OMG the audience is doing the wave. Enuf already.

Keep your energy up for OUR JUDGES says Ryan.

Kids pick a song from their own personal idol.

Lauren Alaina – “Any Man of Mine” by Shania Twain –

Steven was right on. And she did seem a little pouty with the comments. Humm … was this the beginning of the end for Lauren? Afterall it is hard to go wire-to-wire on Idol and she has been the prohibitive leader from the beginning.

“Gotta have a good song, I wished it had been more kick ass.” – Steven said.

“We want you to kick it into high gear. Now it’s time.” – Jennifer added.

“That’s a cool song, you sang it well. We want to see something that makes you shine beyond belief.” – Randy concluded.

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Casey Abrams – “With A Little Help From My Friends” by the Beatles –

His personal idol is Joe Cocker. And boy did he pick the right song. Casey just moved to the top of the class with this effort.

“We go by what we feel. At one point I grabbed Randy and said what am I watching? Blew me away.” – Jennifer said.

“Dude, you were so unbelievable and so exciting. You make listening to you sing fun.” – Randy said.

“You are a rainbow of talent, man. You are a plethora of passion. Everybody in the house felt what you did. Yowza.” – Steven said.

“I was just so happy,” says Casey. He felt like he was channeling Joe Cocker.

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Ashthon Jones – “When You Tell Me That You Love Me” by Diana Ross –

Tried really hard to sing, look, act, be like Diana Ross … and it didn’t work. Barry Gordy is in the audience. He was better just sitting there than she was performing. Maybe the song choice was awful. The effort was very karaoke.

“I liked it. It sounded like a safe move, but I liked it. You grew as a singer. You did yourself some good with that.” – Randy said.

“There’s more in there than you’re showing us.” – Steven said.

“You’re so elegant up there. But, I want to start seeing you sing songs that we can sing along with you. I think you are amazing.” – Jennifer added.

Ashthon said: “I want people to see the elegant side of me…who Ashthon Jones really is.”

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Paul McDonald – “Come Pick Me Up” by Ryan Adams –

Jennifer asked is America gonna get it? I don’t know. Not as a winner, but certainly he won’t go anywhere this week. He is too unique and simply has too much raw talent. His whole career path from here on out will be interesting.

“I love the character and the rasp in your voice. A little pitchy. Nail it next time.” – Steven said.

“You’re so unique. You moved the crowd. I hope America gets it. I don’t know Ryan Adams and that song.” – Jennifer explained.

“After last week’s performance, it wasn’t the most exciting thing. I love the character. I get it I hope America gets it.” – Randy said.

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Pia Toscano – “All By Myself” by Celine Dion –

Thought she wouldn’t be very original with this, but she was. The song was kinda corny but she did it well. Would I buy her record? Not yet, for sure.

“You topped last week. Really beautiful.” – Jennifer said.

“We say don’t tackle those songs if you can’t do them. But you have that quality. You hit the notes dead on without even thinking about it. Very hot, dope, cool performance.” – Randy said.

“That was the sum of all your performances so far. You just polished that apple. You just slammed it. That was beautiful.” – Steven said.

James Durbin – “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney –

He reigned it in and it was his best effort to date. Haircut, clean-shaven and all.

“You’re one of my favs in this whole thing. I love this kind of voice. Now you come out and sing Paul McCartney and slayed it. You showed you had a sensitive side. Dude. James Durbin is dangerous, America.” – Randy said.

“You have taken everything you’ve ever felt and kicked it into the middle of next week.” – Steven added.

“You have such a quality. You have what the greatest rock singers have. You’re melodic.” – Jennifer said.

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Haley Reinhart – “Blue” by LeAnn Rimes –

Opening off-key and the country thing doesn’t do her style justice. Kinda like her voice, but on this effort I’ll take a pass.

“That was beautiful. You can hear the rest of the country and western part of America roaring. You did such a good job.” – Steven said.

“I think America is really getting to know you now. You do really special things. It’s so unique to you. Even the yodeling part of this song. Really special.” – Jennifer said.

“I like that you can do anything. But it was a little sleepy and a little boring.” – Randy said.

Haley said she was trying to show her softer side. Jennifer thinks she’s very sexy.

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Jacob Lusk – “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly –

R. Kelly is Jacob’s Idol. Jimmy Iovine tells him that “breathing is very important.” He did sound off-key for whatever reason. You just thought he would do much better with this song… but he didn’t. Very pedestrian and screamy. Not his best effort, he is much better than this.

“Pure passion, pure music, I can’t even judge it.” – Steven said.

“You make us feel so much when you sing. It’s anybody’s game. You’re at the top of the list.” – Jennifer said.

“When you start, you have such a signature sound. You kinda went sharp, but by the end, you hit those high notes. I’m excited every time you hit the stage.” – Randy said.

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Thia Megia – “Smile” by Michael Jackson (his version) –

With Thia it’s hard to look past the voice you hear coming out of the tiny. young body. But this song didn’t really work. The arrangement was rough. She needed a do-over on the entire effort. She is so much better than this.

“I loved the intro, it was so beautiful, I heard Michael, a little Adele. All in all it was good. I loved the beginning more than the end.” – Randy said.

“I got to agree. A little pitchy in the middle there. But you’re so young. Overall I liked it.” – Steven said.

“The beginning reminded me a little bit of last week. I thought the arrangement was interesting. Doesn’t matter, you sing like an angel.” – Jennifer said.

Thia cries because Randy dissed her.

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Stefano Langone – “Lately” by Stevie Wonder –

Now this arrangement is worse than Thia’s. But, all and all, Stefano makes the most of a bad situation. I just don’t know what the hell was going on with this song. Help me here…

“You pulled it off. It was like a volcano. Arrangement was crazy.” – Steven said.

“You had me dancing there for a minute. It wasn’t just a copy of it it was really you.” – Jennifer said.

“It started off a little rocky for me. Stevie is so hard to sing. He’d be proud. You slayed it. Very nicely done.” – Randy said.

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Karen Rodriguez – “I Could Fall In Love” by Selena –

She’s a Selena fan since forever. Was it karaoke boring? Yep.

“For me, I could tell you were a little uncomfortable with some of the notes. You’re one of our strongest girls. I hope you make it to next week.” – Jennifer said.

“It felt like you were fighting the song. It was a little sleepy for me. I want excitement from you. It didn’t quite come off for me.” – Randy critiqued.

“It was lacking a little bit. I know you can sing so much better.” – Steven said.

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Scott McCreery – “The River” by Garth Brooks –

Scotty’s baseball team is 2-2. He’s missin’ his Blue Crew. “You’ve got to be country music, you can’t just sing it,” said Scotty. And he never looks nervous.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t even think about fixing it. That’s a great Garth Brooks song. Dude, this is exactly where you belong. Don’t change it. I love it.” – Randy said.

“You did the Garth justice. You’re riding high tonight.” – Steven added.

“I saw you open up as a performer. You embraced the audience. You’re taking us all on the ride with you. Congratulations.” – Jennifer said.

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Naima Adedapo – “Umbrella” by Rihanna –

Guess there is an appeal to a younger audience especialy with the backdrop. She is OK, but I’ll pass on the song.

“You’re crazy good. A little pitchy. You brought flavor tonight. I adore you for that.” – Steven said.

“You got fire girl. You dancing up there. You’re doing it the way stars do it. You need to work on the control. I’m glad you came out and did what you did.” – Jennifer said.

“I differ with Jennifer. I care about the pitchiness. You’ve got to have the breath and the control. The cutoffs were a little rough. I loved the whole reggae thing.” – Randy added.

What did Namima say? I think she dedicated the song to someone. She even had breathe problems with that.

So, who goes? I’ll tell you around noon on Thursday who should go.