American Idol: Down to Three

Since I started watching The Voice, American Idol has sort of become American What, Who, Huh? As far as talent, competition, song choices, intrigue and judging, there is no competition between the two shows. In short, The Voice is everything American Idol should be, could be and never will be.

Anyway, here we are and after the departure of first Casey and then James I’m left feeling like I’ve been stuck in the backseat of a car on a 14-hour drive. We’re almost there, right? Finally, we’re almost there.

Round One: Singer’s Choice

Scotty McCreery: As expected, Scotty did a Country song. Next. 

Lauren Alaina: Lauren did a Country song. I guess Pop star Lauren is gone and Country star Lauren has taken her place. I’m not really sure who Lauren Alaina is and I don’t know that she’ll know either until someone finally tells her and puts the music in her hands. Maybe Country Lauren has been there all along and I haven’t been paying attention, but I don’t see any of the Kelly Clarkson comparisons anymore. A decent performance that didn’t do anything for me.

Haley Reinhart: What is and what should never be. What is, in my opinion, is that Haley just won American Idol. I don’t care about the voting, that, like the judging, is irrelevant. What should never be is Haley winning American Idol because the last thing she needs is to be saddled with that goofy winner’s song. Haley has proven herself over the last month or so to be far and away the best of the bunch and I say that because she’s done what none of the other singers, especially the other final three singers, have done which is to grow and mature as a singer and performer in front of us each week. I can’t say that about the other two finalists. I don’t like Led Zeppelin, but I could listen to Haley sing that song over and over. A truly fearless choice by a singer who shines in comparison to her banal competition.

Round One scoring on a ten-point must system:
Haley: 10
Lauren: 8
Scotty:  7

Round Two: Jimmy’s Choice 

Scotty: Scotty did another Country song. Surprisingly, this one was more boring than the first. I think he was holding a guitar. Next.

Lauren: If Lauren thinks having someone apply makeup to her legs on TV is embarrassing, try watching it being done. Another Country song. Has the name of the show changed to American Country?

Haley: I thought Rhiannon was a bad choice at this stage of the game for Haley. Sure, it showed a softer side of her but I don’t know that going into the biggest vote of the season that’s what we need to see. A Stevie Nicks song wasn’t necessarily a bad choice, but I think one that was a little more upbeat and played to Haley’s personality would have been better. Regardless, she sang it very well.

Round Two scoring:
Lauren: 10
Haley: 9
Scotty: 8

Round Three: Judge’s Choice

Scotty: Scotty did another Country song. The only difference this time was it was a song I liked. I wonder whatever happened to Kenny Rogers? Wherever he is he probably doesn’t look like himself anymore.

Lauren: Yeah, you guessed it.

Haley: I hate when they change lyrics. Oh well. I’m not sure there could be a better song for Haley or a better way to end the show. An absolutely fantastic performance of a great song.

This was a good round because the judges finally did something that actually contributed to the show.

Round Three scoring:
Haley: 10
Scotty: 9
Lauren: 8

My Totals:
Haley: 29
Lauren: 25
Scotty: 24

Who’s going home? I think Lauren has been skating by for a long time and hasn’t deserved to be on the show for weeks. Lauren over Casey, really? Lauren over James, really? She looks uncomfortable up there to the point of almost looking like she’s afraid and she frequently sounds unsure of herself and I don’t know why she should stick around for another week other than she’s cute and she sings Country. Because of the popularity of Country music and the fact that the producers seem to want a Country music singer – and a girl – to win American Idol, I have to pick Haley to go home.