familiar with :). Lauren is nervous during her rehearsal with Beyonce. First verse starts off a little quiet, but she gets into it with the chorus. Scotty and Lauren both have a little bit of a growl added into their singing tonight. Guess they have spent too much time with Haley and Casey. Cute outfit Lauren has on tonight :). Good performance, but I liked Scotty better. I give her an 8/10. Jennifer says she needs to attack the song like that every time. Randy says she is her best when she lets herself go. Called it very nice. Steven says she is having fun, singing like she owned the song. Says she's ready for America to be all over her.

Okay is there going to be a commercial break between EVERY song?!?! If I DVR'd this I could totally watch it in an hour!!

Haley Reinhart "What Is and What Should Never Be" by Led Zepplin- Well this is a different choice. She chose it because she grew up with classic rock. Says she is hoping her dad gets to play guitar while she performs tonight. Starts off very seductively. Awww her dad did get to play with her. Bet he is loving that :). Well she is doing good, but I'm not familiar with this song at all so I don't know how it sounds originally. She is moving all around the stage though. She seems extremely comfortable up there tonight. WOW Randy stands up after she sings!!! Haley says "Oh my God" so clearly she is surprised by this also. Steven soon follows. Jennifer apparently never stands. Randy said "this girl is slaying it". Said it was one of her best performances ever. "Ryan Seacrest, Haley is in it to win it". Steven says its not about how many times you fall but how many times you get back up. I was too busy typing this so I didn't see her fall.  Gotta love being able to rewind live TV though :). Poor girl totally fell up the stairs, but good for her for not losing her place in the song. Jennifer says its a sign of a professional to know how to keep going when something happens like that.

Ryan asks who won Round 1. Randy says "hands down Haley". Steven said Haley got her freak on. Jennifer agrees, calls Haley the winner of Round 1. Wow big difference from last week.

Round 2- Jimmy Iovine's Pick

Okay back from commercial and we get a shot of the audience. In the audience is a guy wearing a DOG COSTUME!!! WTF?!?! We get no explanation of this either.

Scotty "Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not" by Thompson Square- We get a flashback to his audition. This is the contestant that earned the "Hell fire save matches, f*ck a duck and see what hatches" from Steven. Loved that Steven didn't know he wasn't allowed to drop f bombs on American Idol. Also loved that Scotty said "Ain't nothing I haven't heard in high school". I am pretty sure I had never heard that expression until then, but okay.  He totally needs to sing "Baby Lock Them Doors" (yes I know that's not the actual title) on the finale. So I love this song, so I am glad he is singing this. Should be good. He is playing guitar on this song. Doing a good job as always. His eyebrow movements kinda irritate me though. Screen shot of Jimmy and he is wearing sunglasses. Guess its bright inside that DARK Idol studio. Nice job by Scotty as always. Steven says he has never heard him deliver a chorus like that before. Sang it real good. Jennifer says she loved so many moments in that performance. She wants him to shave his head for the finale. I like his hair better like this. Randy liked the song choice. Says he is approaching the "Garth" level. "SCOTTY IS IN IT TO WIN IT".

Lauren "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry- After break we get a behind the scenes shot because Lauren's pantyhose ripped so the makeup artist is applying makeup to her legs for shimmer. I'm sure Lauren isn't embarrassed at all. We then get a replay of Lauren's audition but not before we hear Ryan say "Need any help". No Ryan you may not touch the 16 year old girl's legs!!! Loved when she sang with Steven in her audition! This girl has such a bubbly personality!! OMG she was 6 when she first watched American Idol. Wow I feel old!! I love this song too!!! Nice current picks by Jimmy!! Liking this performance better than her first one. Her voice is great on this song, Jimmy was right. Cute outfit once again by her. Really put a lot of emotion into the ending. I loved this entire performance!! Great job!! Jennifer says she has the most beautiful tone of the finalists. Randy said it was another good choice by Jimmy. Says she had a couple stumbles at the end. Steven said she nailed it again. I agree I loved it!!

Haley "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac- I totally forgot Haley's audition. Also forgot that she had auditioned before the previous season. Even after seeing her audition again I don't remember it. She seems to love his choice, she just doesn't want to forget the words. Cute outfit on her too. These contestants look great tonight!! Beginning was good, but can't hear some of the words on the faster part of the song. Don't know if its too upbeat or just she's not singing loud enough. There seems to be a fan blowing on her too. Nice ending. Not bad, but I preferred her first performance. Randy says she did a good job. Perfect pitch, liked the Haley growl at the end. Steven says she sang it beautifully. Jennifer said it was a beautiful moment. Said she thought she would've taken it a little further at the end, but said it was very pretty.

I call Lauren the winner of Round 2. Steven agrees with me. Jennifer and Randy say Scotty.

Now we get a preview of Beyonce's "Run The World" video. Fast forwarding this since it drives me crazy!!

Round 3- Judge's Choice

Okay we are 90 minutes into the show and have only gotten through 6 songs!!

Scotty- "She Believes in Me" by Kenny Rogers. Okay Jimmy and Scotty both picked current songs for him to sing and the judges pick Kenny Rogers?? These judges picks are never too good!! Scotty didn't look too thrilled about it either. This song is too slow for me. He is doing his best with it though. Sounds good. This song was recorded by Kenny in 1978 by the way. Way to pick a 33 year old song for a 16 year old, judges. Well he had nice vocals, but I was honestly completely bored by the song choice. Maybe that will get him the older people votes. Steven said he put it over the top just now. Jennifer said they picked that song because they wanted to see if he could hit that big chorus. Randy said he was sweet and tender and very nicely done. Ryan has Scotty's dad sing "Baby Lock Them Doors" and he sounds just like Scotty. Funny!!

Lauren- "I Hope You Dance" by Leann Womack. Well this song is from 2000 so we are getting more current at least. Aww she has a prom dress on (or something that looks like one). Well I like this song and she is doing good with it, but I don't know if it is what I would've picked. Nice ending. She didn't seem to mess up at all so I will call it an overall good performance. Jennifer says she gave her "goosies from head to toe". Calls her the winner of that round already. Randy name drops again tonight be saying Leann is a good friend. Says she slayed it. Once again she is in it to win it. Okay so they all are so he doesn't need to say that anymore. Steven says she is so at ease with herself. Says Leann is also his friend (that's odd). Says she sang it perfectly.

Haley Reinhart- "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morrisette. Okay now we are back in 1995, but still much better than Scotty's song from 1978. Crystal Bowersox sang this song with Alanis in last season's finale. She had to change the lyric "Will she go down on you in a theater" to "Will she go down WITH you TO the theater". I am sure Haley will be singing that version also if she sings that part of the song. Haley likes the judges song choice. Okay so she sang the "Is she perverted like me" part but changed the next line to "Will she go out with you to the theater" Why would they even pick this song if they have to change the words so it doesn't make as much sense?? Don't know if this performance is really pimp spot worthy. She seems to sing quieter when it gets to a fast paced lyric. Little too much growl for me from her on this song. I did like the ending though. I would have to say her first performance was my fave of hers tonight. Randy said he likes seeing her rock out in a soulful way although there were issues during the faster parts. Once again "she is in it to win it" Seriously Randy, stop saying that!! Steven said she nailed the choruses. Jennifer said it was a good job, but the verses weren't as strong as the chorus.

Winner of Round 3 is Lauren in my opinion. Steven called Haley the winner of round 3. Jennifer says Lauren. Randy goes with Lauren.

Okay so I would have to choose Scotty and Lauren to move on to the finale. Haley was good though so it could be her also. This season is so surprising that it could be anyone in the finale next week. I am ALMOST certain that Scotty will be there though.