Tonight the Top 11 finalists made a song selection from the legendary pop music catalog of Elton John:
Scotty McCreery found the one and only country song that Elton John ever did from his album Tumbleweed Connection. The song Country Comfort allowed Scotty to stay in the safety of his comfort zone and give his legion of fans more of the same.
Naima Adedapo is leaving her mark once again on the American Idol stage as the one finalist who tries something different and mixes things up every week. Tonight she re-worked Elton's I'm Still Standing (#12 in 1983) into a festive reggae jam. It was wonderfully entertaining.
Paul McDonald took his guitar in hand to put his folksy stamp on Elton's Rocket Man (#6 1972). This is the second time Paul showed off his jacket embroidered with red roses as well as the second time he's tried to sing Elton. We didn't need to see the suit again and we do not need to hear him ruin Elton's music again.
Pia Toscano selected a song that Elton made into a smash hit twice! Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (#2 in 1974, #1 in 1991) As we have come to expect from her, she looked stunning in a short sparkly number and her vocals were amazing.
Stefano Langone wrapped his fantastic voice around one of Elton's classic songs that never actually hit the singles chart. Tiny Dancer is the opening track on the album Madman Across The Water and Stefano was simply dreamy in every respect with this heartfelt performance.
Lauren Alaina chose a song that has had many lives. Candle In The Wind was originally on the 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It hit #6 in 1987, but in 1997 it spent 14 weeks at #1 in tribute to Princess Diana. Left in Lauren's hands, unfortunately, this song might never be a hit again. Her version was flat and boring.
James Durbin wants to remind the fans that Elton John used to know how to ROCK before he started doing only one ballad after another later in his career. Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting hit #12 in 1973 and James worked his way through the audience like a seasoned professional with this one.
Thia Megia graced the song Daniel (#2 - 1973) with her lovely vocals. In addition to her exceptionally pure voice, Thia added an impressive depth of maturity that is far beyond her years. It was much more than just singing. Thia interpreted this classic and brought it to life making us feel the story and get to know the characters.
Casey Abrams was saved by the judges last week even though the voters were sick of hearing him scream every week. Tonight he did his best to tone it down as he performed Your Song (#8 - 1970) and it's what he needed to do. He's still not that great, but it's clear that he's trying.
Jacob Lusk could only benefit from making a selection from the Elton John songbook since he's usually such an over-dramatic hot mess. The song he decided to tear up was Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word that peaked at #6 in 1976. All I will say is that given a good producer who can keep Jacob in check, he's not all bad.
Haley Reinhart was the drunk girl at the party who gets up on the piano to sing when no one wants her to. She made a fool of herself destroying Elton's #1 smash from 1974, Bennie and the Jets.
Since the judges used their SAVE last week, that means two of the finalists will be sent home tomorrow night. My prediction for the bottom three is Paul McDonald, Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart. I'm going to keep on predicting that Haley will be the one sent home until it finally happens. Casey will also be joining her.
No comments:
Post a Comment