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.