Uhh, “we’re hard on you” is quite the understatement. There is a difference between being “hard” on a contestant and being uneven with a contestant. You can’t critique one contestant for one thing and then reward the other contestants for making the same choices. What am I getting at here? Haley Reinhart is feeling frustrated because of some uneven responses, and she’s not the only one… Anyway, I don’t like to play favorites, but I felt like we needed to take a moment to point out some inequalities. On to the show!

It was Top 4 night (wow… the season rushed by!) and Lauren, Haley, James, and Scott took to the bridge of the USS Enterprise, oh, sorry, took to the Idol stage to perform songs that have inspired them and songs from the catalog of the two guys who wrote “Poison Ivy.” That’s right, Anthony Federov. Tonight was all about YOU! I was more amazed that none of the contestants chose Lieber and Stoller’s quintessential hit “Stand By Me.” Weird, I would have snagged that song first and brought the house down by performing bits of the Richard Dreyfuss monologue before an after each verse. BAM! Never been done before on Idol! In it to win it! BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT!

» Read more: The NGH Report – American Idol 10’s Top 4: “We’re hard on you.”

It’s interesting to see Haley still in the competition, facing off against the pre-ordained top 3. The producers obviously want her gone. I mean, come on, she performed 2nd and 1st. What a terrible combination. I think that she’s definitely in danger this week, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the pre-ordained accidentally went home, in a shocking Daughtry like elimination (as Ryan reminded us at the end of the show). Here’s what I thought:

1) Haley Reinhart- I Who Have Nothing
I think she actually sang this better than Jordin, because she threw her own emotion and her personal stle into the song. I think Haley understands the lyric a bit more, and Gaga mentored her just perfectly in order to get her ready. It’d be a shame to see her go out, but what a song to go out on.

2) James Durbin- Love Potion #9
I wasn’t a big fan of how he was singing it with Gaga, but then he just came out and ripped the song a new one. This could have been a trainwreck, but instead, James made it his own and probably secured his place in the finale with the second of two great performances. Idol is on track for another WGWG winner.
» Read more: Mac Show: Top 4 Week

E News is reporting that One of James’ songs this week is Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’

I actually FORGOT about Idol tonight….That says a lot for my interest this season. lol

Join in on the CHAT tonight.  <3

It’s Top 5 night and that means two songs a piece! Let’s find out which contestants built appropriate sets and which contestants crashed and burned (trust me, there were a couple)! Of course, we can’t start ranking the contestants until we talk about the night as a whole. It had a little bit of everything, didn’t it? Tonight’s show had the worst performance of the season along with the best performance of the season with a whole lot of mediocre to great thrown in the middle.

A ghost from 1933 apparently possessed Jennifer Lopez because whatever she was wearing was clearly found in some deceased person’s attack. Sheryl Crow was here to guest mentor… and she was utterly useless. Ryan introduced her as “music royalty.” Umm, Sheryl Crow isn’t music royalty. When has she ever been called the “Queen” or “Princess” of anything? Elvis was the King of Rock, Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul, Michael Jackson was the King of Pop, Britney Spears was the Princess of Pop, and Madonna was the Queen of Pop. These people are music royalty! What the hell is Sheryl Crow? The Duchess of 90’s Movie Soundtracks?

Also, did anyone notice how meta it felt for current Idol contestants to sing previous Idol winners? It was like watching a time paradox unfolding in front of our eyes! I couldn’t tell if a hole was going to tear in the time space continuum. It was all very exciting! » Read more: The NGH Report – American Idol 10’s Top 5: “I feel relieved.”

What a crazy season we’ve had. We started out with a really strong Top 13, we almost lost Casey, we lost Pia, we lost Casey again, and now I’m sitting at my computer, declaring my new favorite contestant as the one who started out as my least favorite contestant in the top 13. I think, even if Casey was still in the competition this week, that Haley would have done enough to surpass him. She had a banner week, and I hope America votes their asses off for her. I’m breaking the performances down individually tonight, rather than grouping the artists together.

1) Haley Reinhart- House Of The Rising Sun
At first, I was like “Not this song again.” but then I was like, oh crap. She’s killing it. Starting it off acapella was a great choice. I think the producers might be thinking Haley is their last chance at a female winner, considering how safe Lauren Alaina is every week. Haley just opened up the floodgates and gave everything. Haley joins Pia and James as two people who actually had memorable performances this season, and hopefully, she’ll get to ride that to the top 3 and knock out someone who is already deemed a finalist.
» Read more: The Mac Show: Top 5 Week

ETA: If you want the LIVE East Coast FEED for tonights show, please go into the Chat Box on this page and ask for it.  Someone will give you the link.  AI has forbidden me to post it here.  Thanks!

The MaskedScheduler brings us SPOILERS FOR TONIGHT.  Thank you!!!

Here’s the artists for tonights songs… The theme tonight is “Then and Now”.  Each contestant will sing one current song and one from the 1960′s, 1970′s, etc..

Who do you think will be singing what?

R.E.M.

Lady GaGa

Righteous Brothers

Harry Nilsson

Elvis Presley

Carrie Underwood

The Animals

Jordan Sparks

et al.

The 200th season of CBI will take place in the chat box this Friday (May 6th) at…

11 P.M. Eastern Time
10 P.M. Central Time
9 P.M. Muntain Time
8 P.M. Pacific Time

Idol Maniac and Brian will be hosting/judging together.  The first round of eliminations will be based on pre-submissions.  There is no theme for this round.  If you are available for a few hours and would like to play, send your submission (artist, song title, and YouTube link) to ai_maniac@hotmail.com no later than an hour before it begins.  Also, be sure to include your user name.  E-Mail Idol Maniac if you have any questions.

I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m not disappointed with tonight’s elimination. It’s always hard to take when an artist leaves that you were really engaged with, but that’s the nature of the game! The talent this year is rather impressive and the consistency is even more incredible. We have five contestants left who will be singing two songs each next week. Let’s hope that they can all up their game and give us some outstanding performances.

Casey Abrams – I never wanted Casey to make it to the finale, but I wanted a few more weeks with the quirky bearded weirdo. Why didn’t he win? “Why shouldn’t he have won” is the better question. I think he’s a brilliant musician who clearly had more historical knowledge than any other contestant in the finals, but he would have made a terrible Idol. His records would not have sold and it would have been an unmitigated disaster. Still, he was one of my favorites of the year, and it’s safe to say we have lost a little bit of the “unexpected.” I’ve always been a bigger fan of blues and jazz music than any of the crap on the radio these days, and I would love to see it make a comeback. Maybe Casey can release an album that will help make that comeback a reality? Who knows? Let’s talk about why Casey was voted off… Abrams’ strategy was fairly simple. Play to his strengths and create numerous “love it or hate it” performances. Unfortunately, when you get down to a small number of contestants, it’s much better to have a generally well-liked solo performance than one that alienates half of the Idol audience. The growls, grunts, scat attacks, and other vocal characteristics didn’t click with a large number of viewers (younger, I expect) who would rather hear a genre they could relate to over a genre their grandparents listened to before heading off to war. Pretty basic stuff! Now, people will be asking, “Was the save worth it?” That’s up to you, I suppose, but I firmly stand behind the judges in this area. The save gave us five more weeks of “The Man Without Fear.” I’ll take it.

» Read more: The NGH Report – Thoughts on American Idol 10’s Top 6 Results

THIS….is American Idol….

We start off tonight’s fun by welcoming the judges…

Ryan tells us that “a lot of fans” will be disappointed with tonight’s results.  I’m sure that was meant to scare us, but really, fans will be disappointed no matter who goes.   This is the top 6, folks, and all of them have fans.

We welcome the top 6 and they take their regular places on the benches…Then we get to see Steven Tyler’s Rolling Stone cover.

We learn that Bruno Mars and Crystal Bowersox will join us tonight.  Then, we get a crash course in the Royal Wedding.   The top 6 head to a party at the British Consulate.

Pointy pose alert.  The top six sing a Carole King medley.

The Ford music video is cute.

Crystal then takes the stage to sing “Riding With the Radio”.

Results when we return.

Ryan begins this segment by pimping the tour.  Tickets go on sale May 16th.

Viewers have sent in questions for the top 6.

Who would Casey do a duet with?  He says Oscar Peterson.  Jazz great.

Jacob, when and how did you discover your voice range?  He was 6 at a trailer park.

Lauren, what is the hardest thing about being an Idol finalist.  Lauren says missing everyone back home.  She was concerned cause her family lives in the tornado area.

Scotty, did u ever have a pre-Idol job?  He worked in a grocery store and at a tanning salon

James, did u play with a band? yes, he did.

I missed Haleys question, sorry.  Darned phone…

DIM THE LIGHTS:

Ryan says he will call all of the contestants to the center stage, in NO PARTICULAR ORDER, and then keep going till they have the lowest vote getter.  In other words there will be no bottom three tonight. » Read more: Live Blogging the American Idol Top Six Results Show…

It’s Carole King week at American Idol as the top 6 took on an array of classics and managed to deliver yet another night where almost all of the contestants were in fine form. This week we were treated to a few extra performances as the finalists paired up for a few duets, and so I’ve been forced to change my ratings system early. Usually, when the contestants begin to sing more than one song, I treat their performances like a set. Each song is rated and then they are added together so that we can get a clear view of who had the best night; both musically, and politically. For instance, tonight a few contestants’s had a couple points knocked off because their duets were insufferable. We’ll get to that, but first Ryan Seacrest opened the show!

There were lights flashing, cheering fans, and, as of recently, the obligatory close up shot of the fat person in front row. In an effort to infuriate me, they let through a guy with a sign that read, “I’m here!” Umm, when I went to Idol two weeks ago I had an amazing sign that they DID NOT feature that read, simply, “I love signs!” Unfair, Idol! Unfair!

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to make fun of the contestants this season because they are doing very few things to screw themselves over. Of course, that won’t stop me from trying. Let us take a look at what the top 6 had in store for us tonight and who ended up on top and who might be leaving us this week!

On to the rankings!

» Read more: The NGH Report – American Idol 10’s Top 6: “I like growling with her”

Hey gang. I’m back this week. Sorry I missed last week, I had a performance, and I didn’t even watch the show until after Stefano was eliminated. But this week… Stefano who? This top 6 is pretty solid (even Jacob wasn’t awful). Here’s how I rank the performances (duets are ranked in the mix too).

1) James Durbin
For real. James is kicking it in high gear, and Lauren is just now starting to notice. James has his eye set on the finale, and I think he just locked himself in tonight.That was a real “moment” this season that will be looked back upon. Honestly, I think it’s the best thing that’s happened since Pia sang I’ll Stand By You in the semifinals. It made me hate James 2% less than I did before.

2) Casey and Haley Duet
I mean, for real. I wanted Steven to suggest that should neither of them win, that they team up and become a duo, because everytime they duet it’s complete magic. Casey brings out the best in Haley, and Haley challenges Casey to be better, more focused, and connected.
» Read more: The Mac Show: Top 6 Week

Paula Abdul and Cheryl Cole will be joining Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid on the judging panel for The X Factor, according to Deadline.

Simon, who worked with Paula on American Idol for eight seasons, said “I’ve always wanted Paula… I missed her the second she left the show… I’ve never found anyone better than her. I think there’s a good chance it will be her. We’ve agreed that we would meet as many people as possible, and now we’re reaching the deadline we’ve got to make the decision soon. But I think she’s got a really good shot.”

Cheryl worked with Simon on the British version of The X Factor.

“Shes a great judge. She’s smart. It’s just a hunch. If people take to her like the British public did, I think she’s going to do really well in America. And Fox was desperate to hire her,” Simon said.

Read the rest of this story

Nailed it! It feels good to finally be back on track with these elimination predictions. It also feels nice to have another week with no major surprises. We had a pretty entertaining results show and America finally got to see the horrifying Katy Perry performance that I saw last week when I was at the live show. So, before we get to some of my off the cuff comments about the evening, let’s take a moment, as always, to talk a little bit about why Stefano left us tonight.

Stefano Langone – The wild card should be proud of himself. Originally, he didn’t even make the Finals, so for him to end up with a very respectable seventh place finish is quite impressive. Stefano was done in by a combination of two very simple components: weak song choice and lack of a strong fan base. Now, the first one was his fault, and he could have certainly picked less yawn-inducing numbers to showcase his voice, but he failed to do so almost every week. The fan base problem? This wasn’t his fault. Unfortunately, all of the girls who would have backed Langone had already decided to follow Country crooner Scott McCreery to hell and back. Poor Stefano didn’t have much of a chance of stealing any of those loyal fans. He managed to sneak through each round and he will have plenty of reel to show producers as he plans the next step in his career. Good luck, Stefano!

Now, it’s time to make some snide comments and observations about the rest of the episode… » Read more: The NGH Report – Thoughts on American Idol 10’s Top 7 Results