I can sure pick the bottom three, but when it comes to figuring out who goes home, I’m off. Even last week, I called Karen being in the bottom three, but never thought that the wannabe J. Lo would’ve been gone so quickly. I thought she had a few weeks left in her. But the reality is that she was a one-trick pony. She tried very hard to mimic her favorite artists (J-Lo included), but it got tired, especially when her mimics weren’t all that great. The bottom line is that she wasn’t going to win this contest anyway. On to the next one…

Let’s get to the hotlist.

Hotlist
1. Jacob Lusk – I think he’s irritating people, but this is a singing contest and he has the best voice no matter how annoying he is.
2. Lauren Alaina – She’s over her flu and I think her best is yet to come.
3. Casey Abrams – It took large grapefruits to sing Nirvana, but I’m not sure it put him in better standing.
4. James Durbin – My friend Matt likes to call him Straight Lambert.
5. Pia Toscano – My fear for her is that she grows boring singing all those ballads.
6. Scotty McCreery – I’m already hearing from people that Scotty’s so cute.
7. Stefano Langone – He’s Elliott Yamin 2.0.
8. Thia Megia – She needs to shake the nerves a bit, but she did much better in week 2.
9. Paul McDonald – If Jacob is annoying, what’s Paul?
10. Naima Adedapo – She took a step back after a strong first week.
11. Haley Reinhart – I had high hopes.

The Defeated
1. Poor Young Ashthon Jones
2. Poor Karen Rodriguez

The Idol crew is singing from the Motown catalog tonight which is good for some, and bad for others. I really hope they pick some different songs to sing. We’ve heard the classics done over and over and over again.

Once again, J. Lo comes out and is not giving us the type of outfit that creates the booty shot. Once of these days, they’re going to make her wear pants, or a tight skirt. They just showed Liv Tyler in the audience. Grab some Ben Affleck and we can have a Jersey Girl reunion.

Casey Abrams is starting off the show with I Heard It Through The Grapevine. For whatever reason, he tried to tame the mane and put some gel in his hair. He does a pretty good “Casey” version of the song, but with his goofy look, it came off a bit less than serious, even though his vocals were serious. He’s also starting to resemble Al Borland from Home Improvement. Steven says he’s the perfect entertainer. J. Lo’s not sure if there’s anyone out there like him and wants him to carve out his niche. Randall says he’s an original and he only does him. That sounded a bit weird.

@mrbjorke says:

Seriously, how is this kid not named Zac or Zach? Put a beanie on his head and give him an acoustic guitar and he’s Zac Brown #idol10

@wschamps2010 says:

I’m watching Idol on delay and I just realized Casey looks like the Unabomber… #idol10

Thia Megia is singing Heat Wave. I think this could be really interesting with her voice. Amazingly, she could do this style of song better than Ashthon can and we were lead to believe this style was Ashthon’s bread and butter. Her vocals were a bit low, but I’m not sure if it was a mic issue or not. There was also a point where it looked like she thought the song was ending before it was. Vocally, it was good, but the performance was a bit less than the vocals. J. Lo says she wants her to dig deeper and to connect with the lyrics better. Randall says she took a chance and he wants her to continue to believe and to take some chances. Steven says he’s good with it.

@tati1120

Thia’s got to grow a personality.. when she speaks, she puts me to sleep. #idol

@swhoutx035 says:

Thanks #idol10 for reminding me how awesome Motown was and how much I love it. Digging out dusty CDs right now.

Jacob Lusk is singing You’re All I Need. If there’s a week he owns, it’s going to be this week. And he’s challenging himself singing Marvin. He’s all in. Of course, he kills it. But when I was singing along, I almost sang, “I got a Love Jones, for your body and your skin tone.” He had a ton of fun with the song and the performance. Will he turn people off still because of his feminine gestures? Sure. But this is a singing contest and he’s money. Randall says he was like a true professional. Steven says he milked it and it was beautiful. J. Lo says he made them beg for the notes.

@cassieneils says:

Jacob Lusk on American Idol is amazing! God blessed that man with some serious pipes!

Lauren Alaina is singing You Keep Me Hanging On. It turned out to be a little safe, but still solid. After following Jacob, it was a tad underwhelming, but not too many could follow it. Good performance. Steven says she doesn’t listen to anyone and he likes it. J. Lo says she gave attitude and she brought the song to life. Randall says her swagger is on high and she’s ready.

@cake_gal says:

I was worried about Lauren this week but I think she pulled it off #Idol10

Stefano Langone is singing Hello. I hope someone makes a mold of Lionel Richie’s face during this performance. The main issue with this song is that he doesn’t have the deep, rich voice that Lionel has so it’s coming off as a light performance. He puts his all into it, but he falls short. He hits his notes in the end though. Sometimes, that’s what matters. J. Lo says he needs to tell a better story with the song. Randall says the connection with the song is the only thing he’s missing. Steven says to pull back a little bit.

@phreddd says:

Merely okay “Hello” from Stefano. #idol #americanidol #idol10

@cake_gal says:

Glad stefano loves me but all I could think was David Cook killed that song & u didnt #Idol10

Haley Reinhart is singing You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me by Smoke Dogg and the Miracles. She’s twanged the song out, which isn’t a bad thing. She’s also trying to sex it up with her straight hair and showing off the baby thighs. She’s going to be in the bottom more than likely, but it’s not because the performance was bad. It’s just that the competition is tight tonight. Her energy and emotion comes off as less than natural. Randall says it started rough, but the Haley he loved came back. Steven says it was beautiful and it touched his heart and she doesn’t look a day over fabulous. J. Lo says she has effortless control in her voice and she has the most soulful voice on the girl’s side in the competition.

@KimmyEason says:

Dear Haley, Go Home… <3, The American Idol watching public... #idol10

Scotty McCreery is up next and he’s doing a countrified For Once In My Life. I’m a big Stevie Wonder fan, so I didn’t like this at all. It seems like a bit of a cop out, but it was definitely original. Steven says he took a big chance and he really ripped it. J. Lo says it was a great version of the song, even though it wasn’t his strongest vocal performance. Randall says when he hits the low note, he’s a young lady killer.

@KSay4SF says:

I totally dig country-fied Stevie Wonder! Go Scotty! #Idol10

@mlsoliman says:

Randy called Scotty “Country’s Barry White.” That’s awesome #idol10

Pia Toscano is also doing Stevie with All In Love Is Fair. This intrigues me. It’s not as well known as some of Stevie’s gigantic hits. I know people will get on her again for singing another ballad, but this isn’t a fake emotional Celine Dion song. This is real heartbreak. She’s wearing black, which is perfect for the meaning of the song. The camera got up in her nostrils a little bit, but she did a really good job. J. Lo says Pia needs to improve her stage presence, but everything else was right on the money. Randall says she needs a midtempo or uptempo song. Steven says she’s the closest to a star they have right now.

@HoachX says:

Not only does Pia sing the best of this years group, she does the best promos & interviews. Give her title now! #Idol10

Ryno twirled Pia around so that she could show us her badonkadonk. That might be an Idol first. I was waiting for J. Lo to get up and compete.

Paul McDonald is singing Tracks Of My Tears. Adam Lambert absolutely killed this song last year so he has some huge shoes to fill. Paul’s quirks probably get on my nerves more so than most, but I actually thought he did a pretty good job here. But if I’m going to compare this performance to Adam’s, Paul’s couldn’t carry Adam’s performance’s jockstrap in a suit case. Randall says he has a distinct and unique tone and he took it to a cool place. Steven says he has a “different” beautiful voice. J. Lo says he’s well-rounded.

@dysfashional says:

#PaulMcDonald reminds me so much of Kenny Loggins but he sounds like a Cane Toad after it takes a hit off a bong #AmericanIdol #Idol10

Do yourself a favor and check out Adam’s performance of this song if you’ve never seen it before.

Naima Adedapo is singing Dancing In The Street. She should make this work very well. I hope she doesn’t change it too much. Naima has to get off the stilts. Wait, those are her real legs in some bell-bottom trousers. She definitely took some chances by moving around the stage so much with her stilts. I thought it would hurt her vocals, but it didn’t really. She put on a whip-my-hair-back-and-forth display of dancing at the end. Naima is back. Steven says it was the whole package. J. Lo says she’s an exciting performer and it gave her goose bumps. Randall says everything was very smart tonight.

@wschamps2010 says:

This is the first night I liked Naima Performance. So do I move her from the last spot … Torn #idol10

It’s time for Big Game James Durbin with Living For The City. This could be right up his wheel house. Three Stevie songs tonight. Talk about influence. And out of everyone, James does Stevie best. What a fun performance this was. He ended the show nicely and with great energy. J. Lo says he leaves her speechless. Randall says it was a little bit rough in the beginning, but once he hit his stride, it was unbelievable. Steven says it takes a little bit of being crazy to make a difference in this world and that’s what James is all about.

@mrbjorke says:

#straightlambert has perfect pitch, just like Adam. #idol10

This was a very strong night for vocals. While you may not have liked their versions of each song, there wasn’t anyone who sang badly. If you were compare the singers in season 10 to the majority in season 1 (save for Kelly and Tamyra), I’m not sure it’s close. The vocals on these 10 remaning are top notch.

Jacob, James, Lauren, and Naima were my favorites tonight and it’s a shame someone has to go home tomorrow. Because of her past two weeks, Haley may still be in trouble. My main worry is that Stefano gets lost in the shuffle. The dude has the chops. He needs to stick around.

I have no idea where the photo of Stevie Wonder came from, or who owns the copyright, but I thought it was one of the illest Wonder photos I’ve ever seen. If you need this photo to come down, just leave a comment and I’ll take it down immediately.