Honestly, with my man James Durbin no longer in the race for the Finals on “American Idol”, I really shouldn’t be bothering with writing any more articles on the remaining weeks leading up to the Idol “crowning” moment. But then, I did promise I would. So here goes my “2-cents worth” of my usual 3R’s (rants, raves and ramblings) minus my man James of course. Sob-sob!! One consolation though – James did get his “hero’s homecoming” after all – another “American Idol” first for a 4th placed contestant. However, we don’t get to see a full-blown screening of the event. But, we did catch a few seconds of James thronged by his fans back home. Thank God for YouTube. We can always stream the entire event online, parade and all.

For tonight’s “Top 3 Night”, the remaining contenders will have to slug it out with 3 songs. Yup, 3 it is. The first song would be one of their own choice/picking, followed by one selected by Jimmy Iovine and finally one picked by the judges. So here goes nothing…

First up was Scotty McCreery, the only male left in this singing competition. For his first number, he selected Lonestar’s “Amazed” and I was frankly quite taken by his rendition. His performance was solid and he definitely sounded like an old country music “pro”. This boy has got it made whether he wins or loses. He’s managed to come such a long way. I can still remember the “controversy” he was embroiled in during “Hollywood Week”. Remember the selection of group members “fiasco” that was highlighted at the time? Even back then, I remembered the look he had on his face and the adult way he handled the situation. My instincts told me back then that he was a real “sweet guy”, that he had a conscience and that he was really an upstanding young man and the American voters would fall in love with him. And love him they did. As we all know, being talented alone is not enough to sustain these contestants through a gruelling period on “American Idol”. They have to appeal to the audience by way of “connecting” to them in order to survive this crazy reality show. And survived he certainly did, our Scotty McCreery!

Next we have Jimmy’s pick for Scotty which was Thompson Square’s “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?”. Well, he certainly sounded confident in his voice and so very relaxed in his approach to the song, it almost felt like I was listening to the radio. In fact, it was like watching a young boy being dubbed with an adult voice. He looked a “picture of perfection” singing this song. Yessirree!! Hats off to him!! For a young man of only 17, he certainly sounded mature and at ease with his vocals. But most importantly, he sounded “country”. He’s definitely the “real deal” of this genre. He stayed true to his roots without straying too far from the basics. So I salute him for that.

However, I did not enjoy his third song as I’d hoped I would. When it was announced that the judges had picked Kenny Rogers’ “She Believes In Me”, I was “over the moon” with this choice because it would mean that the sentimental side of Scotty will once again surface like he did in an earlier week when he sang “You’ve Got A Friend”. Unfortunately, he did not have a moment in this song. Sigh… Oh well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad!!

Next up is Lauren Alaina. Although she was up tempo enough in her first song choice of Faith Hill’s “Wild One” and her voice was strong in deliverance and solid in performance, it was pretty “forgettable” (as what Simon Cowell would say) as far as I was concerned.
Hated the outfit, hated the hair, hated the flowers. Or were they ear-rings?? Anyhow, I wished Lauren had been more natural in hair and attitude this entire season as that would definitely make me like her more. I so want to like this sweet young thing but somehow I couldn’t. Don’t ask me why. If you watched the 3 clips of Beyonce with these 3 Idol contenders, you’d notice that Beyonce was a little “cold” towards Lauren. Me thinks that Beyonce was enjoying herself more with Scotty and Haley. Or were my eyes deceiving me?

Anyhow for the second number which was the one picked by Jimmy, Lauren had to sing Band Perry’s “If I Die Young”. Unfortunately even though she sang it well, it did not do anything for me. As always, there’s no “connection” there.

However when she sang the third song which the judges picked for her, she finally did justice to Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance”. I loved her voice in this one. She excelled in it the way I wanted her to during the entire season. And this is only the second time I loved her singing. The other being “Candle In The Wind” so many weeks ago when my gal Thia Megia was still around. To take so long for Lauren to have a “moment” again, is it too little too late? Her voice here sounded “country” in a most sincere way and I felt “connected” finally. One (very strong) out of three is my verdict for Lauren’s performance tonight.

Last up is Haley Reinhart, this season’s “underdog”. This girl again received permission from a celebrity to cover her first song “What Is & What Should Never Be” by Led Zeppelin. I guess she’s getting lots of attention from the “music” greats before the competition even reached its Finals. And I think she definitely deserves it, what with all the knocking she’s been getting from Randy Jackson. He should be so ashamed of himself!! Yes, he should. With her father accompanying her on guitar onstage, Haley totally “slayed” this song. I think they totally “rocked” it – both father and daughter!! And oh yes, there was a scene right out of “Dancing With The Stars” when she tripped and fell. Just for a moment but she recovered immediately without dropping a note. That’s a “pro” for you.

For Jimmy’s pick of Fleetwood Mac’s (think Stevie Nicks) “Rhiannon”, I’m not so overwhelmed by this second number. The judges praised her for this song but I think they got it wrong. What’s with them anyway? Are they so afraid to say it as it is? Will someone please dial Simon Cowell’s number? Or should I contact someone in my country’s free television station to bring on board “The X-Factor” so that I can catch my favorite ex-judge together with his old sidekick Paula Abdul? If not, I’d have to struggle through the torture of online streaming. Sigh!!

The last song for Haley was the judges’ pick in the form of Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know”. Wow! Even though it was not as great as her first song, her voice certainly “rocked”. For a moment I was transported back to the time when I first heard a young Alanis so many years ago when she made an appearance on my television screen. Two out of three is my verdict for Haley tonight.

So there it is – my take on all three. And to finish off as usual is my selection of videoclips. I’d like to give you 1 videoclip from each of the contestants – obviously the songs that appeal to me on this “Top 3 Night”. Round 1 goes to Haley, round 2 to Scotty and round 3 to Lauren. So click on them and enjoy!!