After letting it sink in for the night, listening to what others say and reflecting on the season, I still think Scotty McCreery deserves to be American Idol.  I remember thinking, and Michaela Johnson reminded me of this, that he may be a one-trick pony with his country music.  However, that’s what he is…only a country music singer.   However, no one has grown as much as Scotty this season.  He was stiff at first, which bothered me, but did you see his “Gone” performance in the Final Two performance night? It was outstanding!!!

Scotty McCreery learns that he is the next American Idol during the season ten American Idol Finale

Look at his audition, then watch his “Gone” performance.  You will see his growth through the entire season.  It was phenonmenal growth for a 17 year old, in my opinion.  To understand why he is Amerian Idol, you need to include that growth with his near perfect delivery with every song; his likeability; his singing of a very popular musical genre; and his appeal to who mainly votes…young girls.

For the first time in a few seasons, America got it right!  David Cook rightfully won in Season 7, but Adam Lambert and Crystal Bowersox should have won the following two seasons.

 Now, another winner is MEEEEEE! Deanna Cruz from Hot 106 and I have had this contest to see who could pick who gets voted off every week.  Loser does the winner’s job.  After last night, we were tied, but we had the envelopes….quite a few weeks ago we each wrote on a piece of paper who we thought would be the winner.  We put our picks in an envelope to be opened after the finale.  Well, Deanna picked James Durbin…a good choice but WRooooooooNG! I picked Scotty McCreery.  Pretty good, eh? (Patting myself on the back).   Now Deanna Cruz will be meteorologist for the day…date to be determined.  Deanna Cruz recently got her own morning show on Hot 106, Rise and Grind.  My congrats to her and Vezzy Parmesan for the new gig. 

So….on to Season 11 of American Idol.  Tryouts begin next month in St. Louis, amazingly.  For next year, Ryan Seacrest will be back.  Steven Tyler will be back.  Randy Jackson is coming back.  The only person in question is Jennifer Lopez who, according to Fox News, says it is “too early to tell if she willl be back”.  I hope so.  I thought she did a good job.  I think they need a villainous type of judge, however…someone like…oh Simon Cowell.

If you need your Idol fix before then, they are coming to Providence on August 27 and to Mohegan Sun on September 3.  Tickets are on sale now!!!

                                             Scotty McCreery is your Season 10 American Idol. 

Season 10 American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery with Tim McGraw

Easily, he was one of the best singers to ever be on the American Idol stage.   He follows in the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen and Lee Dewyze.  I think he is better than half those people. 

Talent-wise, this was one of the best seasons ever.  The Top 13 featured a wide variety in the types of singers:  R&B, pop, jazz, blues, ethnic, metal rock, rock, soft rock…and, of course, country.   With the exception of one or two contestants, these singers hit just about every note, every night.  I found that incredible!! 

Scotty McCreery was even more incredible than the rest!  We saw Scotty grow through the season.  He blew the judges away in his audition….and he was consistent through Hollywood week, Group Singing and his Top 24 Performances.  Country fans love Idol.  Young girls love cute boys.  He was a very good singer.  For all of those reasons, Scotty won.

Could Lauren Alaina have won? Yes, but not against Scotty.  If she happened to be up against Haley or James Durbin, then she would have won.  Her likeability factor would have given her the title.  

In the bet between Deanna Cruz from Hot 106 and me, the score is now tied 2 to 2.   A few weeks ago, we put in sealed envelopes who we thought would win.  Will the tie be broken with what is in those envelopes?  Did one of us pick Scotty to win it all…..many weeks ago? Find out on the Rhode Show beginning at 8am on Fox Providence.  The loser gets to do the other person’s job.

So far so good!!

8:15pm…Judas Priest and James Durbin…pretty predictable…but very good.

8:28pm:  Casey and Jack Black! Classic “Fat Bottom Girls” by Queen.  Never expected that!!! Just looking at Jack Black makes me laugh.  Actually, now that I think about it….so does Casey.  He looks like Will Ferrell with a beard.

8:30pm:  Top 13 Girls.  Some of these girls don’t even belong in the Top 13, in my opinion.  I actually had to look up the names of some of them. 

Shocker! Beyonce is there with the girls.  I always thought she dances weird…like a robot.  What do I know?  Good performance overall…the Top 13 girls were shown up by Beyonce, however.  Who wouldn’t be?

8:42pm:  Haley and Tony Bennett together…perfect combination.  Hope this song picks up though…little boring.  It didn’t pick up.  Yawn.

8:48pm:   Is this TLC? Wow!  Glad they are still at it!

8:50pm:  Scotty and Tim McGraw! Wow! What a treat for Scotty.  Where’s Faith Hill, Tim?

8:58pm:  I actually get bored with these look backs.  Although the guy landing on top of the other guy with the camera is like watching a car wreck…can’t turn away, but want to.

9:01pm: Marc Anthony…gee I wonder if J-Lo will join him. 

Marc Anthony kinda looks like Jimmy Smits.  Glad J-Lo’s booty made it on for too long of a time.

9:07pm:  Casey is on again and I’m laughing.  His bit with James Durbin is hysterical.

9:11pm:  Top 13 Guys.  Definitely was a guy’s year as far as depth in talent.  It’s evident here….who will join them on stage I wonder.  Bono maybe?

Ladies and Germs….Tom Jones…ugh.

9:22pm:  Lady Gaga time.  Okay song.  Not very catchy…I’ll give a few listens though. 

Kinda glad that song was on late.  I don’t want my little kids seeing all that.  Is that really necessary on this show?

9:32pm:   It’s about time we see Lauren Alaina…and there’s Carrie Underwood.  Love her. 

Good performance by the two Idols.

9:36pm:  Ohhhh.. Do I HAVE to watch Beyonce again? Okay, I will.  A ballad? On an Idol Finale? zzzzzzz.

9:49pm:   It’s our friendly neighborhood Spiderman!

I’d pay to go see that on Broadway.

9:55pm:  Stephen Tyler….still got it at age 62!!!! Wow.

10:02pm:  Scotty! Well deserved!

He was the clear-cut best singer of the season!!! Congrats to Lauren, though.  She will have a fantastic career!

WOW! What a Final 2 Performance Night that was.  Never have I seen the Top 2 perform like Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery did last night.   Put it this way, I think the two made David Cook, who also sang last night, look bland.  David Cook, of course was the Season 7 winner of Idol.

Lauren Alaina during the American Idol Final 2 Performances

Based just on performances last night, I would give Lauren a slight edge to be the next American Idol.    

The first round, selections from the season, was really a toss up.  Although, Scotty REALLY came alive with that song.  I can see him on stage, performing to sold out crowds with that performance of “Gone”.  Lauren’s version of “Flat on the Floor” was outstanding! The second round, contestants’ Idol choice, was a toss up to me.  The third round, the Idol’s first single, put Lauren on top.  Lauren Alaina, the Southern Belle, was already battling voice issues.  She may get some sympathy votes there.  Her hug with her mother even made me weepy (a little).  The song, “Like My Mother Does” was outstanding and could give her the Idol crown.

Scotty McCreery sings in the American Idol Final 2 Performances

However, I still think that Scotty McCreery is going to be your next American Idol, but I’d be happy with Lauren, too.   Scotty has been consistent, but also grew through the season.  I don’t think I ever heard a sour note from him.  His performances have been nearly flawless.  I think he proved to me last night that he has star power, especially with his “Gone” performance.  We’ve seen him be tender and we’ve seen him have fun.   In the try outs he seemed like a little boy with a big voice.  Now he seems like a man ready to shine.  I think Scotty will be your next American Idol.

The Final Two…another Georgia/North Carolina match up with Lauren and Scotty in the

The Final Two: Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery

Finale.  That is just like in Season 3 when Diana DeGarmo (Georgia) battled Fantasia (NC) in the finals.  North Carolina won THAT battle,  and I suspect that NC will win this round, too.

Last night was fairly enjoyable, for an elimination show.   I have to admit, I usually only watch the end of elimination nights because that’s all I’m really interested in.  They usually bring out a bunch of popular singers who Simon would have had a field day with if he could judge them.   I tuned in for most of last night’s show.

Il Volo Sings "O Sole Mio" on the Idol stage

I LOVED watching Il Volo, an Italian trio of singers who sang “O Sole Mio”, a classic Italian song which was brought up to date by the three hot young singers.  They were great! Also, maybe it was great because the song translates to “My Sun”, which is what Southern New Englanders should start singing to try to get it back.  But I digress…

Haley was the one leaving us last night.   Any one of the three Finalists could have won it all.  Obviously, one of them had to go.  Most “Idol Experts” expected  Lauren and Scotty to split the country vote.   They probably still did, but apparently they also got the vote of everyone else.  Haley wasn’t well-liked in recent weeks.  Some of my Facebook friends described her as being a “snob” or a “brat”.  Others think she is a big baby. 

No matter your opinion, the girl can sing.  I could make the argument that she sings better than Lauren and Scotty.  What Haley should have done to sneak herself into the Final 2 was sing a Country song on Wednesday night.   Some of those country supporters could have defected.  I think she actually is a little bit country….and a lot of Rock ‘n Roll.

So who is going to win it all? I think that Scotty has the MAJOR edge here.  On DialIdol.com he has been the one person who has been safe for weeks now.  He’s a wholesome,  young boy who young girls love.   However, Lauren is young, sweet and pretty.  Young girls (who do most of the AI voting) do like young, sweet, pretty girls, too.  My decision is made, however, Scotty will be your next American Idol. 

Haley Reinhart in Shock after Her Idol Elimination

The contest between Deanna Cruz of Hot 106 and me continues….and not very well.  The score is still 2-1, Deanna.  My only point came when Jacob Lusk was voted out….that was an easy pick! Deanna picked Scotty, and I picked Lauren to go last night.  We were both wrrrrrrong…AGAIN!  So it continues into the Finale.  We both also thave the magical envelopes where we picked the final winner a few weeks ago.  Those envelopes are worth 2 points. 

Next week, the Final 2 compete on Tuesday night and the AI Finale is on Wednesday night on Fox Providence.

Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina and Haley Reinhart.  Any  one of them could be your next American Idol.

Unlike in past seasons, there really is no clear cut Top 2.  In just the previous 2 years, it was becoming obvious that we would see Adam and Kris, and Lee and Crystal.  This season, it isn’t as easy to spot the best talent.

Scotty McCreery singing in the Top 3

Overall, Season 10 has featured amazing talent.   Some were voted off too soon (Pia), some stuck around too long (Thia) and some belong in the Top 3, like the Top 3 we saw last night:

Haley Reinhart singing in the Top 3

Scotty has grown throughout the contest.  He started off as a no-nonsense country crooner to a good ol’ boy who isn’t afraid to have a little fun.  Wednesday night, he had some safe performances, but all were flawless.  My favorite was “Amazed” by Lonestar.  He showed a little more emotion and it was flawless.  I’m not a big country fan, so hearing a song which is familiar to me is nice.

Lauren isn’t afraid to have a little fun, as we saw with “Wild One” by Faith Hill.  Her voice is so smooth and natural and nearly flawless…she showed that off with “If I Die Young”.   The judges’ choice of “I Hope You Dance” was a lazy pick.  Of course she would sing that song well!!!

Haley Reinhart has been the bucking bronco of the competition.  She has ignored her critics and battled with Randy (who is actually a pussy cat).    Wednesday night, she stood out for me.   “What is and What Should Never Be” was outstanding…even when she tripped (she continued like a true professional).  Her Fleetwood Mac song was her own.  Unlike Scotty and Lauren, she knows how to make a song her own.  But, even though she didn’t do much to it, her Alanis Morissette was outstanding.  I miss the growl, Haley.  That’s your trademark.  Give me a little in those songs!!!!

Lauren Alaina in the Top 3

Who will be your Top 2? I say Scotty and Haley.  The country vote will be split between Scotty and Lauren and Scotty has a HUGE fan-base.  I think Scotty will win the battle, and Haley will get the non-country vote.

Deanna Cruz from Hot 106 chose Scotty to go home.  THAT would create an interesting finale…two women with very different styles.

Deanna and I have a bet going on.   We are picking who goes home every week.  The score is 2 to 1, Deanna.  We apparently aren’t good at this.  The loser of the contest does the other person’s job.  I don’t want to be a radio DJ.

You can catch Final 3 results show tonight on Fox Providence.

but, overall, not as good as the guys.   There was only one highlight last night from the girls.  Pia was THE highlight.  Others were good, but didn’t stand out as much.

Ta-Tynisa Wilson (when did we add the hyphen?).  She sang Rihanna’s “Only Girl in the World”.  I’m think Rihanna should be the only girl singing this song.  Ta-Tynisia was very pitchy/screechy in the beginning.  The rest was so-so.

AMERICAN IDOL Top 24: Pia Toscano

Naima Adedapo sang “Summertime”  and it was very good! She showed good range with high notes and smooth jazzy tones in other places.  She wasn’t the best of the night, but one of them.

Kendra Chantelle: Kendra sang “Impossible” by Christina Aguilera.  Hey, at least Kendra remembered the words.  She delivered a strong performance and showed good vocal range with a nice, yes Randy, vibrato. 

Rachel Zevita:  I wasn’t expecting much from Rachel, but she delivered the goods last night.  The judges didn’t like her “Criminal” by Fionna Apple, but I did.  It was a memorable performance, not perfect though. Some notes weren’t hit perfectly, but it was strong.  I liked her walking around the stage.  I liked it when she threw the cape off of her right in the beginning.  Was it Broadway-like? Definitely.  They kept saying that about Adam Lambert, too.  I think I liked this performance because I wasn’t expecting much from her.

Karen Rodriguez.  I disagree with the judges big time here.  Karen sang Mariah Carey’s “Hero” in English and Spanish.  I have to admit, I wasn’t sure if she was forgetting the words when she was singing in Spanish.  I liked the idea of the English/Spanish mix, but I don’t think she pulled it off.  I thought it was karaoke.  She didn’t hold onto the big notes as long as I’d like to hear.   The one highlight from Karen’s song was near the end when she sang “you-ooo-OOOO”.  It was very pretty, but that’s the only thing pretty about the song.  The judges were excited about the bi-lingual approach and didn’t really talk about the actual quality much. 

Lauren Turner:  I don’t remember seeing much from Lauren thus far, but I was impressed.  She sang “Seven Day Fool” with about us much energy and power as you can give a song.  The voice quaility was good, she hit all the notes….it was fun to watch.  I wish she would have smiled more, however.  She looked like she was in a bad mood.

Ashton Jones sang “Love Over Me”.  I love her Diana Ross hair! She doesn’t quite have the power of Ross, but she sang Monica very well.  She has great stage presence and there’s a lot of potential here.

Julie Zorilla:  “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson.  I don’t think her voice is powerful enough for this song, but it was close.  There was a bad note or two near the end, but it was very good overall.  She didn’t add anything new to the song and she may be forgotten as a result.  On a side note:  I’m no fashion expert, but that dress looked like a prom dress that got waaaay to small for her.

AMERICAN IDOL Top 24: Haley Reinhart

Haley Reinhart:  Haley sang Alica Keys’ “Fallin’ “.  I love Haley.  I’m not going to hide it.  She didn’t do much with this song, but I think that this is where she belongs as far as song choices.  This performance was solid, she hit every note.  I disagree with Randy, it wasn’t Karaoke.  The judges weren’t overly impressed, but I was satisfied.  I got a growl or two….I’m satisfied.

Thia Megia.  I did not like this or get this performance.  I already forgot about it.

Lauren Alaina:  She’s 16? Really? Wow.  She sang a Reba song and knocked it out of the park.  It was fun to watch, but a little more range wouldn’t hurt her. 

Pia Toscano:  This is the girl to watch.  She sang the Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You”.  It was stunning.  She was poised, strong and tender.  She put her own little spin on it and got a rare standing-o from the judges.  It was hot, baby, hot!

Here are my power rankings for the girls:

1. Pia Tascano
2. Naima Adedapo
3. Lauren Alaina
4. Laruen Turner
5. Haley Reinhart

6. Kendra Chantelle
7. Ashton Jones
8. Karen Rodriguez
9. Julie Zorilla
10. Rachel Zevita
11. Thia Megia
12. Ta-Tynisa Wilson

The top 5 vote getters for the women move through to next week, and some wild cards will advance, too.

You can watch the Results show tonight at 8pm on Fox Providence.

Clint, Jovany, Jordan, Tim, Brett, James, Robbie, Scott, Stefano, Paul, Jacob and Casey all stepped to the hallowed American Idol stage last night.   And……wow!

At this point in the competition, you need to stand out! You falter here and you are gone.  This year, things are very different.  The Top 5 vote getters from each gender will go through, and then there will be some wild cards chosen by the judges.  I don’t feel comfortable about this.   America doesn’t always get the vote right.  Let’s hope they do this time, because some of the best may get thrown to the way side.

So….let’s go quickly through the Top 12 Guys.   

AMERICAN IDOL Top 24: James Durbin

Clint Gamboa:  This karaoke singer sang “Superstition” very well.  It wasn’t karaoke at all.  It’s a song that’s over-used on Idol, but he had a very good, strong voice with good (not great) stage presence.  I thought it was a good way to start the show.

Jovanny Barreto: He sang “I’ll Be” ….I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if I haven’t heard this song about 50 times on Idol.  Anyway, I thought his voice was being drowned out by the musical accompaniment.  With that said, this performance was a borderline train wreck.  The judges loved it, but I think when they re-listen, they’ll change their minds.  He seemed to hit too many notes awkardly.  Jovanny has a great voice, but this didn’t work for him.

Jordan Dorsey:  He sang “Usher”? Really? OMG.  No really, he sang “OMG”.  This is a certifiable train wreck in my opinion.   This was horrible.  Enough said.

Tim Halperin:  Tim sang ”Streetcorner Symphony (Come On Over)”.  I had big hopes for Tim.  I like his voice…a lot.  This was not good.  From a shaky falsetto to a flat Bflat (I think), it was not good at all.  If he’s around next week, he needs to stay within himself, be memorable and have fun.

Brett Lowenstern:  The fired up red head sang “Light My Fire”…and it was HOT! I wanted him to open up and belt it out more than he did, but I was very pleased with this performance.

Robbie Rosen:  I’ve got to be  honest, I didn’t recognize the song at first.  Robbie sang “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan.  Until he got to the chorus I was lost.  I thought his voice couldn’t carry some of the more tender notes.  He probably will be forgotten this week.

Scott McCreery:  Scott is a country singer.  There’s no gettin’ around that.  He sang “Letters from Home”.  I thought each note was perfect and crisp.  While sitting on stool under a spotlight, he delivered a strong performance.   I felt it was a little boring at times, but don’t get me wrong…it was stellar.  He probably could’ve belted out a big note in the middle somewhere, but his end note was perfect!

Stefano Langone:  Hmmm….”Just the Way You Are”.  If he stays just the way he was last night, we won’t be seeing him by the end of March.  I thought the performance was strong, but his one high note was shreeky.  When you go and try to grab your big moment with a high note, you’d better nail it! He can do better.

Paul McDonald: Another one who I had high hopes for.  He sang “Maggie Mae”.  He didn’t quite pull this off.  It was very Karaoke-sounding.  I love his voice though, but it didn’t fit this song.  

AMERICAN IDOL Top 24: Jacob Lusk

Jacob Lusk:  I feel my words can’t accurately grasp this performance.

Casey Abrams:  I feel my words CAN accurately grasp THIS performance.  It was amazing! He sang ” I Put a Spell On You”, and he mixed it up with his raspy, bluesy voice.  He’s very entertaining!  However, I can’t help but look at him and think of Will Ferrell with a beard.

Okay, here are my Power Rankings for this week from best to worst.  Keep in mind, the top 5 vote getters definitely move on.

1. Jacob Lusk
2. James Durban
3. Casey Abrams
4. Scott McCreery
5. Brett Lowenstern

6. Clint Gamboa
7. Stefano Langone
8. Jovany Barreto
9. Robbie Rosen
10. Paul McDonald
11. Tim Halperin
12. Jordan ‘OMG’ Dorsey

My top 5 should be the Top 5 vote getters, but who knows what America will do?

You can watch the Top 12 Girls perform tonigth on Fox Providence beginning at 8pm.

Ciao for now!

The Top 24 are now set. 

Here’s the list from American Idol

Are you surprised about some who didn’t make it?  I think most of the decisions were fair.  As we got to see the singers a little more, the cream rose to the top.  

My early favorite to take it all? Tough one, but I’m partial to James Durbin and Haley Reinhart at this point in time. 

Who do you think will be the next American Idol?

So for the first time ever, the American Idol hopefuls left Hollywood to sing in Vegas.  I’m still wondering why.  I’ll tell you what I didn’t enjoy…the stage performances…smoke, lights, beds..yeah beds.  What was that all about? Can’t we just have them sing at this point in time? 

Anyway, the singers sang the Beatles and outside of one performance, I didn’t really enjoy it at all.  The only one good performance was  xxxx.

The combo of Jerome, Tatynisa and Lakeisha was entertaining but the only singer with any potential was Tatynisa.  As a group, they were Gawd-awful!  I’m not sure what Stephen Tyler heard, it was a small train wreck. 

I thought Paul and Kendra had a delightful rendition of “Black Bird”.  The two of them harmonized well together.  Paul has a great voice, but I’m curious to see how he handles some bigger notes.  Kendra has a great sultry voice.  I like them both.

I was awaiting Haley Reinhart and Jacob Lusk’s performances, because I enjoy both of their voices.  I was a little scared to see them both together with Naima Adedapo.  Naima rocked, Haley’s voice seemed to falter at one point and Jacob’s voice seemed to struggle (maybe too high an octave for him?), dunno.   The judges disagree with me…how dare they?  I didn’t like this group together. 

Another memorable peformance was delivered by Tim Halperin and Julie Zorilla.  Tim’s voice was stunning and Julie was strong and confident, and together they were remarkable in “Something in the Way”.

Hands down worst performance of the night was “Hard Days Night” from Chris Medina and Casey Abrams….the jumping up and down the bed was horrible….and SPOILER ALERT….Chris Medina gets sent home after that display of weirdness.

On that note, yes Medina left to a teary eyed J-Lo.   I think Medina went as far as he could go in this competition.  Ashley, now a newlywed (bizarre stuff there, huh?), also went home….and tonight we get the rest of the Top 24.  Can’t wait!

You can watch American Idol tonight on Fox Providence beginning at 8pm.