American Idol 10: Paul McDonald Goes Home and Then There Were Seven

More likely tonight’s latest eliminated American Idol contestant, Paul McDonald, will be exceptionally busy after his Idol Tour. I don’t see Paul slowing down one bit. In fact I think it would be cool to watch him at his own concert. Either way, Idol was great exposure for his eclectic voice.

The duets were back tonight, and not just for the Idol kids. More on that later. The Idol hopefuls grouped as: Lauren Alaina & Scotty McCreery, Haley Reinhart & Casey Abrams. Then the quartet of guys: Paul McDonald, Jacob Lusk, Stefano Langone and James Durbin. All sounded really good in their groups. Idol producers need to stick with this format.

American Idol 10: James Durbin Revisits Heavy Metal, Casey Brings the Jazz

The night was dedicated to music in the movies this week on American Idol 10, but first… let’s honor Jlo for being named “Most Beautiful Woman in the World” by People Magazine. M’kay, awkward moment while a spotlight falls on JLO and an old recording is played of “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.”  The prelude should have been Ryan Seacrest saying, “and now for something completely different.” Finally we got to the music. It was a bit of a sleepy night until the end.

American Idol Shocker: Pia Toscano Eliminated Early

Iggy Pop performed live on American Idol tonightCover of Iggy Pop

It was a weird night from the very beginning of the AI elimination show tonight. Constantine Maroulis slaughtered his performance, not in a good way. Iggy Pop had to be bleeped and camera blocked during his scary performance. Ryan Seacrest promised a shocking elimination, and he was right. Pia Toscano was eliminated from AI season 10, finishing in 9th place.

The group number returned to start the show. That was the first mistake. Singing a medley of rock & roll hits did nothing to help this group of ranging voices. Last week we got to hear duets, it should have stayed that way.

American Idol Season 10: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night for the Top 9

Tonight the American Idol hopefuls took on the library of those inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I think it separated the kids from the adults. The older Idol contestants seemed to dig deeper this week for their songs. The younger ones went with the standards. Nothing really new there though. It seems this group is happy to recreate previous Idol moments. The problem is they always seem to choose the real defining moments of others and leave themselves looking like karaoke fans.

Here’s what happened on rock & roll night on American Idol:

Jacob Lusk: “Man In the Mirror” by Michael Jackson
If Jacob Lusk falls into the bottom three tomorrow night it will likely be due to his comments pre-performance. “If I end up in the bottom three it’s because America wasn’t ready to look at itself in the mirror,” said Lusk. You haven’t won yet Jacob. The performance was okay, at best. He over sang the song again. It was only slightly better than Kris Allen’s performance on Idol season eight (and I only say that because the song writer, Siedah Garrett, joined him onstage. How fair is that?). Actually after re-watching the Kris Allen video it wasn't better at all.

American Idol Season 10 Takes on Elton John

Image via Wikipedia

Not that I’m a fan or anything, but I think I officially know every single Elton John / Bernie Taupin song ever put on vinyl. So I was prepared for some disappointments. It was not a bad night though, on the whole. I wish the American Idol kids would dig a little deeper for the good songs, but maybe they can’t (or just don’t know enough). Here’s how the Elton John night went down on Idol.

Scotty McCreery - “Country Comfort”
I give Scotty credit for digging into the Elton John library a little deeper than the rest. Even though he only chose the song because it had “country” in the title. Shows his youth. He did well, even giving a shout out to his grandma in the audience. The last note was a little off, but he tried to throw the baritone in there for good measure. Like Jacob Lusk and the high notes, you don’t need them every week. I would have liked to heard Scotty sing "Blue Eyes" instead.

American Idol Season 10 Top 12 Guys: Which Five Will Survive?

Finally it's time! The first big full stage performances by the American Idol hopefuls of season 10 started tonight. The top 12 guys took the stage in front a few hundred screaming fans and a huge new stage. It was a night of ups and downs, as usual on Idol. Ryan Seacrest greeted the judges, then gave Steven Tyler his own mouth bubble in case he “saw any ducks”, or in case he were to *bleep* up.

AI season 10 contestants were allowed to choose their song tonight... I always fear for them when the door is left that wide open. It did not bode well for some of the top 12 guys.

Clint Jun Gamboa: “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder

Clint is a karaoke star in his hometown, and like so many other karaoke Idol hopefuls he chose one of the most overdone songs. Yes, it showed off his vocal ability... and Clint Gamboa does have vocal ability. He does not seem to have the heart of a true musician though. He doesn't seem to really have emotion when he sings. He's not compelling to watch, at all. He does sing well though.

Judges: All three judges thought Clint Gamboa was brilliant.