TV Review: American Idol Season 10: Final Four With Lady GaGa

The American Idol Season 10 final four took the stage tonight with two performances each. First they would each sing a song that was inspirational to them. Then they took on songs from the library of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and got mentoring from Lady Gaga (in all her weird glory). Even Jimmy Iovine seemed a bit put off by her oddities.

James Durbin took the stage first (and last, what’s up with that Idol?) singing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” which pandered to Randy Jackson and got tons of “yo dude”s from the judge. I thought this was one of James Durbin’s worst night’s on AI, and I’m a fan of his metal madness. The judges, of course, loved him. (Videos on the next page!)

Durbin’s closing performance of “Love Potion No. 9” would have brought out the worst in Simon Cowell I think. It was arrogant and self serving. Lady GaGa’s only advice for James was when she got behind him and physically moved his hips for him. That may have been more for her though. I’d give Durbin a C+ at best for tonight’s performances. He should still be safely in to the top three though, since he has a huge following.

Image via Wikipedia

Haley Reinhart’s first song was “The Earth Song” by Michael Jackson. I actually liked it, but apparently I was close to the only one. It finally felt like Haley had connected with a song emotionally. She started quietly and by the end she looked confident on the Idol stage, finally. Randy Jackson and JLo pulled no punches as they basically trashed Reinhart for screaming the song at the end. Haley, evidently fed up with the weekly thrashings, spoke up repeatedly (and rather snottily) to Randy Jackson saying she felt the song and thought she did a good job. After weeks of being the only one on the end of nasty comments from the Idol judges I almost didn’t blame her.

In her next attempt Haley gave “I (Who Have Nothing)” by Tom Jones a shot. I thought her first song was better, but then again I love Jordin Sparks moving performance of this song (and knew she was the winner after her performance of it). The Idol judges overcompensated for their earlier bashing by giving Haley a standing ovation for this one.Steven Tyler said, "You just Reinhart'ed yourself into the middle of next week!" Overall I give Haley a B for tonight.

Scotty McCreery was not much, if any, better than James Durbin tonight. McCreery’s first song was Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).” Though a moving song, it seemed more patronizing than patriotic. It was hard to hear him at times, as he has a bad habit of turning his head from the mic during parts of the song. His vocals were on, as usual, but it seemed all for votes with no real feeling.

Scotty’s second song was “Young Blood” by George Harrison, and it was weird at best. The best part was the meeting of Scotty McCreery and Lady GaGa. Scotty said he felt like he should kiss his cross before the meeting. GaGa told Scotty to stay up to the mic (get outta my head GaGa!). In fact she told him to think of the microphone as his girlfriend who wanted him to shove his tongue down her throat. I thought Scotty was going to be sick. Luckily she did not demonstrate for him. As for his performance, it was back to T-Rex arms and creepy hands for Scotty on this one. Not a good night for McCreery. I give him a C tonight.

Lauren Alaina took on “Anyway” by Martina McBride. Alaina said she chose the song after the tornadoes hit her home state earlier in the month. It was a good choice based on that, but sadly it was a boring song. Lauren’s outfit didn’t help. She looked like a throwback to the 80’s and did not look comfortable. Lauren’s vocals were decent on the song, it was just so boring.

Alaina sang “Trouble” by Elvis Presley for her second song. She told Lady GaGa that she was having trouble calling herself “evil” in the song. M’kay, then why pick a song that says it over and over? She was completely unbelievable in this one. I have to say this was the worst I’ve seen from Lauren this season of AI. She smiled throughout the entire song, even after Jimmy Iovine and Lady GaGa told her to get into character for it.Tonight Lauren barely gets a C-.

It’s not likely that Lauren Alaina will go home though, since she still has a big following. It’s possible though, since most of the country music lovers are pulling for Scotty McCreery. They may split the country vote though, and let Haley Reinhart sneak into the top three.

The more likely outcome will be the exit of Haley Reinhart from AI Season 10 tomorrow night. I’m not a big fan of Haley’s, but I think she’s gotten a raw deal the last couple of weeks from the judges. It would serve them right to have her stay.

At this point it looks like it will clearly be a James Durbin vs. Scotty McCreery final, unless some of their fans forget to vote or think they are safe. It won’t really matter since most of this season’s Idol finalists will likely go on to get decent recording contracts. Haley Reinhart may have the most trouble unless she reels in her attitude.

After the first round, while the other judges opted not to choose a favorite, Randy Jackson said it was a tie between James Durbin, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina. Haley spoke up again and said, “Thanks, that’s nice of you.” Comments like that will not make you any friends as you move forward in the music industry, no matter how warranted they seem.

What did you think of the Idol final four performances tonight? Who do you think will be headed home tomorrow night?

Don’t forget to tune in to the live elimination show tomorrow night when Enrique Iglesias and Jordin Sparks will perform with a ton of more filler.

To start getting hundreds of TV channels on your computer right now, click here!