Idol Live with Nicole!!! FINALE...WINNNER ANNOUNCED!!!

Okay so let me re-iterate how lackluster I thought last night's finale performance show was. Pretty disappointed by it actually. Wonder if tonight's show will be any better. Surprisingly we haven't really heard of anybody who is supposed to be performing tonight (other than the Top 13). I'm pretty sure they usually announce at least SOME of the performers, but I am almost positive I don't know of a single one. Guess the show should be full of surprises! I am predicting SCOTTY as the winner, although I think Lauren won last night (slightly).

• World Record set...over 122 million votes cast last night! Almost 3/4 of a billion votes this season total.
• Ryan's bow tie is back tonight and Randy seems to have bought one for himself too.
• Lauren and Scotty join Ryan, dressed in all white.
• Lori Loughlin in the audience!!! Its nice that Aunt Becky is supporting DJ :)
• David Cook is also shown in the audience
• Shots of the viewing parties in Lauren and Scotty's hometowns. No former idol there this season to interview audience members
• Top 13 perform "Born This Way". YES! The group numbers are back!! They are all dressed in white and silver. The choreography is actually pretty good and they are lip syncing so I'm not hating it at all!
• James Durbin is the first to perform with Judas Priest. Hmm never thought I'd see them on American Idol. The lead singer is kinda scary, which I'm sure is how its supposed to be. James and he both have on very spiky clothing so if they were to fall into the crowd it would hurt pretty good! Of course there is pyro on stage with James. James' vocals may not be perfect all the time, but he sure knows how to entertain. The finale would have been so much better if he had been in it! Goodness!! Almost got a headache from the end of that! Ryan actually seems speechless after that.
• Now we get a roast of Randy aka "The Veteran". We get clips of Randy's repetitive rhetorical questions. Even Steven, who has only been there for a couple weeks during the auditions, knows what Randy is going to say next. We then get a sarcastic "Randy always knows how to spot the front runner" followed by clips of him SCREAMING "...in it to win it!!!" to Pia, Jacob, Haley, Scotty, Stefano, Lauren, James, and I'm sure some other people that I forgot. Well played video clip people!!!
• Oy, Jacob is next performing with Kirk Franklin. Gladys Knight then joins them on stage. Gladys must have Taio Cruz's mic from last night because hers goes out for a couple seconds too. We get a text number at the bottom of the screen so we can text a $10 donation to Red Cross for Disaster relief. You can text "Red Cross" to 90999 if you are interested in helping. Jacob really needs to sing this genre of music because he is actually not annoying me at all tonight (yet).
• Judas Priest followed by Kirk Franklin...nice diversity there Idol!!
• Casey Abrams performs next....with Jack Black...while singing "Fat Bottomed Girls". Well this isn't the best vocal, but it sure is entertaining. This is just all kinds of surprising tonight. Gospel song followed up by "Fat Bottomed Girls". They are joined by four SKINNY female dancers. OMG, that was just insane :). 
• The ladies (minus Lauren) of the Top 13 perform "Single Ladies". We get to see Karen and Ashton again, who I almost completely forgot about already. Next up is "Irreplaceable". Looks like we are getting a Beyonce medley. Loving Haley during the "If I Were a Boy" segment. Ashton is pretty good too. Pia reminds us that she got voted out WAY too early!! And after singing parts from half of her CD, Beyonce herself is on stage performing "Crazy in Love" with the girls. Group hug at the end of the performance.
• Next up is Steven's aka "The Loose Cannon" video salute and this should be great with all of his bizarre one liners including "Flicka flacka firecracker sis boom bah", "Slap that baby on the A** and call me Christmas", "Whats with the juju bees on your ooh ooh bees", "Hell fire save matches, f*ck a duck and see what hatches (my fave!)". We also get to see him being bleeped a lot and perverted with the (underage) girls. Apparently there was stuff they couldn't broadcast too.
• Haley is next performing with...Tony Bennett??? Well there's just something for everyone tonight now isn't there. Well that was a strange pairing, but they did pretty decent. Ryan lets us know that Tony turns 85 this year.
• Jennifer's aka "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World" package is next. We get clips of various contestants flirting with her. This clip also makes fun of Randy once more since he has to "take credit" for every compliment she gets.
• TLC perform next with Lil Jon and once again some of the ladies of the Top 13. Ahh yes a 90's flashback!!! They perform "No Scrubs" and "Waterfalls".
• Scotty performs "Live Like You Were Dying" with Tim McGraw. This may be my favorite performance so far. Tim was named the "Most Played Artist on the Radio in the last 10 years"
• After commercial, Ryan is with Randy and Steven, but Jennifer is no where in sight....
• Oh good, now we get the bad audition people. First up is the guy who wanted to be a DJ like Ryan. He introduces us to the "Unsung Heroes" segment. We get clips of people's auditions who I am sure I mentioned in my audition posts.
• Marc Anthony performs. No clue what he is singing since it is all in Spanish. Jennifer appears on stage with him, playing the role of some creepy stalker dancer. Girl can dance though.
• Next we get a video of the contestants talking about being eliminated. Casey says America must really hate him because he got eliminated twice. LOL! Stefano says James was the most shocking elimination. Casey doesn't seem to like that answer. He says "Are you kidding me! I was supposed to win it! The magazines said 'Casey's going to win"". They then make fun of his first elimination. Casey says the doctor had to come get him and he dropped the microphone. Casey then makes fun of how James cried when he was voted off. This is seriously some funny stuff. Pia then shows up as Casey and James are arguing with a "Most Shocking" sash on and tiara. HA! Great stuff!!!
• They Top 13 Guys perform a medley. Stefano shows off his high range and his stripper dance moves. Let me just say, he would make a great male dancer :). Paul and his cute, white teethed self then takes over lead vocals. James then sings lead on "What's new Pussycat" and I can't help but hear this song in a perverse way! Scotty joins the guys on stage to sing some old school country song. Did Lauren sing with the girls and I didn't notice?? This is the weirdest medley ever!! Jacob gets his chance in the spotlight next, followed by Casey. I have no clue what half of these songs are, but these guys sure are entertaining. LOVE THEM (most of them)!!!Tom Jones joins them on stage to sing "Its Not Unusual" and I seriously hope they bust out some Carlton Banks dance moves!! THEY DO!!! LOVING THIS FOR REALS!!! Jack Black is doing the Carlton too in the audience!! I seriously loved all of that!
• One last Ford Music Video this season to "Whenever You Remember" and we get a recap of all the Ford videos.
• This year Ford gave the favorite TEACHER of Lauren and Scotty each a trip to the finale. Aww how nice!! Scotty and Lauren then present them both with keys to a brand new Ford Focus. Ryan then tells Scotty and Lauren that they get keys to ANY Ford car that they want! Awesome!!
• Lady Gaga performs "Edge of Glory" and this should be all kinds of interesting. For a Lady Gaga performance, this is actually pretty low key. She forgot her clothes again, but that seems to be normal for her. I'm really liking that song!!
• Lauren performs "Before He Cheats" with Carrie Underwood. She starts off pretty low, but I'm wondering if her voice is still messed up. Love seeing Carrie again!! Steven seems to love seeing Carrie too since she is getting his creepy look of the night.
• Lee DeWyze in the audience!
• We get to hear what the other contestants think about Lauren and Scotty. Starts off nice and sweet and then the guys add some humor. Stefano says "we have two sixth graders in the competition and they're kicking everyone's a**." Paul points out that they can't even go to R rated movies and Stefano says "wasn't American Juniors canceled a while ago". Casey says they are just learning cursive. Casey then adds "Thanks a lot America for making us feel stupid". Loved that too!!
• Beyonce is back to perform her new single "One plus One". I don't know if the lighting is supposed to be this way, but we can't really see her, just a silhouette of her. There we go, now we can see her. Nice job Beyonce!
• Lori Loughlin got a seat closer to the stage than David Cook. NICE!!
• Bono and The Edge perform songs from the Broadway show Spiderman, while Spidey himself flies through the audience. This kid is pretty cute! Looks a little like Kris Allen.
• Steven Tyler performs next. Love me some Aerosmith! He is playing piano too. Its nice his bell bottoms from the 70's still fit him! While listening to him sing "Dream On" all I can think about it Danny Gokey's horrible performance of it. Steven shows him how it's done.
• Time for the winner announcement!!!! The British envelope delivery guy confirms that the results are accurate. Here's to hoping the winner acts just as great when they hear the announcement as Lee did last season!
• THE WINNER OF AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 10 IS......SCOTTY McCREERY!!!!
• Well he didn't almost throw up like Lee did, but he did cry so he passes lol. Big hug from Lauren followed by a group hug. AWWWW he says he and Lauren have been together since Day 1 and they are going to stay together. How cute!!! Totally think those two are an item! Ryan thanks the judges and everyone for "one of our best seasons ever". I agree. The show last night was a little boring, but overall it was a pretty great season.
• While singing, Scotty hugs every member of his family that is there, therefore doesn't get much singing in during it, but its pretty sweet. He then starts laughing and I find that amusing. After hugging every member of his family, he then hugs every member of the Top 13 and tells James "love you man". Then gets to Lauren and says "love you baby" and gives her a nice kiss on the cheek, followed by an extended hug. Proceeds to hug the remaining contestants and judges, thanks everyone "so much", and sits on stage with his head hung down in disbelief and enjoys his confetti shower. LOVED IT!!! The coronation song is always my favorite part!!!

Well there you have it! Season 10 of American Idol comes to a close. Not surprised Scotty beat out Lauren at all since I am sure he had the teens and tweens voting for him like crazy. Kinda bored last night, but a pretty great show tonight. Didn't seem to drag on at all! Nice job!! This is one of my favorite seasons, right up there with Kris' and David's season (I also really enjoyed Jordin's season since Lakisha was from my hometown). Loved a good portion of the contestants and they seem like a fun, entertaining group who actually seem to all love each other. Loved the Stefano/James bromance, and the Lauren/Scotty romance is pretty adorable too. Lots of like able people this season and Scotty seems like a sweet southern gentleman. Hopefully he has a career a little more successful than poor Lee. I am sure Lauren will be fine too, they both will hopefully have good careers at their young ages.

I hope you all enjoyed my Idol recaps! Thanks to everyone for reading, and for those of you who left me some love in the form of comments, I appreciate it greatly!!! Feel free to leave me some more one last time!!!

Idol Live with Nicole!! Top 2!!!

Okay so let me just say how grateful I am that tonight's show is only 1 hour!!! SO HAPPY! However, I do not like them switching the days and making me miss the first hour of the Biggest Loser finale. Seriously Idol producers, you are switching the FINALE after people have watched on Wednesdays and Thursdays since January?!?! Smart move there! I also just read a rumor on Twitter about 20 minutes ago from the TMZ guy that Lauren can't sing tonight because her voice is gone so Haley is replacing her. This better not be true because it would be COMPLETELY unfair. I find it extremely hard to believe!!

To open the show, we get videos of Carrie Underwood when she was 8 and David Cook when he was 10 singing.With the words "When does a dream begin?" flashed on the screen, along with their winning moments. Wonder how they chose those two winners to highlight? We then get a video of Lauren when she was 10 singing and Scotty when he was 8, saying "Please welcome American Idol winner...". Yes he was 8 when he said that on video tape! Makes you feel old huh! We then get Ryan Seacrest introducing the show with a bow tie. Seriously Ryan, you look much hotter in a regular tie!

David Archuleta in the audience!! Judges aren't dressed up tonight. Must be saving the formal attire for tomorrow's show. Nokia theater with 7,000 in attendance!!! Youngest finale match up EVER! Ryan addresses the rumor I posted about in the beginning and Lauren said she is ready to sing and don't worry about it. The doctor comes out and says that during rehearsal Lauren was singing so hard that she blew one of her vocal cords out. He compares it to a runner with a badly sprained ankle. The doctor says she took a lot of medicine and she is going to do great! Three rounds tonight: Contestants favorite of the season, idols song chosen by their "idol", and the song they that will be their first single if they win. Scotty won the coin toss, but let Lauren choose (what a gentleman!). Lauren chose to go second

Round 1: Contestant's favorite performance from the season

Scotty McCreery- "Gone"- Smart choice since this is a fast song and the other two choices from him will probably be slower. Much less energy to start off than when he performed it previously though. Chorus picks up a bit though. Still has the creepy eyebrow movements and the rapper hand gestures though (which I find hilarious). Well it picked up for the second half, but it still wasn't as good as the first time around. I don't know if he was "in it to win it" with that performance. Wonder if Randy will disagree with me. Hmm no judges comments after they sing tonight? Are they saving them for the end or what?? I wonder if the producers just realized that they will all love every performance so they just cut them right out??

Lauren Alaina- "Flat on the Floor"- Just like Scotty, smart move for picking a fast song because I'm sure her other two are slow also. For some reason she starts off stronger than Scotty did, which is strange since she is the sick one.She stays strong for pretty much the entire performance. Sounded a little out of breath at parts, but she tends to sound like that. I'll cut her slack this week since she is sick. Jennifer gives her a standing ovation, followed by Randy. 

It's really strange that the judges aren't commenting. I don't know what that's all about, although I'm kinda liking it!

I will call Lauren the winner of that round!

Round 2- Songs chosen by their "idols"

Scotty- "Check Yes or No" by George Strait. So George Strait picked Scotty's song and it's funny that he picked one of his own songs for him to sing. Not a bad choice though and I'm liking that it is also uptempo. Scotty's playing guitar for this song and I am already liking it better than the first performance.  Wow lots of eyebrow dancing for this song. If you played a drinking game for every time he raised his eyebrows you would be drunk 3 minutes in! Well that was a good performance. Nice vocals by Scotty on that one. Not jumping up and down yet though...

During the commercial break, we not only get our AT&T, Coke, and Ford commercials, but we also get a commercial for Oprah's finale show tomorrow. Which is kind of strange, but okay??

Lauren- "Maybe it was Memphis" by Pam Tillis. Carrie Underwood is Lauren's idol so she chose this song for her. Kudos to Carrie for not picking a song by her self. I think Lauren borrowed Belle's dress from the Beauty and the Beast. It is cute though...Okay her vocals are good, but these performances are really lackluster tonight. I'm not quite sure what's going on, but these contestants don't seem like they are as good as they have been before. Nice ending. Okay I am sick of hearing the Idol theme song music already.  

Okay now we get to hear from the judges for their thoughts on the first two rounds. Randy says that we (America)  did a fine job choosing these two. I am starting to disagree..Says it is so hard tonight, because they are so even. I agree. He liked both of Scotty's performances, but says that Lauren did good on both also. He gives round 1 (by a slight edge) to Scotty and round 2 (by a slight edge) to Lauren. Way to play Switzerland there Randy. Jennifer says it was an explosive start by both of them (okay?). She didn't think Scotty's second song was as dynamic, but thought Lauren's was beautiful. She also gives round 1 to Scotty and 2 to Lauren. Steven gives both rounds to Lauren because "she is prettier" than Scotty. Randy then remembers he hasn't screamed yet tonight and adds "Most importantly, THEY'RE BOTH IN IT TO WIN IT!!!!". Okay they must sound a lot different live than they do on TV. Or the judges don't want to hurt their feelings since they are both so fricking young!!

Well now we get a performance by Taio Cruz. His song "Positive" that viewers helped write. WTF is going on with this show tonight??? His performance at least looks fun. Well it was good until his mic went out for a good 30 seconds of the song. NICE!! Although at first I thought he forgot the words so I guess "technical difficulties" are better. Hmm it goes out a little during the second chorus too. I'm sure it was a good song, if only we could have HEARD it all.

Round 3- Winner's New Single

Scotty- "I Love You This Big". Jimmy says one of Scotty's strengths is his confidence and if he brings that tonight there is no reason that confetti won't be falling on him. Yes that and the thousands of teen and tween girls that vote a thousand times each for him. As he is singing, we get to see a recap of his time on Idol on the screen behind him. Which reminds me that he didn't shave his head like the told Jennifer he would do for tonight. I am glad about that! This isn't a bad song, but I'm not loving it yet. He is singing it well though. Maybe after I have to hear it on the radio for the 80th time I'll like it more. Randy says that the range was great. He once again says "You are in it to win it". I hope he retires that line after this season. Jennifer says he did an amazing job with that song. Steven says he has come a long way. Says he nailed it again.

Lauren- "Like My Mother Does". Jimmy says the lyrics really capture Lauren's journey. Hmm this sounds like a country song, that's for sure. I think I may like this one a bit more than Scotty's, but I'm not sure. Her voice sounds like it breaks a bit when she goes for the big notes, but that's to be expected I guess. Ryan escorts her down the stairs so she can go to her mom. She then hugs and sings to her mom for a few seconds. Nice performance. Aww her parents are crying at the end. Randy says it was an amazing song for Lauren. Says "LAUREN ALANIA HAS ARRIVED AMERICA" and repeats shouts the word amazing a good three times. Jennifer says it was a tight race tonight, but with that song she may have just won (which will make Scotty's fans vote even more). Says it was beautiful and everything it needed to be. Steven says the first time he saw her she was his American Idol and he thinks America will find that to be true. The judges all choose Lauren as the winner for this round (except Jennifer who doesn't choose at all).

My favorite part of the show!!! The sing off song "Don't You Forget About Me" performed by David Cook!!! I seriously love this part! Love seeing a recap of the season in 3 1/2 minutes!!! David Cook is pretty good too :).

Okay well I have to be honest, I don't know what it was, but that was not my favorite finale at all. Maybe it was because they are both so similar in age, genre, and performance style. I think if James had been in the finale it would have been much more entertaining and exciting though. Could be a close race, but I am calling SCOTTY the next AMERICAN IDOL!!! (Even though Lauren won the night!)

Idol Live with Nicole!! Top 3- Results!

Okay so I honestly have no clue who is going home tonight. This season has been too unpredictable for me. I am 95% sure Scotty will be in the finale, but not sure if Lauren or Haley will be joining him. For the sake of guessing, I will say Haley will be eliminated. Obviously I could be completely wrong though. Performing on tonight's show: II Volo (who??), Nicole Scherzinger and 50 Cent. Yes 50 Cent is supposed to be on American Idol tonight. I think his street cred has taken a hit. Here we go!!

• Jimmy says he has a very clear prediction of the finale: There'll be a guy in it. I am thinking like you Jimmy!! Let me say I really like Jimmy. He isn't afraid to play favorites or tell the contestants when they weren't good. Unlike Steven and Jennifer think, not every performance is "beautiful" and Jimmy lets them know that.
• Over 95 million votes cast last night. The highest number for a non finale show. Also 15 million more than last season's finale. Probably because last season was so lackluster
• Scotty, Lauren, Haley, and James all got to meet JJ Abrams and attend a special screening of scenes from the upcoming movie "Super 8". JJ then gives them all Super 8 cameras to film their homecomings with. The top 4 then mock Randy b saying "JJ is in it to win it".
• Elle Fanning (star of the movie Super 8 and also Dakota's sister) is in the audience. She says she loves everyone, but her 6 year old cousin's favorite from the very beginning of the auditions has been Scotty. We also get to see the voted off contestants sitting in the audience while Ryan is talking with her. I see my boy Stefano!!! I also can spot Casey, Paul and Thia. I am assuming they are all there though.
• Haley's hometown visit (Chicago) is shown first. She gets to ride around in a limo with a huge American Idol emblem on it. Seriously, how funny would it be to get one of those and stick it to your car so people thought you were an Idol contestant also!! Poor Haley has rain on her parade...literally. She goes to Wheeling City Hall which is kinda cool because I have actually been to Wheeling, IL before. Of course May 14, 2011 becomes Haley Reinhart day in Wheeling. WOW there security guard she got from Idol is HUGE!! She then gets to reunite with her family before her parade to Wheeling High School. After speaking at the high school she heads off to the racetrack to perform her mini concert. The giant security guard, who looks even bigger next to Ryan, is on stage with Haley after the clip pretending to cry. Seriously, no one better mess with anyone this guy is guarding!
• Ford Music Video this week is "Smile" by Uncle Kracker. LOVE this song. Puts me in a good mood every time I hear it!! Every week these music videos make me want the Ford Focus more!!
• Il Volo perform after the break. They sing in Italian and I don't understand it at all. They're pretty good, but not nearly as nice to look at as Il Divo. That was pretty pointless to me. No offense, but did we run out of English speaking performers to sing on this show?? Where the heck is Kris Allen?!?!?!
• Scotty's hometown visit is next to North Carolina. Up first is a stop at the local radio station. He gets a guy to guard him that's about the same size as him. Nowhere near the level of scariness of Haley's. I love the police escort he has that smiles the entire time too. Scotty has a gorgeous house!! Headed to his high school next. He seems to be an all around athlete so I am sure he was pretty popular before, but I bet everyone in the school wants to be his friend now! Awww he is crying after leaving his high school. My favorite part of the hometown visits is seeing the contestants cry. Seriously. After high school he is off to the grocery store that he used to work at. Can you imagine not knowing that was going to happen and just be trying to get yourself a gallon of milk. After the grocery store is the parade and from the looks of it, all of North Carolina is there. More crying! Josh Turner shows up during Scotty's concert to surprise him on stage while he is singing "Your Man" aka "Baby Lock Them Doors". Josh Turner is HOT!!!! Scotty's reaction is priceless. They sing the song together after that and its pretty great. More crying!!! Okay Scotty's hometown visit is my fave so far this season.
• Nicole Scherzinger and 50 Cent perform "Right There". She is a little scantily dressed, but compared to Lady Gaga last week she is fully clothed. I've got to say, I am not liking tonight's musical performances too much. Although I am completely shocked to see 50 Cent on American Idol...for the entire 30 seconds that he was actually on.
• I just realized the judges aren't getting any screen time tonight. Bet they aren't liking that too much.
• Lauren's hometown (Georgia) is next. She also stops at the local radio station first. She then heads to the local AT&T store followed by a visit to her high school. She also gets her own day in her city. Afterwards she heads to one of the spots that the tornadoes hit and it is really sad. She is crying too, but not happy tears like Scotty so I'm not a fan :(. She then meets a cute little 11 year old boy named Tyler who saved his family from the wreckage. He rescued his baby brother from underneath bricks!! Happy times after that, Lauren's parade. Of course her day also ends with her concert. I'm sorry, she ends her day by throwing out the first pitch at a hometown baseball game.
• Results time!!!!! The first person into the finale is SCOTTY!!!! Jimmy was right...as was I :). The next person in the finale is LAUREN!!!! Well looks like a country singer will win this season eh. Haley is ELIMINATED!! Following her goodbye video, she sings "Bennie and the Jets". I was hoping she would've sang "Rolling in the Deep", but this is fun too. This is the most seductive version I have heard of this song. During her performance, she goes into the audience and we get to see a majority of the Top 12 and I honestly had to think for a few seconds about who some of them were. Big hug from Scotty and group hug with Scotty, Lauren and Haley after the performance. Scotty seems to get along well with everyone. I'm sure he is such a sweet southern guy!!! I honestly believe he was genuine when he said he felt bad about what happened with Jacie back in the Hollywood Rounds.
• Apparently next week's finale is moved to TUESDAY nights for performance and WEDNESDAY night for the results show. Don't forget everyone!!!!

Well Scotty's hometown visit was my favorite and I have to say the music performances were my least favorite this season, but the show seemed to move along quickly. I am betting that Scotty is crowned the American Idol next week. He has never been in the bottom and he seems to have a majority of the teen and tween girl vote which I am betting account for at least 50% of the votes. We will see though!!!

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.

No Idol Live :(

So there won't be any live blogging tonight during Idol. It takes all my attention and I am multi-tasking this week while watching Idol. However you can follow me on Twitter @nikkimbt02 and find out my opinions in 140 characters or less. Idol Live with Nicole will should be back next week though :)

Idol Live with Nicole! Top 5- Results!!

Okay well this post is going to be much shorter than previous ones. I will just be hitting the highlights of tonight's show, no long play by play of every performance. I don't know how many people are still actually reading these recaps, so it's really too much work to type out a detailed report when only a few people actually read it. If you are one of my loyal readers, like Nicole :), than THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

• Top 5 perform "Happy Together". I'm really glad they got rid of the lip syncing. They are much better when they actually sing.
• Ford Music Video to "Be Yourself". Features the Ford Focus that parallel parks itself for you. Totally want that!!
• The Top 5 visit Hell's Kitchen and cook for Gordon Ramsey. The Idols have 10 minutes to make an omelet. This is actually pretty amusing because most of  the omelets look horrible and he actually tells them that. Lauren's actually looks pretty good though and she gets good remarks from Gordon..very impressive!! Jacob then yells "this contest is rigged" which he will probably be saying if when he gets voted off tonight. Lauren wins best omelet and Jacob gets the award of second best. He then jumps up and down and is giddy like a school girl as if he actually just won anything for real. Apparently the contest isn't over as we get a "to be continued...". Gordon should be a judge, he would at least be honest probably. Not tell them they are one of the greatest singers to grace the stage when they just did one of the worst performances ever.  
• Lady Antebellum performs their new song "Just a Kiss". I really like them. They do a nice job. The lead male singer is pretty darn good looking too. Scotty and Lauren look like they are really enjoying it while the rest of the contestants look like they don't really care. They do get a standing ovation from the judges and contestants though.
• The contestants let us know about the song choice process for each of them. They then tell us how they choose what they will wear. This is pretty funny because they all make fun of the plaid jacket Jacob wore last week.
• Results time!!! Ryan tells us we MIGHT be surprised. I better not be surprised Ryan!! Like last week, we once again get to hear Jimmy's opinion of each performance. This is actually nice since he actually will give criticism if it is necessary. Jimmy rated James an 8/10 last night. James is sent to the far side of the stage to start the first group. Jimmy thinks Lauren will be in the bottom 2 because she held back on the highest part of "Unchained Melody" last night, due to fear. Lauren is told to stand on the opposite side of the stage as James. She could actually be bottom 2.
• The continuation of Hell's Kitchen is on now. Jacob and Lauren have to go head to head in a blind taste test to see who can get the most foods right. Jacob says "It's me and Lauren in the top 2". I bet that is his hope for the actual show and not this little cooking competition. Lauren wins because Jacob doesn't get "hot dog" right. He thinks it is sausage or pepperoni. After finding out it was hot dog, Jacob says "Hot dog is a type of sausage". I will not make a comment there...Gordon tells them they all have great futures in the restaurant business...as customers.
• Jennifer Lopez performs "On the Floor" with Pitbull. Kudos to Jennifer for actually singing and not lip-syncing like Paula Abdul did. Lots of dancing too. Nice job by Jennifer. I actually enjoyed that :). After commercial we also get a teaser of Jennifer's new music video for "I'm Into You", which features a very buff, good looking guy!
• More results!!! Jacob is up next and he better be in which ever group is the bottom. OMG the recaps are a reminder of how horrible he was last night. Jimmy said he had a rough night (ya think!). Jimmy thinks he was a 6/10 last night. Jacob joins Lauren. Basically wherever Scotty goes is the top I'm sure. Which is why Haley is next. He gives Haley a 10 for last night. I give her a 9. Haley joins James. Scotty is next. Jimmy says he will have an extraordinary career whether he wins this show or not. Scotty is SAFE!!! Ryan lets us know he was NOT in the bottom 2 last week (told ya!). He is forced to pick the group he thinks is also safe. This happens every season. Of course he says he can't do it so Ryan pushes him to James and Haley. Scotty lets us know this since he says to Haley "no he pushed me". James, Haley, and Scotty are all SAFE!!! Jacob and Lauren are BOTTOM 2!! Poor Lauren is crying. Ryan tells us "Please, don't move".
• FINAL RESULTS!!! Lauren is still crying. THE PERSON GOING HOME IS..........JACOB!!!! YAY!!!!! So happy about this!! Jacob says "I think America has fallen in love with me". Well this American hasn't. Can't speak for the rest of the country though. Jacob sings "A House is Not a Home" as his sing out song. I'm guessing to remind us that he is the next Luther Vandros. His sing out performance was actually pretty good....until the ending, which was just over the top.

Okay so I am happy by tonight's results (obviously). A little surprised by Lauren being in the bottom 2, but the only thing that would really surprise me now is if someone other than Scotty and James ended up in the finale.

Idol Live with Nicole! Top 5!!

Good news...we are down to the five remaining contestants. Bad news, the show is still 90 minutes long because tonight the contestants are singing two songs. Don't get me wrong, I love the show, but I'm ready for it to only be an hour. I don't need to hear two songs from each one. Tonight's theme is "Then and Now" "Now and Then". Contestants will be singing a song from today (don't know what "today" actually means though) and a song from the 60's.

Ryan starts off the show by letting us know that Top 5 week is one of the most important weeks. Randy tells us this is true because the judges, as well as America, is wondering who is in it to win it. I was wondering that from the beginning, but I guess Randy is just wondering now. Sheryl Crow is the mentor this week with Jimmy. She thinks tonight will be the most interesting show. It has to be better than last week's that's for sure.

James Durbin- "Closer to the Edge" by 30 Seconds to Mars- OMG this song is currently a hit on the radio TODAY. Amazing! Jimmy said what he heard on this song during his rehearsal is really promising to his future. Okay James is probably my fave contestant left, but this isn't his strongest performance. Starts off kinda quiet actually, which is strange for him. He is walking through and high-fiving half the audience though. Chorus is better than the first half. His trademark scream is added in the middle. Second half is much better than the first. Really surprised by the lack of props for this song...although there was pyro at the end. Not bad, but not my fave of his. Steven said he kicked the song's ass. Jennifer said the past few weeks he has been showing America he wants it. Randy fills us in on who 30 Seconds to Mars is (Jared Leto's band). I'm thinking more people recognize that song than last week's selections. (I know I do at least). Says "James is in it to win it" and then adds a bunch of hyper nonsense. Wonder how many times he will say that tonight.

Jacob Lusk- "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. Jacob says he thinks he can win this, but still feels like an underdog. I don't think he can. I am betting he will be bottom 2 this week, before he even sings. Okay his rehearsal is not good. Why isn't he singing the lower register Chris Brown part?? Oh apparently he is going to sing both parts. OMG the beginning is horrible!!! Way too high pitched!! Pitchy too! Horrible dancing too. Wow this isn't getting better at all. I sincerely hope this is the worst performance we hear tonight because it was absolutely awful! He's all smiles afterwards though. Jennifer says there is no doubt that his voice is one of the best that has ever been on the stage. Okay WTF??? Is she hearing something different than me. I can think of at least five people who are better than him without thinking more than 10 seconds! She says he needs to pick songs that represent him better. Randy says he is one of the greatest singers here but that isn't the direction for him. Said it was corny and most of it was sharp. He doesn't see him as Chris Brown or Jordin Sparks. Says he needs to be the new Luther. Okay I like Luther, but I don't think Jacob is him at all! Steven is waiting to find Jacob's niche. Says he did a great job. Okay that was the worst feedback ever. Jacob says he thinks he is an artist that appeals to everybody. Um NO!! Back talks a little to Randy, which hopefully will get him voted off. People tend to not like when the contestants get too cocky.

Lauren Alaina- "Flat on the Floor" by Carrie Underwood. Okay somehow I have never heard this song. Well this is her niche, so of course she is doing pretty good. Lots of energy and she looks good. Cute outfit. Ending was a tad rough, but pretty good overall. Very confident with her performance this week. Randy says that is the direction for her. DUH Randy!!! He thought it was amazing. Says "Lauren is in it". Is that different than "in it to win it"??? Steven said he thinks she's it, the sky is the limit. Jennifer says she has to rise to the top like that every time.

Scotty McCreery- "Gone" by Montgomery Gentry. Sheryl told him he has a big career in front of him. Starts off walking through the audience. He's got his deep babylockthemdoors voice going in the beginning. Goes a little higher after the first verse though. He also has a lot of energy tonight. Well this is also his niche, so he is doing pretty great. Best of the night so far. Very fun performance. He is in it to win it!! Steven says up until now he has been a Puritan, but he saw him dance with the devil tonight. That's a good thing apparently. Jennifer said he owned the stage. She liked the growling. Says that's American Idol stuff there! Randy felt like he was sitting at a Scotty concert. Yells "This guy's in it to win it too"!!!! Okay so everyone is in it so far except Jacob. Agreed!

Haley Reinhart- "You and I" by Lady Gaga. Let me just say that I have LOVED the Adele song Haley did a couple weeks ago ever since I heard it by her. Great choice!! This week she is doing an un-released Lady Gaga song. She got Lady Gaga's blessing to do this song. Well she doesn't have the same tone as Lady Gaga, but she is doing pretty good with this song. Just the right amount of growling. I'm liking it a lot. I liked the first half better than the second, but still pretty good throughout. Jennifer loved the end, but she isn't sure about doing that song. Seriously?! She liked Jacob, but she didn't like that?? Randy said it's not that great of a song. Wow burn to Lady Gaga. Says its risky to do songs that not a lot of people know. Seriously?! What about last week's theme? WTF was that?! Says that song didn't do her any favors. Steven said he loved it. Says she is one perfect song away from being the American Idol. Well the judges threw her under the bus (except Steven). Guess they want her gone. 

James Durbin- "Without You" by Mariah Carey Harry Nilsson. Okay James is a hard rocker, heavy metal guy one week and then crying to songs the next. Very vast range of emotions there. Says this song reminds him of when his fiance and son come to visit and then have to leave. If he cries during the performance that will just get him bonus points. Starts off pretty nicely. Okay well I am used to hearing this song by Mariah Carey so of course she goes for the big notes. James isn't doing that so it sounds different than I'm used to. Not bad, just different. Not my favorite by him this time either, but he had some tears at the end so that will get him even more votes than normal. And yes my lovely readers, I am aware that a couple weeks ago I said if Jacob cried during his performance it would annoy me. Clearly I am biased :). James cries a good couple minutes at the end. Randy said for him to give a vocal like that was emotionally perfect even though it wasn't vocally perfect. Says this competition is his to lose. I agree. I think James will be in the final two no doubt. Steven says that was as beautiful as it gets although it was pitchy. Jennifer says everyone knows he can sing, but he has the heart and soul to back it up. Says he is amazing.

Jacob Lusk- "Love Hurts" by Nazareth. Jacob didn't like the song until he heard Sheryl sing it. I am not looking forward to this performance at all. Okay this is way too high for me. Although it is better than the last performance by him so kudos to that. Now we drop down 8 octaves and then jump up 10 and now back down 8. WTF?! I'm not liking it anymore and he totally just cracked. He is now stomping his foot on the stage to add emotion...and screaming. The backup singers sounded good though. Oh good, one last shriek at the end. That was horrible!! Steven says he got lost in the song a little, but said was a beautiful thing. Says everyone got lost in him. Umm no Steven, not everyone! Jennifer says he brings out the tricks at the end. Says it was really good. Randy says he redeemed himself on that song. Says very nice job, congrats. Okay I am completely aware that I don't like Jacob, but was I hearing something totally different than the judges. I found that horrible!!

Lauren Alaina- "Unchained Melody" by Righteous Brothers. Starts off great, but anything has to beat the performance before hers. Love the prom dress she is wearing too! Middle isn't as good as the beginning, but the end is pretty nice. Lots of slow songs for the second half of the show. Beautiful vocals by Lauren. Jennifer says it was beautiful. Randy says she can sing like a bird. He likes this other side of her. Steven says her voice is so ripe. Says he can listen to her all night.

Scotty McCreery- "Always On My Mind" by Elvis Presley. I'm not gonna lie. I didn't know Elvis did this song, I remember hearing it from Willie Nelson. Well this starts out beautifully!! This could be my new favorite of the night. It's not perfect the entire time, but pretty close to it. I loved it!! Jennifer says he shows what a well rounded artist he is. Called it beautiful. Randy says he is their youngest veteran. Says if its not broke don't fix it (unless of course its "too safe"). He loved it. Steven says America loves his voice. Called it a beautiful rendition of that song. Says everyone has been s great tonight. NOOO not everyone!!

Haley Reinhart- "The House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals. Well she gets the pimp spot, but the judges also threw her under the bus earlier. Okay I totally know someone did this a season or two ago and did great with it, but can't remember who. Help me out readers!!! Starts off acapella and hopefully continues that way. Very nice. Thought she was gonna have a Bo Bice performance there, but of course the music kicks in. She is making this very seductive. Is it supposed to be seductive?? Loved the ending though!!! Nice job Haley!! Wow standing ovation from the judges!!! Randy says she gets the award for the best performance of the night. Called it amazing. Steven said she sold it to everybody tonight. Jennifer said that song has never been sang like that before.

Fave of the night: Scotty and Haley

Bottom 2: Jacob and Haley with Jacob being eliminated (hopefully). Haley doesn't deserve to be in the bottom especially after the last performance, but I can't see James, Scotty or Lauren being in it.

So tell me this (in the comment section pretty please!): Am I the only one who thought Jacob was completely horrible tonight??? Who was your fave of the night?? Who sang "House of the Rising Sun" in a previous season??

Leave me some love!!!

YouTube Tuesday!!!

A while back I posted a cover of the song "Love the Way You Lie", which I just loved. You can find that post HERE. Well I discovered yet another great cover featuring Tyler Ward, who was featured in that first video. This time it is a cover of the song "Price Tag" by Jessie J. and B.O.B. Love it!!! Check it out and let me know what you think!!