Artists of the Year - Katy Perry

Katy Perry

2010 was such an amazing year for Katy Perry that it would seem almost impossible for 2011 to be even better, but this girl is on FIRE and that's exactly what happened.

Katy started out the year at #1 with her single Firework, the third single from her album Teenage Dream, that hit #1. The outstanding video for the song ended up getting named the Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards and the song is also nominated for the Grammy for Record of the Year.

This exceptional song, Firework, has connected with so many people because it so wonderfully conveys to all of us that nobody is perfect. We are all made up of our own unique imperfections that we must struggle through life with, but the high energy exuberance of this song along with the encouraging lyrics it lets us know that it's all worth the effort.

The next single from the album was E.T. It had an exciting outer space video that captured the extra terrestrial essence of the song and it ended up becoming the fourth release to claim the #1 position on the Billboard HOT 100.

By the time she released the fifth single, everyone was speculating if she could achieve a record breaking fifth #1 single on the Billboard HOT 100 from the same album. All you had to do was hear the song Last Friday Night and see the video to be assured that it was definitely going to happen. It's the most fun that could possibly be had in a pop song and the star studded video is quite simply pure entertainment perfection. The inclusion of a Kenny G lead the trend of saxophone solos coming back to songs.

Another amazing chart achievement that Katy Perry reached in 2011 was the most consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard HOT 100. It all started on May 29th of 2010 when California Gurls spent its first week in the top 10. Katy remained in the top 10 with Teenage Dream, Firework, E.T. and Last Friday Night for a record breaking total of 69 weeks ending on September 17th of 2011.

As 2011 was coming to an end, Katy released a sixth single from Teenage Dream and it was yet another smash. The One That Got Away stands alone as a spectacular single and video telling the tale of lost love and the desire to go back in time and change the past. It's a huge airplay and sales hit on track to become an astounding sixth #1 song for her. It is currently at #3 on the Billboard HOT 100.

Even if it doesn't become a #1 song, Katy Perry, has undeniably provided the most enjoyable and catchy pop songs and videos for the past two years!

Artists of the Year - Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga

The Mother Monster firmly took her place of iconic status in 2011. Her third album, Born This Way, exploded on to the charts coming in at #1 with first week sales of over 1 Million copies sold in it's first week out! And the title track and lead single also hit #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 singles chart. It speaks for all of the young people who might be struggling with their sexual identity - stating quite simply, whether you are gay, lesbian, or transgender, you were born this way baby!

This amazing song inspired an entire episode of Glee where the cast of characters learned to embrace their unique individuality. It culminated with a group performance of the song where they all wore t-shirts with bold words proclaiming the qualities they are proud to accept about themselves.

In addition, the Season 10 finalists of American Idol had the privilege of being mentored by Lady Gaga this year. While most of the young finalists were too shy and conservative to truly appreciate her avante garde and artistic perspective it's the kind of experience that they can only grow and learn from.

The album is jam packed with amazing songs exemplified by the many follow-up singles. Judas picks up the beat where Bad Romance left off and Edge of Glory follows the trend of bringing the saxophone solo back to pop music with the outstanding contribution from Clarence Clemons.

At this year's MTV Video Music awards she opened the show with a performance of the single You and I. She completely embodied the role of a male character that she created for the video. But she didn't just stop there with the performance - she totally committed to the part for the entire evening making all of her subsequent appearances as a presenter and even in the audience as the character.

She is an amazing artist that backs it up with high quality, catchy and socially relevant music. She is ending 2011 with a very deserved Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.

Artists of the Year - Adele

Adele

In 2008 Adele won the Grammy for Best New Artist. She had earned the respect of the music industry, but her debut album and single were still very much under the radar and far from getting mainstream acceptance.

All of that changed in 2011 with the release of Rolling In The Deep, the first single from her second album called 21. The song had a slow build at radio and on the sales chart, but once people started to know about this amazing song, there was no stopping it. It eventually went on to spend 5 weeks at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100, but the bigger story is with the album.

Since it's release, the album 21 has been in the top 5 every week while other new releases have come and gone. This has lead to 21 being the first album in over 6 years to sell over 5 million copies!

And the momentum is showing no signs of slowing down. The second single, Someone Like You, also hit #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 and the third single, Set Fire To Rain is on it's way to the top of the charts also. In addition, with the recent announcement of the Grammy nominations, Adele is the front runner with nods in all of the top categories including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.

If you have somehow not heard this music, climb out from under your rock and find out for yourself that all of this praise and recognition for Adele is very rightly deserved.

American Idol DIVAS!

Mark your calendars for March 20, 2012 because that's the day that the Season 8 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Adam Lambert, will be releasing his next full album! It's going to be called Trespassing and the first single, Better Than I Know Myself, is available for download now. With this exciting new release coming up 2012 is shaping up to be a great year.

As 2011 comes to an end, there was one more high profile event where a couple of the Miss American Idols made appearances: VH1 Divas Celebrate Soul.

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, made herself comfortable and performed her latest single, What Doesn't Kill You, up on the stage barefoot. This is an outstanding single and it should hopefully become one of her biggest hits. Kelly also sang Chain of Fools in a tribute to Motown Soul.

Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist and Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson, commanded the stage in full disco diva mode as she performed the smoking hot dance track Night Of Your Life. This song can be found on a collection by DJ David Guetta and it is required listening for anyone who appreciates a real club thumper. She also did another disco classic, Knock On Wood.

But the very exciting news is that Kelly and Jennifer performed on stage together for the very first time in the thrilling opening number. They stood center stage along with Mary J. Blige and performed a cover of the Supremes You Keep Me Hanging on before taking turns with their own biggest hits. Jennifer stole the show with Spotlight while Kelly rocked the house with Since U Been Gone.

Artists of the Year - Cast of Glee

Cast of Glee

Not since the premiere of American Idol has there been another show that celebrates the joy of music like Glee has been doing for the past three seasons.

Each week the cast of extremely talented young performers has treated us to singing and dancing to music from the great American songbooks of pop and Broadway from the past as well as current popular favorites. This has included covers from Katy Perry (Teenage Dream, Firework, Last Friday Night), Lady Antebellum (Need You Now), and an outstanding mash-up of the Adele songs Rumor Has It and Someone Like You. These covers in the hands of a less talented cast could have been weak and boring, but with the exceptional vocals and charisma of Lea Michelle, Darren Criss and the others they are elevated to new and exciting levels.

All of these songs are not only being enjoyed as part of the show, but fans are buying them each week and they are actually showing very impressive sales totals. So much so, that this year the cast of Glee actually surpassed Elvis Presley with the most career songs charted on the Billboard HOT 100. New songs keep charting every week, so the number just keeps getting higher.

But in 2011, the cast of Glee raised the bar even higher for themselves and moved beyond being just a group of talented singers performing covers. They included original songs in some of the episodes that fit very nicely alongside the other hits on the charts. With the addition of songs like Loser Like Me, Get it Right and Light Up The World, the cast of Glee has very deservedly earned a spot as one of the Artists of the Year for 2011.

Artists of the Year - Lady Antebellum

Lady Antebellum

2011 came to an amazing start for Lady Antebellum as they completely cleaned up at the Grammy Awards winning both Record of the Year and Song of the Year for their outstanding smash hit Need You Now. In total, they walked away with 5 Grammy Awards that night!

Anticipation was very high for some new material to be released and we were not disappointed. The first single, Just A Kiss, from their new album was welcomed into our hearts as well as the sales charts and radio play lists. It's another beautiful ballad, but instead of being about lost love, it shares the excitement of experiencing a new love.

By the time the album, Own The Night, came out we had the opportunity to get to know Charles, Dave and Hillary even better and get to respect and admire them even more. On top of being wonderful singers, songwriters and musicians, they are genuinely nice people who the fans can really root for and be happy for their success. They carry themselves with grace and humility and show a sincere appreciation for all of the success they have achieved.

As the year came to an end they performed for the first time on Saturday Night Live and once again were named one of the CMT Artists of the Year. Their hit We Owned The Night was all over the radio and was a popular favorite for a two step at Charlie's. The third single from the album, Dancing Away With My Heart, is yet another example of how they can make you feel the story of the song right with them.

Artists of the Year - LMFAO

This is the first in a series of entries where I will be listing my favorite artists of 2011. I hope you enjoy it!

LMFAO

Every year there is that one act that seems to come out of no where and seems to instantly become part of the pop culture landscape. In 2011 that act was indisputably LMFAO with their wild and vibrant look, catchy beats and complete willingness to not take themselves too seriously. In fact, what sets them apart from everyone else is their care free and fabulously self-deprecating sense of humor.

Their breakthrough single, Party Rock Anthem, is the perfect way to introduce themselves to the mainstream. If any dance floor jam ever truly deserved to be called an "anthem" this is it. It instantly crossed over from the clubs and dominated all the of the sales charts and radio play lists all year spending five weeks at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100. The video showed them strutting their dance moves and had everyone copying their choreography.

The follow up single, Sexy and I Know It, carried the fun and humor a step further to finish up the year stalled at #2 on the Billboard HOT 100 on the brink of repeating the #1 success of Party Rock Anthem. They illustrate how any average guy can feel sexy given some confidence and a hot dance beat!

UPDATE!!!!!!

Sexy and I Know It spent a total of 7 weeks at #2 on the Billboard HOT 100, but it started 2012 moving up to #1!!!!

2011 Year End Charts

The #1 album on the Billboard charts for all of 2011 is 21 by Adele. None of the Miss American Idol finalists managed to even get into the top 40 on the year end albums chart. It turned out to be the newest one who was able to get closest - The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, comes in at #57 with his debut album Clear As Day.

Further down at #74 for the year is R&B release by Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist and Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson, I Remember Me. And even though it was only out for a few weeks in 2011 the fifth album by Season 1 Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson, Stronger, lands at #126. A second collection, American Idol Season 10 Highlights, from the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, checks in at #174 while the third album, Play On, from The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, is still going strong three years after it's release at #176 for the year. And not to be forgotten, the season 9 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Crystal Bowersox, sneaks in at #181 for the year with her debut release, Farmer's Daughter.

The Top 5 singles for 2011 on the Billboard HOT 100 are: #1 Rolling In The Deep by Adele, #2 Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO, #3 Firework by Katy Perry, #4 E.T. by Katy Perry and at #5 Give Me Everything by Pitbull and Ne-Yo.

The Miss American Idol finalist who makes the highest showing on the year end singles chart is the Season 1 Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson at #68 with her duet with Jason Aldean Don't You Wanna Stay. Also landing in the top 100 songs of the year is the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood at #82 with her duet with Brad Paisley Remind Me.

2011 is definitely the year that American Idol turned into American COUNTRY Idol as there was much more successes to be found on the year end Billboard Country Singles chart where Kelly is at #19 with Don't You Wanna Stay, Carrie is at #26 with Remind Me and also at #50 with Mama's Song and Scotty comes in at #63 with I Love You This Big.

With the less than stellar Miss American Idol successes on the albums and singles charts, they also had a modest showing on the Billboard 2011 Top Artists of the Year chart: The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, comes in the highest at #81, The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson lands at #91 while The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood comes in at #99.

Finally, coming in at #8 on the Billboard's list of the Top New Artists of 2011 is Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery.

The Top 10 songs of 2011!!

2011 has been a great year for fun pop songs getting into the upper portion of the Billboard HOT 100 Singles chart. Here's my Top 10 favorite songs of the year:

Last Friday Night - Katy Perry

No other song this year fully captured the pure joy that pop music can bring into our lives better than this 5th consecutive #1 smash hit from Katy Perry's outstanding album Teenage Dream. The beat is bouncy, the lyrics are fun and the video is quite simply the most amazing star-studded entertainment masterpiece EVER! The electric neon fashions of the 80's are back in full force along with Debbie Gibson, Corey Feldman and Kenny G. And the video not only co-stars both Artie and Blaine from the cast of Glee, but they also covered this great song on an episode of the show this year!

Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera

When you take the Grammy winner for Best New Artist in 1999 (Christina Aguilera) and pair her with the Grammy winner for Best New Artist in 2004 (Maroon 5) you are destined to have a huge hit on your hands. While these two acts combined forces as hosts of the music competition show The Voice, the best thing to come out of it had nothing to do with any of the contestants. It was this incredible musical collaboration that starts out paying tribute to the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, but ends up just being a pounding beat that makes you want to get up and dance the night away.

Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO

If you wanted to get the dance party started this year, you needed to look no further than the very appropriately titled Party Rock Anthem. It lived up to its name exceptionally well and could be played multiple times through the night and people would be sweating and dancing to it every time with no complaints. Did you know that LMFAO actually stands for Laugh My Fabulous Ass Off?

Rolling In The Deep - Adele

The first single from her second album can be taken as a literal declaration that Adele is going to have it all not only this year, but for many years to come. She was very rightly honored with the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2008 and this song showed that she can keep on getting better.

Give Me Everything - Pitbull with Ne-Yo

All the right pieces in all the right places, expertly executed by talented artists who look and sound great doing it. It's catchy, danceable and everything it should be.

S & M - Rihanna and Britney Spears

Even without the glitz of this high profile pairing of pop princesses, this naughty little number is still a hit in every sense of the word (hit me baby, one more time!). And the fact is that everything Rihanna touched was at the top of the charts this year. Thankfully the jams were infectious tracks like this one.

Born This Way - Lady Gaga

We all owe a debt of gratitude to Lady Gaga for releasing this genuine anthem of empowerment for all the young gays and lesbians to know that it not only gets better, but in this day and age, it really IS better. This song is a joyous celebration and it inspired an outstanding episode of Glee.

Just A Kiss - Lady Antebellum

This is a beautiful ballad that once again exemplifies the wonderful songwriting and vocal talents in this group. They know how to connect with the audience right to our hearts.

Without You - Usher

After cranking out the best hits of his career in 2010, Usher teamed up with DJ David Guetta to keep up the good work. This is another club friendly dance jam that helps to make up for all the unpleasant arrogance that Usher used to be known for.

Mr. Know It All - Kelly Clarkson

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner returned to the top 10 this year with this impressive pop song that is sure to be just a taste of what she will be giving fans in 2012.

American Idols at the ACA's

The 2nd Annual American Country Awards was another big night for the American Idols.

The show started out with the Season 6 Miss American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks, as the first presenter of the evening. She was introduced as the star of the upcoming film Sparkle, so we have something to look forward to from her.

Jordin presented the first award of the evening, which was for favorite Single by a Female artist to the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood. Carrie very graciously accepted the award thanking her fans and looking more beautiful than ever.

The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, already has a #1 album that was just certified GOLD to his credit and now he has the American Country Award for Favorite New Artist. He performed his latest single, The Trouble With Girls from his album Clear As Day.

The Season 10 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Lauren Alaina, was also on hand as a presenter for the evening.

The biggest winner of the night was Jason Aldean who ended up accepting 6 awards including 2 for his wonderful duet with the Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, Don't You Wanna Stay. Kelly was not present to accept her awards for Favorite Single by a Duo or Group and Favorite Video by a Duo or Group. The honors for this great song are sure to keep coming.

As the night went on, Carrie Underwood ended up taking home two more awards for Favorite Female Artist and Favorite Video by a Female Artist. All of her awards were for her exceptional track, Mama's Song, from her latest CD, Play On. She left the fans by announcing that we can look forward to big things in 2012. Can't wait!!!!!

Idol Grammy Nominations

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, has already been recognized with 5 Grammy wins in the past including Best New Artist and Best Country Female Vocalist three years in a row.

The nominations have just been announced and there's a possibility that Carrie could be adding a 6th Grammy to her collection. She was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance for her wonderful Mama's Song.

The only other Miss American Idol to be singled out in this year's list of nominations is the Season 1 winner, Kelly Clarkson, who is continuing to enjoy success from her duet with Jason Aldean, Don't You Wanna Stay. They are up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

If Kelly wins she could be adding a 3rd Grammy to her collection after previously winning Best Pop Vocal Female and Best Pop Album in 2005 for Breakaway.

We'll find out when the Grammy Awards are handed out on February 12th.

American Idols at the AMA's

The 2011 American Music Awards have come and gone. This year none of the Miss American Idols walked away with any awards because they weren't even nominated. But that didn't stop many of the Miss American idols from making appearances.

Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson was there looking fabulous to present an award. Also, the Season 8 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Adam Lambert was also a presenter. Unlike the last time he was at the American Music Awards, he did not get a chance to sing or kiss a boy live on camera, but he was still full of enthusiam.

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, did get the chance to perform her latest top 10 hit, Mr. Know It All, with a very fun New Orleans style jazz arrangement. If we are lucky, this remixed version will get released as a single.

Finally, the Season 5 Miss American Idol 3rd Runner Up, Chris Daughtry, performed the first single, Crawling Back To You, from his newly released third album. This high profile appearance helped to propel his album, "Break the Spell" to debut at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart with first week sales of 129,000. His previous two releases both hit #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. In 2007 "Daughtry" had first week sales of 304,000 and in 2009 "Leave This Town" had first week sales of 269,000.

And this week there are two Miss American Idols in the top 10 as the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery moves back up to #10 with sales of 88,000 for his debut album, Clear As Day.

A night of Idols at the CMA's

The Miss American Idols were out in full force at the 45th Annual Country Music Association Awards this year.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood, dominated the night serving as the exceptional co-host. She was charming, professional, very funny and looked amazing for every introduction that she did. There were some great comedy moments as she shared the stage with co-host Brad Paisley including a sparring match with Miss Piggy. Through all of it, Carrie showed off her exquisite taste in 8 different ensambles ranging from pink and poofy to short and sparkly. She provided the best performance of the night in her duet with Brad when she took the stage in a lovely long gown with a slit up the side giving a glimpse of her sleek and sexy legs. Their song, Remind Me, is sure to be a nominee for the many award shows coming up for the year.

In a very misguided upset, Carrie did not win the award for Female Vocalist of the Year even though if you saw her raise the roof on "How Great Thou Art" with Vince Gill at the Academy of Country Music's "Girls' Night Out" special earlier this year, you know that there could really be no other choice.

Right after Carrie was done singing, the Season 10 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Lauren Alaina, came out on stage to present an award and also to gush with glee about how fantastic Carrie sounded. And then the next performance after that was the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, singing another hit off of his recent #1 album Clear As Day.

Season 5 Miss American Idol contestant, Kellie Pickler, was also at the party to present an award. She was looking great as always in a glamorous long dress.

And finally, the Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, was not there to accept her very first CMA award for Musical Event of the Year for her duet with Jason Aldean, Don't You Wanna Stay.

Stronger debut

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, makes a strong debut at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart with first week sales of 163,000 copies of her fifth studio release, Stronger. This is Kelly's fifth consecutive album to debut in the top three. For comparison, her last release, All I Ever Wanted, was her second #1 album when it debuted in the top slot with first week sales of 255,000 copies.

In addition, the lead single from Stronger, Mr. Know It All, finally jumps into the the Top 10 of the Billboard HOT 100 singles chart this week at #10.

And there are still two Miss American Idol winners in the top 10 this week as Season 10 winner, Scotty McCreery, is holding on at #7 this week with his debut album, Clear As Day, selling another 42,000 copies.

American Country Awards

The CMA's are just around the corner on Nov. 9th, but there's much more to come for our favorite Miss American Idols as the nominations for the American Country Awards have just been announced:

Last year the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, completely cleaned up at the American Country Awards and walked away with every single award that she was nominated for, including Artist of the Year. This year she is nominated for 4 more awards including Favorite Female Artist, Favorite Single by a Female Artist for Mama's Song, Favorite Video by a Female Artist also for Mama's Song, and Favorite Touring Artist.

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, is in the running two times for her duet with Jason Aldean, Don't You Wanna Stay: Favorite Single by a Duo/Collaboration and Favorite Video by a Duo/Collaboration.

The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, can start adding to his music industry honors. After earning a #1 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart he can also add a nomination for Favorite New Artist at the American Country Awards.

The awards will be handed out live on Monday Dec. 5th.

2 Top 5 Idols

The Season 10 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Lauren Alaina, debuts at #5 this week on the Billboard 200 Albums chart with sales of 69,000.

This strong debut was not enough for her to come out on top of the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery. His album, "Clear As Day" was #1 last week, and this week it drops down to #4 with sales of 88,000.

This rare incidence of them both being in the Top 5 at the same time is showing a significant comeback for the success of Miss American Idol finalists. The last time this happened was when the Season 7 Miss American Idol winner, David Cook, and the Season 7 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, David Archuleta, were at #2 and #3 back in 2008.

Scotty McCreery is #1

The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner Scotty McCreery makes history as his debut album, "Clear as Day," enters at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 197,000 copies sold.

Scotty becomes the first country act in history to debut at #1 with their first studio album, and at 18-years old, Scotty is the youngest male to open at the top of the chart with their debut release.

Scotty McCreery, who turned 18 on Sunday October 9th, is also the first Miss American Idol winner since 2003 to hit #1 with their first studio set.

The Season 2 Miss American Idol winner Ruben Studdard was the last champ to start their career with a #1 album, when his "Soulful" entered the tally dated Dec. 27, 2003, with 417,000 sold. Kelly Clarkson, the Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, also entered at #1, with "Thankful" on May 3, 2003 with 297,000 copies sold.

"Clear as Day" also marks the biggest debut sales week of any Miss American Idol winner's first album since 2008, when the Season 7 Miss American Idol winner, David Cook's self-titled set started with 280,000 at #3. The Season 8 Miss American Idol winner, Kris Allen saw his eponymous 2009 debut launch with 80,000 at #11 and in 2010, The Season 9 Miss American Idol winner, Lee DeWyze's "Live It Up" arrived with 39,000 copies sold at #19.

Next week, watch for the Season 10 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Lauren Alaina, to arrive on the Billboard 200 with her debut, "Wildflower."

Carrie is #1

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood is back at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart this week. No, she does not have a new solo album out, but she is featured on the Tony Bennett collection, Duets 2.

She and Tony Bennett recorded a fantastic version of It Had To Be You and Carrie shows off her astounding vocal range and ability to excel in any musical genre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iebbhCOtv5c

A little fun fact about this assortment of 20 duet partners for Tony Bennett is that six of them, included Carrie, were all honored with the Grammy for Best New Artist.

Grammy winner for Best New Artist in 1975, Natalie Cole performs Watch What Happens with Tony.

The most successful Best New Artist winner of all time was given in 1990 when Mariah Carey accepted the award. On this collection she and Tony provide an incredible rendition of When Do The Bells Ring For Me.

Sheryl Crow won Best New Artist in 1994 and here she sings The Girl I Love with Tony.

In 2002 smooth jazz vocalist Norah Jones was recognized as Best New Artist and she and Tony perform Speak Low.

We all know that Carrie Underwood won in 2006, and the next year, in 2007 Amy Winehouse was awarded as Best New Artist. In one of her final recordings before her death earlier this year, Amy and Tony recorded Body and Soul for this collection.

Chart action

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood moved into the #1 position on the CMT Top 20 Video Countdown with her duet with Brad Paisley, Remind Me. The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery moved back to #3 on this chart with his video for I Love You This Big.

Over on the Billboard HOT 100 the Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson makes her debut at #18 with first week sales of 107,000 of her new single, Mr. Know It All.

Scotty McCreery also debuts on the Hot 100 this week at #84 with his second single, "The Trouble With Girls" with sales of 27,000.

Carrie Underwood - LIVE In Concert! - Part 3

For two years in a row now the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood has performed live at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park IL. When I learned that she was once again coming back for another performance, I immediately went online back in April and bought tickets for myself and some friends so we could enjoy the fun of music under the stars with Carrie. And this year it turns out that my parents and sister did the exact same thing, so the event was going to be fun for the whole family!

It was a beautiful and sunny afternoon as we hopped in the car to drive up there. Mom and Dad arrived to the park first to reserve a great space for the picnic while we were stuck in traffic enjoying our all-Carrie playlist. We arrived with plenty of time to enjoy some great food and have fun in the crowd. The time just flew by until the Supreme Miss American Idol finally took the stage at about 8:00.

Something that was very new and exciting for this return visit to Ravinia was that instead of performing with her usual band, Carrie was backed by a complete orchestra! We were treated to grand and lush arrangements of all of our favorite songs. She opened the show as she usually does with her crowd pleasing smash hit, Cowboy Casanova. Carrie looked absolutely stunning in black skinny jeans and a long coat accessorized with a very cute scarf. She segued directly into Quitter, just like she did last year. Since she did not released a new album since her last appearance the set list for tonight's show was quite similar to what she did last year pulling huge hits from all three of her multi-platinum albums: Some Hearts, Carnival Ride and Play On.

She didn't have any costume changes through the evening as she went through a spectacular string of hits. She let her amazing voice and warm personality be front and center the entire time. Early in the show she really showcased what an outstanding voice she has with her album track from Carnival Ride, I Know You Won't. It's a simple ballad where her vocals truly soar to amazing heights. Her ability to perform this kind of track in concert so well is nothing short of supremely impressive.

Sounding pitch perfect on Some Hearts, Wasted, Just A Dream, Temporary Home, All-American Girl, So Small and Undo It, she mixed things up a bit with this live rendition of Jesus Take The Wheel. Just when you thought the song was coming to an end, Carrie burst into a stirring performance of How Great Thou Art. You don't have to be devout Christian to be moved by the power and the passion that she exudes with her stunning vocals. It's grand moments like this that prove how worthy she is to have been named Entertainer of the Year two years in a row.

One of the best parts about seeing a show at Ravinia is that fans have the space on the lawn to get up and dance to this fantastic set-list of songs. When the sun went down and the show was building up to the very exciting culmination I put on my black sequined electric cowboy hat and was up on my feet. Carrie sang her smash hits Last Name and Before He Cheats while the crowd sang along with satisfaction and approval. She once again closed the show with the very fun and catchy track called Songs Like This. In all of the energy and excitement fans may have missed that she tossed in a line from Miranda Lambert's White Liar and Beyonce's Single Ladies.

Sadly, the show had to come to end. My hope for an encore of her current hit with Brad Paisley, Remind Me, ended up not happening. Even though it is the #1 song this week on the Billboard Country Songs chart there wasn't a place for it on the set list this time around.

Even without Remind Me, The Supreme Miss American Idol proved once again why she is the multi platinum selling artist who is adored by fans young and old. It was a great night with friends and family. I can't wait to see her again!

American Idols at the CMA's

The nominations for the Country Music Association awards were just announced today and it looks to be another big night for the Miss American Idols. The show airs on Wed. Nov. 9th and the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood will be hosting the show with Brad Paisley for the 4th year in a row.

Brad and Carrie are certain to be performing their duet, Remind Me, on the show. The song is currently at #1 on the Billboard Country Songs chart.

Carrie is also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year.

Last year at the CMA's the Season 1 Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson performed her duet Don't You Wanna Stay with Jason Aldean. This great song and performance has now earned her TWO CMA nominations!

Don't You Wanna Stay is up for Single of the Year and their performance is up for Musical Event of the Year.

While looking forward to what is sure to be a great night, starting today Kelly's fans can download her latest single, Mr. Know It All. There should be an impressive debut on the Billboard HOT 100 coming soon!

Topping the CHARTS!

Just one look at the CMT Top 20 Video Countdown and you will see not just one, not just two, but three Miss American Idol finalists dominating the list!

Season 10 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Lauren Alaina, made her debut this week at #16 with the video for her song, Like My Mother Does.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood is at #6 with the stunning video for her powerful ballad with Brad Paisley, Remind Me. The song Remind Me has also hit #1 on the Billboard Country Songs chart.

Back on the CMT Top 20 Video Countdown, Scotty McCreery makes a huge leap with his video for I Love You This Big all the way up to #1!!!!

In other news, check out www.kellyclarkson.com to get your first listen to the new single from the Season 1 Miss American Idol winner. The song is called Mr. Know It All and it is a fun dance pop ditty that is sure to be making it's way to the top of the charts very soon.

Wildflower

Looks like October is turning into Miss American Idol Month!

We've already learned that the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, will have his debut album, Clear As Day, in stores on October 4th.

Now it has just been announced that the Season 10 Miss American 1st Runner Up, Lauren Alaina, will release her debut album the very next week on October 11th. The album will be called Wildflower and it is sure to feature her single Like My Mother Does.

Then, of course, just two weeks after that on October 25th, the fans will get to run out again and buy Stronger, the long awaited new release from Season 1 Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson.

Try to contain your excitement!

Now when are we gonna get more music from Jordin Sparks, Adam Lambert and Carrie Underwood?

Clear As Day

This week on the Billboard HOT 100, Remind Me, by the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, moves up one more notch to #17.

And just one day after the big announcement by the Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson of her new album title and release date, we have even more big news to share:

The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, has just revealed that his debut release is going to be called Clear As Day and it will be available on October 4th.

In addition, his first single, I Love You This Big, has a video that just hit the CMT Top 20 Video countdown at #18 and the single has been certified GOLD with sales over 500,000.

Mr. Know It All

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, has finally confirmed that the first single from her new album will be called Mr. Know It All.

It will be officially released on Tuesday August 30th. The new album is called Stronger and it is coming out on October 25th so mark your calendars and start looking forward to her return.

Meanwhile, the latest single by the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, jumps up to #18 on the Billboard HOT 100. This duet with Brad Paisley, Remind Me, is fast becoming one of her biggest hits.

Carrie looking amazing in a new video!

An official video has finally been released for the spectacular duet between Brad Paisley and the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood. Remind Me should be in heavy rotation on CMT very soon and it is a likely contender for the #1 position on the CMT Top 20 Video Countdown.

It's a simple and tasteful portrayal of Carrie and Brad walking towards each other in the vast and beautiful desert. The video showcases their amazing voices and just mesmerizes you as they move closer to each other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qzhngp7jh8

Remind Me is currently at #27 on the Billboard HOT 100 and it should get a boost with the release of this exceptional video.

Jennifer Hudson - LIVE!

After starring in the blockbuster movie musical DreamGirls and winning an Oscar and then releasing her debut album and winning a Grammy, the season 3 Miss American Idol finalist, Jennifer Hudson, has finally embarked on a nationwide tour. And, of course, being a home town girl from Chicago, she was able to sell out two nights at the Ravinia Festival! I am so happy that I had a chance to see her on the first of the two nights, Saturday July 16th.

The day started out with packing the cooler with the picnic fixings and having friends pick us up to go to the Metra train. We caught the train exactly as scheduled and was able to be first in line at the gate waiting for the park to open. It was a great time to enjoy the beautiful sunny day with friends, but while visiting out there we were able to hear Jennifer up on stage rehearsing the entire show! She sounded spectacular as she casually went through her set with the band. What a treat to get the sneak preview of the show to come.

Once the gate opened and we were able to lay out our blankets on the perfect spot, we enjoyed more fun times laughing and eating in anticipation of the show. During this time we found the most wonderful glitter covered cowboy hats that light up at the Ravinia Gift Shop. They simply had to be purchased! Also, it turns out that there was a sweet group of kids on a blanket next to us that had GLOW STICKS to play with. Talk about coming to a concert prepared!!!

After getting through opening act, Miguel, Jennifer Hudson made her grand entrance to the opening song Feeling Good. You may all be familiar with this track as it is used in her commercials for Weight Watchers. From our perfect spot on the lawn we had a clear view of Jennifer on the huge video screens and she was proudly showing off her new slim and fit body in a sexy short skirt. Weight Watchers simply could not have a better spokesperson!

Jennifer proceeded to go through her hit packed catalog including Where You At and No One Gonna Love You from her latest album I Remember Me. She also gave a crowd pleasing version of If This Isn't Love from her first release. One of the best moments in the show came when she asked one of her back-up singers to come up and join her in a duet. Turns out it was none other than her fellow Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist, George Huff. She and George performed a wonderful cover of Mariah Carey's #1 smash from 1992, I'll Be There.

Then the show really went into full swing with a spectacular medley of songs from DreamGirls. She went from the powerful One Night Only into the song written especially for her, Love You I Do. The sun had gone down, the energy level was high, the electric glittery cowboy hat was on and the glow sticks were lighting up the park! The crowd couldn't help but get on there feet and dance and clap along. When she segued into her biggest hit, the dance jam, Spotlight, the fans roared with approval and sang along.

When she finished Spotlight and said goodnight, we knew she wasn't really going. The crowd cheered and begged for more and she returned to bring the house down with her showstopper, And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going. Just like they were throughout the entire night, her vocals were passionate and powerful. And the crowd loved every second of it.

Special thanks to Jeff, Nick, Andrew and Samuel for enjoying this great show with me!

Idol Updates:

The latest single by the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood, has made a big leap up the Billboard HOT 100 all the way to #28. The duet with Brad Paisley, Remind Me, is a wonderful love song that is perfect to dance a shadow to.

The 2nd album by Season 7 Miss American Idol winner, David Cook, "This Loud Morning" makes its debut at #7 on the Billboard Albums chart with sales of 46,000. His new album is off to a slow start compared to his 2008 self-titled debut. That album entered at #3 with 280,000 in opening week sales. It came six months after he won The Miss American Idol crown so a big bow wasn't terribly surprising. However, his new album has yet to find a hit single and he doesn't have the glow of "Idol" to aid him. The new album's lead track, "The Last Goodbye," has so far only dented one of the Billboard airplay charts at #29 on the Adult Pop Songs list.

Also on the charts this week, The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner Scotty McCreery managed to sell 40,000 copies of a Wal-Mart exclusive five-song (and $5) EP "American Idol Season 10 Highlights". That was good enough for a #10 debut.

Things to look forward to include a new single coming out next week for Season 10 Miss American Idol finalist, Pia Toscano, who just recently signed with Interscope Records.

And the wait may finally be over for the new music from Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson. A song called Let Me Down leaked, but their is still uncertainty if this will actually be the first single or even if it will appear on the new album that is scheduled to be released this fall.

New Music from Carrie and David

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood makes a debut on the Billboard HOT 100 this week at #59 on a duet with her Country Music Association co-host, Brad Paisley. It's a wonderful ballad called Remind Me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQYToz7o6BQ

The Season 7 Miss American Idol winner, David Cook, is hoping to have a hit with the first release from his second album, This Loud Morning, that will be released on June 28th. The video for the first single, The Last Goodbye, is already in the rotation on VH1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4VyubKgRG8

Finally, after only three weeks on the chart I Love You This Big from the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, drops down to #68.

Scotty and Lauren have big 1st week sales

The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner Scotty McCreery scores the the Billboard Hot 100's Hot Shot Debut with his victory ballad "I Love You This Big" at No. 11. The song, which McCreery sang on the Fox show's May 24 and May 25 finale-week episodes, sold 171,000 copies in its first week. I Love You This Big also logs the highest debut on Billboard's Country Songs chart at No. 32 for a brand new artist's first single since Jan. 20, 1990.

McCreery's arrival bests that of the Season 9 Miss American Idol winner Lee DeWyze, whose coronation single, a cover of U2's "Beautiful Day," bowed at No. 24 on the Hot 100 with 95,000 downloads.

The Season 10 Miss American Idol 1st runner-up Lauren Alaina charges onto the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 20 with "Like My Mother Does," with sales of 121,000 in her first week. Alaina likewise enjoys early support from country radio, as the cut, which she performed May 24 on "Idol," starts at No. 49 on Country Songs.

And the Season 10 Miss American Idol is.....

Hopefully we've got two hours of awesome music entertainment ahead of us while waiting to hear who the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner will be. Things got off to a great start with the top 13 finalists coming together again to perform one of the biggest hits of the year so far, Lady Gaga's Born This Way. She was a great mentor for the finalists just a few weeks ago and now her full album is set to sell 850,000 copies in its debut week.

While having Lauren and Scotty in the top two might lead us all to believe that the show was going to be all about country music, but that is not the case at all. The Season 10 Miss American Idol 3rd Runner-Up James Durbin set the house on fire with his hard rocking heavy metal collaboration with Judas Priest. The stage was a flame in leather and studs to put it mildly! We were then treated to a true legendary diva on stage when Gladys Knight performed I Smile. Jacob Lusk was very lucky to be her back up singer.

Jack Black is a very funny comedy rocker so his take on the Queen classic Fat Bottom Girls was very entertaining. Unfortunately it was ruined by the creepy presense of Casey Abrams who was leering and lurking around the stage like a crazed stalker.

The girls from the top 13 then took the stage to perform a fierce medley of Beyonce's greatest hits. Thia was wonderful taking lead vocals on Irreplaceable and Pia was superstar quality at the front and center of Deja Vu. The real Beyonce then joined the girls for a fabulous rendition of Crazy In Love. The girl group medleys continued with T-Boz and Chilli from TLC taking us back old school for their hits No Scrubs and Waterfalls.

Country superstar Tim McGraw joined Scotty on stage to sing his mega hit Live Like You Were Dying. Scotty really did an amazing job keeping up with Tim and his voice fit perfectly with the song.

The Season 10 Miss American Idol 2nd Runner Up, Haley Reinhart was lucky enough to get the opportunity to sing a duet of Stepping Out with the legendary Tony Bennett. He was all class and she was all unintentional comedy.

Being married to one of the American Idol judges gives you the chance to perform on stage for this huge audience and there was no way that Marc Anthony was going to let this slip through his fingers. Jennifer played the role of background dancer while Marc entertained the crowd with his salsa extravaganza.

The boys from the top 13 performed a medley of songs from the Tom Jones greatest hits colelction. Stefano was the stand-out taking lead vocals on Kiss, which everyone really knows as a Prince song. Then Tom joined the boys for the popular favorite It's Not Unusual that is always a crowd pleaser no matter how old it is.

Lady Gaga is on track to being named the 2011 Artist of the Year and this performance of Edge of Glory is definitely a huge contributing factor. She was on top of a platform at center stage belting out this amazing anthem and dancing with a very handsome and sexy shirtless man. It is certain that after this outstanding spectacle she has recruited more montsters to put their paws up and join her!

The Supreme Miss American Idol, season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, was the only member of the Idol Alumni Association to take the stage tonight. Lauren started out with the first verse of Before He Cheats and thankfully Carrie came out to join her. Lauren, unfortunately, seemed very intimidated in the presense of Carrie's greatness so this duet was very one sided.

Beyonce is about to release her fourth solo album and she has been hitting the media outlets hard with promotion. The first single, Girls Rule The World, has been out for a few weeks and even had its video premiere on American Idol last week, but it has still failed to reach the top 10 of the Billboard HOT 100. It's simply not very good compared to her previous jams. And now, she is ready to push another single, 1+1, that she performed tonight, but it's not very good either. Beyonce needs to get some better material.

Dragging out the announcement of the new American Idol a little bit longer, U2 took the stage in a desperate attempt to make their SpiderMan Broadway musical a hit. SpiderMan came flying over the heads of the audience while they sang one of the songs. It was visually interesting, but it didn't sound so fantastic. Finally, Steven Tyler had his chance to get center stage and sing Dream On.

And then the time arrived at last for Scotty and Lauren to stand together in the spotlight and have Ryan open the envelope that revealed that the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner is...... SCOTTY MCCREERY!

He took the mic to sing his new single, I Love You This Big, and went into the audience to hug his family and the rest of the finalists. He seemed very humbled and overwhelmed as the glitter fell all around him.

The Top 2 sing for the crown!

Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina will each sing three times as they go head to head for the Season 10 Miss American Idol crown.

Scotty chose to sing his favorite song from the season so far, Montgomery Gentry's Gone. This was a good choice to allow him to show some energy and personality. He worked the entire stage and engaged very well with the audience giving them more of what they have grown to like so much all season.

Lauren chose to sing her favorite song from the season so far, Carrie Underwood's Flat On The Floor. She did her best to overcome her strained vocal chords, but you could tell it was hurting as it was a little raspier than it should have been. She did a pretty good job compensating with her bubbly and youthful style.

Scotty's music hero George Strait selected his own hit Check Yes Or No for him to perform. This is exactly the kind of song that Scotty can do well. It's a nice story of young love that perfectly fits Scotty's image. He stood center stage with his guitar like he was headlining on the main stage of the County Fair.

Lauren's music hero is the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood and she selected the Pam Tillis classic Maybe It Was Memphis for her to perform. She looked very cute and fun in her short poofy skirt and cowboy boots and sounded sweet. Looks like Scotty was the opening act at the County Fair for Lauren.

And the song that was specially picked out for Scotty to be his first single is an uplifting ballad called I Love You This Big. It's a nice appealing little number, but even with his deep voice I'm not sure if he was vocally capable of making it as big as the song and arrangement required. You could see where they were trying to go with this, but I don't think he got there.

The song specially picked out as Lauren's first single, on the other hand, was so perfectly well played that it could probably be called a text book case. The song is called Like My Mother Does and it pulled every emotional string about how awesome we think our moms are that we want to sing about them. Vocally and emotionally, Lauren did exactly what was necessary to win over the undecided voters.

It seemed like Scotty was the front-runner all season long, but Lauren surpassed him tonight by referencing Carrie Underwood liberally and by pushing our buttons just right. My prediction is that Lauren Alaina will take the Season 10 Miss American Idol crown tomorrow night.

The Results - 3 become 2

The first performance of the night was from a new group of young guys called IL Doro. I can only imagine how different American Idol would be if they actually had finalists with impressive vocal talent like these guys in the competition. Each of the three guys in the group was exceptionally gifted and it was a very entertaining performance.
A performance by the lead singer of the Pussy Cat Dolls was also thrown in as she is continuing to try and have a successful solo career. It was a lot of glitz and glam, but it wasn't the catchiest song I've ever heard her do. Maybe it will grow on me.....

The rest of the night was all about the three remaining finalists getting the rock star treatment for their trips back home. Haley, Lauren and Scotty went back to their high schools, had home town parades and performed for thousands of screaming fans. It was a once in a lifetime emotional roller coaster.

And then the moment finally arrived when it was revealed that the boy and girl next door team of Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery will be going against each other next week in the Season 10 Miss American Idol finale.

That means that after weeks of being wrong, I have finally gotten my prediction correct and Haley Reinhart is out of the competition. And in the true comedic farce that her run this season has been, for her final performance she played her crazy drunk girl self with her laughable rendition of Bennie and the Jets. Suffering through this hot mess again encapsulated all the insanity she brought to the stage every week.

So how on earth did she make it all the way up to the Final three!??? What has caused the standards of the American voting public to sink so low? I don't know what it is, but I expect to see a well-rehearsed finalist with exceptional talent who is striving for perfection and Haley just doesn't come close. So when she ends up winning the Grammy for Best New Artist and when her debut album becomes the best seller of the year, I will be the first to step up and admit that I have mis-judged her potential. It's written here and you can all hold that over me when it happens.

Jordin Sparks tears it up!!!

The Season 6 Miss American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks, completely tore up the stage last week with her fierce performance of her latest single, I Am Woman.

Looks to me like she can do Beyonce even better than Beyonce can!

The Top 3 Perform

The Top 3 finalists will each perform three times tonight: 1. Their own personal song choice 2. a song selected by music producer Jimmy Iovine 3. a song selected by the judges. Pop music superstar Beyonce helped them work on their own personal choices:

Lonestar spent two weeks at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 2000 with Amazed. Beyonce thought this song would allow Scotty McCreery to show more of his vocal range so he went for it full force. But even with throwing in some higher notes this song didn't feel like a natural fit for his style and personality.

Faith Hill had a hit in 1993 with Wild One and Lauren Alaina did her best to get over her nervous nature and sing her little heart out. Even Beyonce could notice that she is surrounded by uncertainty every time she tries to sing. She was doing her best to let go, but it came off as strained and screaming in a few places.

Led Zeppelin included What Is and What Should Never Be on their 1969 epic album Led Zeppelin II. Beyonce was very generous in praising the courage of Haley Reinhart for making this selection. Haley has many of the qualities necessary to be a star, including courage, but the fact remains that all the guts in the world isn't going to make up for the lack of talent. She is just a kid getting up there on stage and play acting.

Jimmy selected Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not by Thompson Square for Scotty. One of the best things to be said about an Idol finalist is that he sang the song better than the original and once again, that can not be said about Scotty's rendition. It was good, but it didn't come close to the fun and frolic to be found in the one we can see on CMT any time we want.

Jimmy selected If I Die Young by The Band Perry for Lauren. This one got close to being better than the original from the vocal range stand point, but it fell short in the area of emotional connection. In addition, her performances are always marred by her lack of confidence.

Jimmy selected Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac for Haley. Along with her lack of talent this performance showcased her complete lack of an interesting personality. Stevie Nicks is an iconic persona where Haley is just a mess.

The judges selected the Kenny Rogers #5 hit from 1979, She Believes In Me, for Scotty. He's such a good kid with a full deep bass that sounds pure and clean. It would be nice if he had some personality traits with some energy or a performance style that was interesting, but he's so bland. He did a very good job with the song, but he has no texture to his voice to really make it special.

The judges selected the 2000 Grammy winner for Best Country Song, I Hope You Dance, for Lauren. She's a really sweet girl that would be lots of fun to go shopping at the mall with, but she has zero stage presence. Even when she hits a few nice notes she still appears scared and unsure of herself. This truly is one of the best songs ever and Lauren was just going through the motions.

The judges selected Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know for Haley. This song let her scream her heart out and it didn't matter that she has no talent. I didn't think it was possible, but Haley's version was even more dreadful than the awful original.

Now more than ever I am convinced that Haley is only on the show this season because of some high powered connection that bought her this opportunity. I can't even begin to be able to predict which two will make it to the finals as none of these three have completely won me over. So I'm just going go with the boy and girl next door team of Scotty and Lauren making it through and predicting that Haley will finally be taken out of the running. But what do I know??????

Introducing Katherine McPhee in SMASH!!!

The season 5 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Katherine McPhee, has tried many times since the competition to make it big, but all of her efforts have failed to have much impact.

Check out the trailer for her new show that will be on NBC this fall. It's called Smash and it's a musical drama about getting a show on Broadway. It co-stars Debra Messing from Will & Grace and it looks like it has potential to finally make Katherine a star.

The Results - Lady Gaga

Scotty and James opened the show with a performance of the Brad Paisley and Keith Urban duet, Start A Band. James was able to add a convincing musical interpretation to the lyrics as this is something that he has clearly been striving toward for his entire life, while Scotty was just going through the motions. Lauren and Haley followed this up with their best effort of the Miranda Lambert anthem Gunpowder and Lead. The fact is, though, that clearly neither of these girls has the spit fire composition to live up to the premise of the what little girls are made of in the song.

Lady Gaga performed a live concert on HBO this week and the You and I clip from it was shared with the American Idol audience. It was nice to see this song done well after the mess that Haley made of it a couple of weeks ago.

Lauren was then the first of the remaining finalists to secure a spot in this year's top three.

The Season 6 Miss American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks, has enjoyed some wonderful well-deserved success since getting the crown. She has consistently reached the top 10 on the Billboard HOT 100 with singles, No Air, Tattoo and Battlefield. Tonight she made the debut of her latest single, I Am Woman, which is an empowering dance throw down. Hopefully this year's finalists were watching closely and learning a lesson about how a very young and talented singer should look in order to have pop music success. Jordin looked and sounded amazing.

Enrique Iglesias made his way back to the upper portion of the charts last year with his dance club friendly songs like I Like It. Tonight he is hoping to get more success with his release Dirty Dancer.

In an unpleasant twist, it was announced that Haley would be the next person joining Lauren in the top three along with Scotty. That left the most impressive singer with the best vocal range and stage presence, James Durbin, to be the one eliminated this week.

Needless to say, I was not right with my prediction at all this week and Haley is continuing to move another step closer to winning the Season 10 Miss American Idol crown.

It seems like James Durbin is set to follow in the footsteps of Chris Daughtry who was eliminated at this same point during Season 5, but went on to release the top selling album for all of 2007.

The Top 4 - Lady Gaga

The top 4 finalists are once again singing twice. The first time they are selecting a song that inspires them and for the second song they will get guidance from mega-pop performance art superstar, Lady Gaga.

Journey created a timeless classic when they first charted with Don't Stop Believin' at #9 in 1981. The song was already a consistent top download on itunes 30 years later, but then the cast of Glee performed it and breathed even more life into it. Now that James Durbin has done a fantastic job singing it, Don't Stop Believin' isn't going to stop being a fan favorite for a long time.

Michael Jackson had the ability to take a lyric about respect for our fragile planet and make it into a sweet and powerful anthem. Haley Reinhart has no similar capacity whatsoever. Her vocal ability is weak and once again she was more of a caricature than an artist. The screaming was completely unpleasant and her look and style was cartoonish.

Scotty McCreery knows how to appeal to his fans as he selected Alan Jackson's Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning. He did exactly what he had to do to make them happy.

Lauren Alaina finally selected the perfect song to showcase her voice at its best. Martina McBride's Any Way allowed her to have an emotional connection to both the song and the audience. It's a little late in the game, but she finally found herself.

Lady Gaga encouraged Haley to give in to her crazy drama and give the audience an over the top dramatic interpretation of I Who Have Nothing. Lady Gaga could easily see that Haley doesn't really have the vocal skills to pull this song off. It's a fantastic power ballad if you've heard a talented artist sing it, so all Haley could provide was a painfully comical parody.

Lady Gaga really pushed hard to get Scotty to express a sense of humor and have some personality with his rendition of Young Blood. Once he got on stage it was clear that he had taken her advice but still stayed true to his bland and conservative self.

Lady Gaga had the difficult challenge of getting Lauren to transform into the "good girl gone bad" performer for her performance of Trouble. But after all these weeks, Lauren has finally gotten comfortable on stage with her genuine good girl persona that this was all a little too much too soon.

James Durbin was actually pretty apprehensive about getting face to face with Lady Gaga, but in the end she was even able to help him take it up a notch. His arena rock extravaganza of Love Potion #9 was nothing short of amazing. He truly knows what he is doing on stage and his vocal range is simply outstanding.

America has got to get a clue and not allow Haley to make it into the top three. If there is any basis of reality and respect for talent my prediction of the bottom two will be accurate: Haley and Lauren should be in the bottom two and Haley should seriously, finally go home. I mean, Haley was truly awful tonight.

The Results - Now & Then

The Turtles took Happy Together to #1 for three weeks in 1967 and the top 5 finalists showed that they are not able to harmonize together at all with this sloppy opening performance.

Thankfully, Grammy winning super group, Lady Antebellum took the stage to debut their brand new single, Just A Kiss, to demonstrate how well three distinct voices can sound wonderful together. The song follows the winning formula of their smash, Need You Now, but it tells a more upbeat story of the fun and anticipation of a new relationship. It is sure to be one of the biggest hits of 2011.

American Idol judge, Jennifer Lopez, then performed her latest song, On The Floor, that has brought her back to the upper portions of the Billboard HOT 100 after being gone for quite a few years. It's a trendy dance pop jam with a rap by Pitbull that the 5 finalists should pay attention to - this is how to perform a hit, get radio airplay and sell singles.

Haley, James and Scotty were revealed to be safe, leaving Jacob and Lauren in the bottom two. With this being the first time Lauren was in the bottom, the tears were streaming down her face, but she must have been very relieved that Jacob was actually the lowest vote getter and he is being sent packing.

I correctly predicted that both Lauren and Jacob would find themselves in the bottom and was right that Jacob would be going home.

The Top 5 sing Now & Then

Each of the top 5 finalists will be singing two songs tonight. One that is current and contemporary while the other is a classic oldie. They got some guidance from 1994 Grammy winner for Best New Artist: Sheryl Crow. After each review this week I will be giving two scores on a scale of 1 to 10. One for stage presence and another for vocals. (1 is really bad and 10 is exceptional superstar talent)

30 Seconds to Mars had a huge hit last year called Closer To The Edge that was a perfect choice to show how James Durbin can connect his classic heavy metal energy to a fresh and current sound. He completely owned the stage like he was entertaining to a sold out arena. Without You was a #1 smash in 1972 for Nilsson and then it was a huge hit again hitting #3 in 1994 for iconic superstar and 1990 Grammy Winner for Best New Artist, Mariah Carey. James further demonstrated his emotional depth with his raw and tear-jerking interpretation of this outstanding song. To say he gave the audience chills only scratches the surface. Stage Presence: 9. Vocals: 9

The Season 6 Miss American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks had a huge #3 hit with No Air in 2008. Jacob Lusk completely butchered this passionate R&B slow jam with his over dramatic screeching vocals. Rock group Nazareth hit #8 in 1976 with Love Hurts and Jacob did his best to show some range by taking on this power ballad, but once again the vocals might have been strong, but they were totally out of control and he looks awkward and dresses all wrong every time he is on stage. Stage Presence: 3. Vocals: 5.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood included Flat On The Floor on her second multi-platinum album, Carnival Ride. Lauren Alaina gave it her best effort, but the fact remains that she has no personality to speak of no matter how she dresses or what she does on stage. The Righteous Brothers truly created a timeless classic when they first charted with Unchained Melody at #4 in 1965. It's an emotional powerhouse vocal extravaganza and Lauren managed to put in her best vocal performance of the competition so far with this effort. But the reality is that she threw away many opportunities to showcase her voice with weak choices. The world has heard many many better versions of this song leaving hers to be completely forgettable. Stage Presence: 4. Vocals: 7.

Scotty McCreery used the Montgomery Gentry song, Gone, to try and show he can do something uptempo and move around the stage. He then used the 1982 Grammy Winner for Song of the Year, Always On My Mind, to demonstrate his tender side. Either way, Scotty ended up falling short of the mark. There is nothing exceptional to say about him. Stage Presence: 5. Vocals: 5.

Lady Gaga performs You and I as part of her live concerts and Haley Reinhart had the honor of bringing this unreleased song to the American Idol stage. Lady Gaga will definitely benefit from the exposure on the top rated show on TV, but she has nothing to be threatened about with the way Haley did it. This girl gets up on stage and does every corny and comical mannerism that comedians use to mock Casino lounge singers or cruise line entertainers. It's impossible to take her seriously. The Animals spent three weeks at #1 in 1964 with The House of the Rising Sun. Haley had some small moments of vocal talent buried under this performance but you had to get past the feeling that she is part of the show this season playing a big joke on all of us. Stage Presence: 3. Vocals: 6.

From the scoring system, it's plain to see that James Durbin is the clear front-runner, but all of the others seem to be competing very hard to be the next one eliminated. My prediction for the bottom three this week is Jacob, Lauren and Scotty with Jacob finally going home.

The Results - Carole King

The Top 6 finalists opened the show with a medley of more great songs from Carole King that included the #1 hits Go Away Little Girl and It's Too Late.

The Season 9 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Crystal Bowersox was the clear front-runner from the beginning and it was a huge surprise that she didn't win. She came back to perform a great song that was the perfect mix of pure vocal talent combined with a fun country/pop/rock vibe.

Haley, James and Lauren are all safe leaving Jacob, Scotty and Casey in the bottom three.

Bruno Mars has been an unstoppable hit machine for the last 12 months hitting #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 with Nothing On You, Just The Way You Are and Grenade. Tonight he performed his latest single, The Lazy Song, and it is sure to be on a fast track to the top in the next few weeks as well.

Jacob and Scotty were both safe meaning that after being the lowest vote getter for the second time, we are finally going to be rid of Casey Abrams. He has given people the creeps since he first knocked a chair off the stage followed by very rudely slapping James. Then he was very inappropriate when he kissed Jennifer combined with the general hostility that he evokes when he's trying to sing. Thankfully we won't have to see his instability on stage again. And he's just not a good singer also.

I correctly predicted that Jacob and Casey would both be in the bottom three. Haley Reinhart should have never made the top 24 and the fact that she is now in the top 5 doesn't make any sense at all. Start bracing yourselves now as she is likely to wind up winning the whole thing....

Pia Toscano is in demand!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWDTTbuPwUI

Season 10 isn't even over yet and the offers and opportunities are already rolling in for finalist Pia Toscano.

I guess it's a good thing that she was eliminated way too soon because it gave her a chance to do this fantastic performance on Dancing With The Stars! She really looked and sounded wonderful.

The Top 6 sing Carole King

Tonight the Top 6 finalists performed the music of accomplished singer/songwriter, Carole King.

Carole King released an album called Love Makes The World in 2001 that included the track Oh No Not My Baby and Jacob Lusk did his best to make this song his own. He brings a lot of enthusiasm to his performance and literally bounces across the stage, but his vocals just aren't focused and controlled enough to impress.

Tapestry, her Grammy winning Album of the Year from 1971, included the track Where You Lead that Lauren Alaina did her best to inject some personality into. Where Carole has written a fantastic song Lauren, sadly, doesn't have much personality to contribute so it ended up falling flat.

I Feel The Earth Move spent 5 weeks at #1 in 1971 and Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart made a complete mess of this fantastic song with their complete inability to sing well. There was an embarrassing amount of over-compensating going on up on the stage with unpleasant wailing, growling and screaming substituting for vocal talent. It's as if they both are blatantly admitting they don't have what it takes to just sing well.

You've Got A Friend won the 1971 Grammy for Song of the Year as well as spending one week at #1 for James Taylor. Scotty McCreery did his best to convey some depth and sensitivity with his interpretation, but it all ended up falling flat. It was an effort at showing some range, but this exposed that he doesn't really have any.

Will You Love Me Tomorrow by the Shirelles became the first song written by Carole King to hit #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 when it stayed there for two weeks in 1960. James Durbin demonstrated for all of the other contestants what it means to perform, interpret and re-invent a pop classic. James has an exceptional voice and outstanding professional stage presence. He quite literally rocked the house and 50 years later this song could be a #1 hit all over again!

The Drifters took Carole's song Up On The Roof to #5 in 1962. Scotty and Lauren's duet of this wonderful song was over before it began. It simply lacked any connection to each other or the lyrics.

Blood Sweat and Tears took Hi-De-Ho to #14 in 1970. Casey Abrams just gave us more of his self-indulgent creepy mannerisms to this performance and it was just a relief when it was over. He brings unpleasant tightness and hostility to the stage that is uncomfortable to watch.

Beautiful is another wonderful track from Tapestry and Haley simply brought it down to the level of a second rate amateur hour. She's is up there play acting the part when she just doesn't have the goods.

I'm Into Something Good was a #13 hit for Herman's Hermits in 1964. The pairing of Jacob and James for this duet was not something good. James is up there like a seasoned professional while Jacob is floundering around completely unable to keep up.

My prediction for the bottom three is Casey Abrams, Jacob Lusk and Haley Reinhart. I have to believe that at this point in the competition the public is able to tell the difference between the legitimate talent that James Durbin has and that they will be voting to keep him in the game. The rest of them can go, but this week Jacob Lusk should be the lowest vote getter.

How Great is Carrie Underwood!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eiEaK4GXtw

After the Academy of Country Music Awards a few weeks ago, they decided to take advantage of having all the biggest names in Country Music together to tape a special called Girls Night Out.

It was an opportunity to give recognition to the best women in country music, so of course, that means that they saved the best for last in honoring the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood.

She was singled out and praised for being the only female artist to win the ACM Entertainer of the Year award two years in a row.

She graced the stage to perform How Great Thou Art and brought the audience to their feet with her exceptionally pure and outstanding, emotional performance.

The Results - 21st Century

Stefano, Jacob, Haley and Lauren opened the show with a performance of one of the biggest hits of 2010 - Hey Soul Sister by Train. Then Casey, Scotty and James got together to sing Coldplay's #1 hit from 2008 - Viva La Vida.

The first bit of unfortunate news for the evening was that the first finalist to be named as safe was creepy Casey. Jacob was the first to be named in the bottom three.

The Season 7 Miss American Idol winner, David Cook, is more well known for his support of charitable causes that he is for his musical success. He has failed to hit the top 10 again since his #3 debut single The Time Of My Life in 2008. He came back to the American Idol stage to debut the first single from his second album so maybe this exposure is just what he needs to make another dent in the charts.

It was then revealed that Lauren, James and Scotty are all safe leaving Haley and Stefano to join Jacob in the bottom three. Haley barely had a chance to sit down, though, before Ryan sent her back to safety.

Superstar hitmaker Katy Perry was easily one of the most successful top artists of 2010 hitting #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 with California Gurls and Teenage Dream. The hits have continued in 2011 with two more huge #1 hits Firework and E.T. Katy came to the American Idol stage and brought all of her extraterrestrial, supernatural amazing awesomeness in an outstanding performance of E.T. that should ensure that it stays at the top of the charts for a long time to come.

For another week now we have had to say good bye to one of the best finalists as Stefano was revealed as the lowest vote getter. His fantastic high energy disco performance of Lately was a final reminder that the voters don't want to recognize exceptional talent this season. His vocal range is outstanding and he moves across the stage with handsome finesse.

This week I correctly predicted that Jacob would be in the bottom three, but it's a shame that we'll have to see him again next week. The more we see Casey each week the more we see his creepy and unlikable personality. It was especially weird and unpleasant when Casey got up in her face and kissed Jennifer. Scotty and Lauren are coasting in this popularity contest without having any impressive talent to back it up. Haley is like a character study for a recurring skit that Kristen Wiig will be doing on Saturday Night Live next year. That leaves us with James as the only remaining finalist with any vocal skills, talent and stage presence worthy of a legitimate career in the music business. That probably means that James will be going home next week.

The Top 7 sing the 21st Century

The Top 7 finalists were able to select any song recorded since the turn of the century:

Leann Rimes won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1996, and as recent as 2010 she was nominated for a Grammy for her high energy performance of Swingin'. Scotty McCreery tried to give his own spin to this hot song. He slowed down the arrangement and essentially sucked the life out if it. There was no personality in his tepid rendition.

Current hitmaking rockers, Muse, had a hit in 2010 with Uprising and it was the perfect song to allow James Durbin to show that he can just as easily be fresh as he is classic. He displayed amazing vocal range and personality.

Adele won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2008, but it wasn't until this year that she hit the top of the Billboard albums chart with her second release 21. She also earned her first top 10 hit on the Billboard HOT 100 with Rolling In The Deep and Haley Reinhart provided her least messed up performance of the season so far with her cover. She didn't totally butcher it, but you could tell she was really trying to with her totally awful growl thrown in there just to remind us that she's more of a comedy routine than anything else.

Luther Vandross won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 2003 for Dance With My Father and Jacob Lusk actually interpreted it very well. He showed some amazing vocal restraint for a change and was more watchable than usual.

Maroon 5 won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2004 and Casey Abrams chose to sing their very first hit, Harder to Breathe. In his case he is just getting harder to watch and harder to listen to. Creepy does not even begin to describe his unpleasant stage presence. He belongs in the background as a musician - if that.....

Ne-Yo hit #7 in 2008 with his pop smash, Closer. Stefano Langone took our breath away with his vocally fantastic performance. He is completely ready to be in the spotlight on stage and in front of the camera for hot music videos. He gave us American Idol perfection! His dance moves are slick and impressive and he belts out the big notes with effortless ease. Not to mention the fact that he looks so handsome in the most stylish fashions. :)

Sara Evans had a big hit with Born To Fly in 2000. It's a fun song, but Lauren Alaina failed to give any personality to her take on it. Her voice is mildly good, but nothing exceptional. She doesn't seem to know what do with herself on stage so she just stands there appearing to be scared and nervous.

My prediction for the bottom three this week is Casey Abrams, Jacob Lusk and Scotty McCreery. I'm giving Haley a free pass this week because she restrained herself to do a respectable job on a song that I really like. If we're really lucky, by my not predicting her to be in the bottom three we may finally get rid of her! So of the three boys I predicted to be in the bottom, I think Casey and Scotty will be safe because they have enough fans who will stick by them no matter how creepy or boring they are. That leaves Jacob to be the one going home this week.

The Results - Movie Music

This year's Miss American Idol Sweethearts, Scotty and Lauren, opened the show with a very bland performance of American Honey that made us long for the original version by Lady Antebellum. Then Haley and Casey moaned and groaned their way through a sloppy mess of something verging on jazz, except that it wasn't any good. It was revealed afterward that Scotty, Lauren and Casey are all safe, while Haley had to take the first seat in the bottom three.

The Season 1 Miss American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, has enjoyed some fantastic success including platinum sales, #1 hits and some Grammy wins. She is showing some lasting staying power as she is still having hits after all these years. She returned to the Idol stage to perform her current hit, Don't You Wanna Stay, with country star Jason Aldean. This wonderful love song has slowly been getting bigger and bigger every week and now with this high profile exposure it is sure to get a significant bump on the charts.

The remaining boys, James, Stefano, Jacob and Paul, got together to perform a medley of Simon and Garfunkel #1 hits: The Sounds of Silence and Mrs. Robinson. While James and Jacob were both safe, Stefano and Paul had to go join Haley in the bottom three.

The biggest superstar hit maker over the past five years is without argument Rihanna. She has had a string of too many #1 hits to list all of them. She has already hit the top with the first two singles (What's My Name and Only Girl In The World) from her latest album, Loud. While her third single, S&M, is on the verge of doing the same thing, she came to the American Idol stage and decided to perform her fourth single rather than giving S&M the push. Honestly, everything she touches becomes a hit whether she promotes it or not so she might as well debut the fourth single.

Haley and Stefano were announced as safe so that left Paul McDonald to be the first boy to be eliminated from the top 13. He performed his quirky version of Maggie May one last time.

This week I correctly predicted that both Haley and Paul would be in the bottom three. At this point it's all just part of the joke for me to predict that Haley will be the one going home because we all know that she is going to win the whole thing anyway.

The Top 8 sing Movie Music

The top 8 finalists are singing songs from the movies tonight:

Old Time Rock & Roll originally peaked at #28 in 1979 for Bob Seger, but it didn't become a classic until Tom Cruise did an underwear lip sync to it in Risky Business in 1983. Paul McDonald not only left his pants on for this performance, but he showed off another flowered suit. The suit ended up being the best part of this as his vocals were once again all wrong.

Miley Cyrus took her Hannah Montana character to the big screen in 2009 and had a #4 hit from it with The Climb. Lauren Alaina did a better job than Miley with her rendition, but since Miley's not a very good singer that's pretty easy to do. This is exactly the comfort zone for Lauren so if she keeps on doing more of this she should be around a lot longer.

Boyz II Men spent 13 weeks at #1 in 1992 with the End Of The Road. Who even remembers that this song was featured in Boomerang? Stefano Langone has a super smooth voice that is perfect for this R&B slow jam. He served up an outstanding vocal performance and he looked even more handsome than ever.

George Strait is probably the most boring man in country music history - and he's also one of the most successful. He made a movie called Pure Country in 1992 and included a song called I Cross My Heart that Scotty McCreery decided to sing tonight. Clearly Scotty is striving for safe and boring. It worked for George Strait and it will certainly work for Scotty.

Nat King Cole is the standard when it comes to jazz classics and Casey Abrams got up on stage with his upright bass again and performed his Nature Boy. It was very far from the standard set by Nat as Casey crossed over into the creepy with his weak vocals and strange facial expressions. If anyone knows what movie Nature Boy was featured in, please let me know.

Blondie spent six weeks at #1 in 1980 with Call Me from the movie American Gigolo. This song is one of the best rockin dance/pop jams in the history of ever and Haley Reinhart just made a mockery of it. Once again she acted like any old random drunk girl in a bar. Haley has no sense of professionalism, style or good taste when it comes to her performance choices.

Simon & Garfunkel spent six weeks at #1 in 1970 with Bridge Over Troubled Water. It also went on to win the Grammy for Record of the Year. Jacob Lusk provided his most controlled and disciplined performance of the competition so far with this fantastic song. Incidentally, the song was included in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006.

In 1981 the animated cult classic Heavy Metal was released with the hard rocking theme song performed by Sammy Hagar. James Durbin closed the night with an outstanding over the top high energy rock concert performance of this anthem. James has the vocal skills and the stage presence to headline anywhere and everywhere right now!

Tonight we were treated to a broad range of musical diversity from smooth R&B to hard rocking heavy metal, and from classic country to jazz. James and Stefano were easily the best of the night while my prediction for the bottom three is Paul, Haley and Casey. I'm going to keep saying this every week until she ends up winning the whole thing, but Haley will hopefully be the lowest vote getter and will be going home.

The Results - Rock&Roll Hall of Fame

The show opened with the top 9 finalists performing a fun mash-up with the girls singing the 1982 Joan Jett and the Blackhearts #1 smash I Love Rock-n-Roll mixed together with the boys singing Lynard Skynard's Sweet Home Alabama that hit #8 in 1974. It was good, but it really highlighted the difference between the finalists who have stage presence and talent (Pia, James and Stefano) compared to the awkwardness of the others.

And it figures that one of the most talented, Stefano, ends up being the first to be in the bottom three while Lauren and Scotty were safe.

The Season 4 finalist, Constantine Maroulis, returned to the Idol stage to perform a very good rendition of Unchained Melody. He has been touring across the country for a few years now in the smash Broadway hit, Rock Of Ages. He even got a Tony Nomination for his performance.

Things went from bad to worse when another of the most talented finalists, Pia, had to go join Stefano in the bottom three while Paul and Casey were safe.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Iggy Pop, then performed his very unique brand of alternative rock that was actually pretty bad. I'm sure Haley was taking notes very closely and she'll be adding some of his moves to her comedy routine for next week.

Unfortunately, Haley will be coming back next week as she and James were both safe leaving Jacob to take the final spot in the bottom three.

Last week, America got it very wrong sending Thia home way too early and it is just getting worse from there. Stefano and Jacob are both safe and in the worst joke in American Idol history since Jennifer Hudson was eliminated, Pia Toscano was the lowest vote getter of the week.

What started out as a great competition with lots of talented finalists is quickly becoming a farce. At least I correctly predicted that Jacob would be in the bottom three, but the pity party votes for Casey are going on for way too long. And the fact that Haley is getting any votes at all is the biggest piece of confusion in all of this. At the rate things are going, I predict that Haley will end up winning the whole Season 10 Miss American Idol crown.

The Top 9 sing Rock&Roll Hall of Fame

Tonight the top 9 finalists had to make a selection from the inductees of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Michael Jackson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Jacob Lusk showed that he doesn't have any star quality remotely close to that of the King of Pop as he butchered Man In The Mirror (#1 for 2 weeks in 1988). He really should have switched places with the wonderfully talented singer and songwriter, Siedah Garrett, who was on stage with him doing background vocals. Jacob does not belong front and center.

Janis Joplin was inducted in 1995 and Haley Reinhart performed her classic Piece of my Heart. Haley is taking her game of playing dress up as a pop star way too far. She must be the niece of some high powered record executive to have gotten this far in the competition because she has no likable or desirable vocal talent at all. This was just comical screaming.

Creedence Clearwater Revival was inducted in 1993. Have You Ever Seen The Rain hit #8 in 1971 and Casey Abrams got back up on stage with his upright bass and showed that he's much more of a musician than a singer. His vocals simply aren't that good.

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, was inducted in 1987. Lauren Alaina took one of the greatest songs of all time, A Natural Woman (#8 - 1967) and made it very emotionless and boring. And the outfit she had on was not flattering at all.

George Harrison has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: once with the Beatles in 1988 and then again as a solo artist in 2004. His power ballad While My Guitar Gently Weeps is the perfect showcase for James Durbin's dynamic musical and vocal range. This was a spectacular, powerful and emotional performance.

The King of Rock-n-Roll, Elvis Presley, was inducted in 1986. Elvis could successfully perform Rock, Soul, Country and Gospel where Scotty McCreery isn't quite as convincing when he steps out of his comfort zone. This was a respectable effort but he really needs to polish things up a lot more before he's ready for the big leagues.

Tina Turner was inducted in 1991 and one of her signature hits is River Deep, Mountain High. This song has a dramatic production value that is an exciting compliment to the outstanding vocals of Pia Toscano. She sounded even better than last week!

Percy Sledge was inducted in 2005 and he is most well-known for his fantastic smash When A Man Loves A Woman that hit #1 for two weeks in 1966. Stefano Langone once again showed that he has all the ingredients necessary to be a huge pop idol. His vocals were over the top amazing as he belted out every lyric with passion and conviction.

Johnny Cash was inducted in 1992 and he is probably the coolest cowboy ever. Paul McDonald is more like the cool cowboy's crazy cousin, but he definitely made Folsom Prison Blues his own. It was the same quirky Paul that we've seen every week.

The division between the good finalists with pop music potential and the other finalists is getting wider and wider. It's very clear that the talented front-runners are Pia, Stefano and James.

Then there's the not-so great ones who should be going home. My prediction for the bottom three vote getters this week is Jacob, Haley and Casey with Haley finally going home this week. Haley has absolutely no star quality or charisma and her performance style is so embarrassing and amateurish. We can only hope that we won't have to see her again.

Taylor Hicks on TV??!!!!!!

The Season 5 Miss American winner, Taylor Hicks, hasn't really been seen much since his debut single Do I Make You Proud hit #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 shortly after his win.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLAMhTorPCk

In a very fun surprise he showed up performing with Stephen Colbert on the Jimmy Fallon Show singing the latest pop sensation, Friday. As always, he looks like he's having a great time and he even pulled out his signature harmonica. This version is a billion times better than the original. :)

It's all about Carrie Underwood!

The Academy of Country Music Awards were just on and it was another night all about the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood!

This is the Awards show that for the past two years in a row named Carrie the Entertainer of the Year. Even though Carrie didn't win any awards this year, she was still all over the show. Here is a very exciting clip of her performance from the evening. She starts out with her huge hit Undo It and she is joined by current American Idol judge, Steven Tyler. They then go into a rocking jam of Walk This Way. Easily the best performance and the highlight of the evening!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBMrC2ToAgU

In addition to this showstopper, Carrie was featured in not 1, not 2, but 3 commercials throughout the telecast.

We've all seen her stunningly flawless face in the ad campaign for Olay for many months now and it continued to be shown during the Academy of Country Music awards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE3KeVmLl1g

Carrie wrote and performed a song called There's A Place For Us for the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Commercials advertising that the movie is being released on DVD this week were played during the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua_r7u6__tY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ2Vzw33v6w&feature=fvwrel

Then there's the biggest and most exciting news about Carrie's big movie opening in Theaters on Friday April 8th. She has a starring role in Soul Surfer based on the true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to become a champion again, through the love of her family, her sheer determination and unwavering faith. The film features an all-star cast, including AnnaSophia Robb and Helen Hunt, with Carrie Underwood in her film debut, and Dennis Quaid.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SoulSurfer4811?v=MWeOjBCi3c4&feature=pyv&ad=10080872974&kw=soul%20surfer