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Learn more- "American Idol" - Top 13 Peformance Show - March 9, 2011
Theme: A song by my idol
Contestant: Lauren Alaina
Song: "Any Man of Mine," Shania Twain. Lauren thinks Shania was the first female performer to mix country and pop. She worked in the studio with Don Was and she liked him. Jimmy Iovine showed up and it made her nervous but she tried to keep her focus. Jimmy and Don think Lauren is going to have a big career.
Performance: She's cute and easygoing and she does a nice job with a very straightforward cover but it's not really a singer's song.
Steven: Loves her voice but wishes the song was a little more kickass.
JLo: Says she always sounds amazing but wants her to kick it into high gear.
Randy: Loves Shania and Mutt Lange but was hoping to see more of the girl they first saw, something that lets her shine beyond belief.
Contestant: Casey Abrams
Song: "With a Little Help From My Friends," Joe Cocker's version of the Beatles song. Jimmy instructs him to sing the first lines of the song-- about singing out of tune-- directly to the judges. Casey says he was inspired by Cocker because he made it cool to be a not so hot looking guy with a growly voice. Jimmy tells him to perform the song physically.
Performance: He starts seated on the stairs and starts walking center stage as the song ramps up and some "friends" in the form of a choir join him onstage. He does nice work with the dynamics having nice fluttery moments and growly passages. He also doesn't exactly mimic Cocker's vocal cadences which is nice. It all works. The crowd digs it.
JLo: Says she grabbed Randy in amazement and truly felt him. He blew her away.
Randy: Says he's excited every time he comes up to sing and says he was unbelievable and perfectly in tune and he loved it.
Steven: "You are a rainbow of talent," he says. "You are a plethora of passion."
Contestant: Ashthon Jones. Diana Ross is one of her heroes and she got to work with Rodney Jerkins in a studio. She's nervous about how high she's singing. Jimmy was nervous but he was so inspired he wanted to invite Berry Gordy to hear it.
Song:"When You Tell Me That You Love Me," Diana Ross
Performance: She looks elegant in silver but her start is a bit breathy and the whole thing sounds a shade flat, long before she gets to the big note. It doesn't help that it's not a very well-known song. It's not awful but it's not inspiring either.
Randy: Liked it and points out Berry Gordy in the crowd. Says he was a little worried about the song and thought it was safe but he saw her grow as a singer as she worked on pulling herself back from bad pitch moments.
Steven:Has confidence in her and thinks there's a lot more in there than is showing.
JLo: Thinks she's showing great professionalism. Wants her to start singing songs that the audience can sing along with her.
Contestant: Paul McDonald. His idol is Ryan Adams. (Yay, Paul!) He got to work with Don Was also. Jimmy tells him he has to nail the chorus. Jimmy says Paul's voice is understated and powerful.
Song: "Come Pick Me Up," Ryan Adams
Performance: He starts lightly and there's some nice fiddle in the background. (The band seems less intrusive this week.) He also has to adjust the lyrics of the chorus from "screw all my friends" to "lose all my friends." Again this isn't really a singer's song and he has a couple of pitch issues but he's having fun.
Steven: Loves the character and the rasp in his voice, calls it a little pitchy and tells him to nail it next time.
JLo: Enjoyed watching the audience watch him, he thinks he's very unique. She doesn't know Ryan Adams or that song. She hopes America gets it.
Randy: Says it wasn't the most exciting thing but likes his vibe and he also hopes America gets it because he loves him for this show.
Contestant: Pia Toscano. In stool chat Ryan asks her about the behind the scenes action. She details press, photo shoots, premieres, rehearsal and living like one big happy family in a mansion. Her hero is Celine Dion. She works with Ron Fair in the studio. She hopes to make her dad proud. Jimmy is already proud.
Song:"All By Myself," Celine Dion's version of Eric Carmen's song.
Performance:She is also in a glittery silver dress, mini in the front but long in the back. It's like a dress mullet. The opening part in the lower register is fine but the big belting chorus is where she really shines. So she mostly does that. She does a lot of arm gesturing that doesn't add much to the moment but she sounds great.
JLo: Is at a loss. She says she topped last week.
Randy: Says we always tell people not to sing Celine-Whitney-Mariah, but thinks she slayed it and has such a natural gift. Hot, dope, cool, it was.
Steven: He says that was the sum total of all the work she's done up to now. He wishes her happy international woman's day. He says she slammed it.
Contestant: James Durbin. Paul McCartney is his idol. He worked with producer Jim Jonsin in the studio. Jimmy likes that a voice like James' can be heard on "Idol."
Song:"Maybe I'm Amazed," Paul McCartney
Performance: He starts off softly and keeps it simple in the more ramped up second verse,does a bit of controlled screaming, takes it down to a nice, icy piano place at the end. Easily my favorite performance of his so far.
Randy:Thinks he slayed it and can sing anything, loved that he showed he had a sensitive. He says James Durbin is dangerous.
Steven: Took everything he had and kicked it into the middle of next week. Loved it.
JLo: Tells him to get used to the applause because he such a great melodic quality to his voice, she says he has everything.
Contestant: Haley Reinhart. Apparently Leann Rimes is her hero, or at least the song "Blue" was important to her life. She worked with the duo Rock Mafia in the studio. Jimmy calls it a tough song to take on but that she sings it really well.
Song: "Blue," Leann Rimes
Performance: She nails the yodeling bit, she sounds good but it's not a very thrilling performance and again lots of arm movements. Nicely done.
Steven: Says it was beautiful and says the country and western part of America is roaring for her. He thanks her.
JLo: Says America is getting to know her and likes that she can do special things with her voice.Says she did a good job.
Randy: The good part is that her range is big, but for him it was a little sleepy and boring. JLo counters that Haley's very sensual and not everyone has to run around the stage. He says that wasn't it. It was just boring.
Contestant: Jacob Lusk. R. Kelly is his Idol. He works with Rodney Jerkins. Jimmy thinks Jacob has an incredible gift, he tells him to breathe.
Song: "I Believe I Can Fly," R. Kelly
Performance: He also gets the gospel choir treatment, he hits a lot of bad notes on his way to a nice run mid-song.
Steven: Says it's pure passion, says he can't even judge him, he's just that good.
JLo: She says it is hard to judge because he makes them feel it so much. She thinks everyone is good but he's at the top/
Randy: Compliments the judges on how well they did picking, notes that he fell off on one of the verses pitch-wise but thinks he's great.
Contestant: Thia Megia. Her idol is Michael Jackson. She worked with Ron Fair and Jimmy.
Song: "Smile," Michael Jackson's version of Charlie Chaplin's song.
Performance: She sounds and looks sweet and changes it up with a little tempo halfway through, but again, not very exciting.
Randy: Loved the beginning more than the end.
Steven: He calls her Pia and says it was a little pitchy and agrees that the beginning was better.
JLo: Agrees and wants to see her move more. Says she sings like an angel.
Contestant: Stefano Langone. His idol is Stevie Wonder. He worked with Polow Da Don and he really enjoyed it. Jimmy wants him to keep his eyes open.
Song: "Lately," Stevie Wonder
Performance: He starts out with a traditional cover but switches to a thumpy disco rendition halfway through. The good parts are pretty great and the rest of it is fine, with a couple of clunkers.
Steven: Says he pulled it off and by the end it was soaring like a volcano.
JLo: Says he had him dancing and she loved that it wasn't a copy but it was really him.
Randy: Says he slayed it by the middle of the song and that Stevie would be proud.
Contestant: Karen Rodriguez. Her idol is Selena. She works with Jim Jonsin in the studio. Jimmy tells her to conserve her voice.
Song: "I Could Fall in Love," Selena
Performance: The beginning is a bit rough as her lower register is a bit raspy but when she gets to the belting parts it sounds okay but again kind of boring.
JLo: Says she could tell that she was a little uncomfortable with the low and high register and wonders whether she can hear herself. She says she had a little trouble. JLo knows she's normally better than this and hopes she makes it through to next week.
Randy: Agrees it felt like she was fighting the song but says it wasn't exciting.
Steven: Thinks her energy was lacking and hopes she's better next week.
Contestant: Scotty McCreery chats about missing his high school baseball team. (They're 2-2). He works with Don Was in the studio. Garth Brooks is his idol. Jimmy can't argue with Scotty's desire to stay true to himself.
Song: "The River," Garth Brooks
Performance: He's adorable, charming, poised, and sounds great.
Randy: Loved it and loved that he didn't switch it up and this is exactly where Scotty belongs.
JLo: Thinks he's taking us all on the ride with him.
Steven: Says he did "the Garth" justice and quotes an Elton John song as a way of proving it.
Contestant: Naima Adedapo. Rihanna is her hero. (Really?) She's working with Tricky Stewart who actually produced Rihanna's version. Tricky thinks it's going to be amazing and Jimmy is confident she could go right to the top 5.
Song:"Umbrella," Rihanna
Performance: She switches it up big time from last week getting more urban and edgy, seh breaks down into dancehall break and then after the bridge she bust a few moves.
Steven: Thinks she's crazy good, a little pitchy, but thought she brought flavor that no one else has.
JLo: Doesn't care if it was pitchy, she thought she was hot like a real artist. She needs to work on control.
Randy: He does care about the pitchiness, but loved the whole reggae thing and wished she'd done the whole thing all the way.
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