American Idol: Top 3

James' elimination was a total shocker to me and most everyone else last week. Haley has truly come through this competition as the dark horse. I wasn't too sure if that sat well with me before tonight. Not that I dislike Haley, but I don't know, I had just been counting on a James/Scotty/Lauren Top 3. But she brought it tonight with three crazy energetic performances. But I'm still rooting for Scotty here, for whatever reason. He'll be the most successful no matter what place he takes, I can pretty much guarantee. I like Lauren but I think she's going to end up like Jordin Sparks: big voice trapped in a lame pop career. Or maybe a mediocre country career like Kellie Pickler. Oh Lauren, if you had just waited a couple more years to audition...

Round One

Soctty: Uh oh, he's first, that usually does not bode well in the voting... Scotty says he's going to explore his range... and he does! Still rooting for you, country and all.

Lauren: Beyonce gives Lauren advice about being confident on stage. Lauren seems confident, but I saw the pain in her face when she didn't quite hit a note. Other than that though it was pretty solid.

Haley: Pimp spot? Hmmm.... interesting. So Beyonce says Haley is a rock star. Where has this Haley been?! I would have like to have seen more Haley the rock star. (Though I was going through the American Idol iTunes singles recently trying to decide what I wanted, and her song from Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame week was pretty great) The song doesn't start off rocky for certain, very slow and sultry... then it picks up. Did she fall? Oops. I liked it but I feel like I could have loved it... the arrangement seemed messy in parts. Of course I don't know much about music. I need to listen to it again. Love that her dad played guitar.

The judges agree that Haley won Round One.

Round Two

Scotty: Fun song, solid performance.

Lauren: Probably one of her best performances in terms of her tone. Apparently I'm oblivious though and missed her mess-up.

Haley: Great beginning and ending, but she kind of lost me in the middle. I think that was mostly the song though.

Who won round two? Lauren according to Steven, Scotty according to Jennifer and Randy.

Round Two

(Sidenote: This Beyonce music video is freaking me out a little...)

Round Three

Scotty: More of Scotty exploring his range. I don't think it was 100% perfect but I liked it. I think he poured himself into it.

Lauren: It was nice, but I think the judges could have picked a more interesting song.

Haley: Definitely sounded better than the original song, though it wasn't the best song choice (though that's the judges' fault, not hers). Very high energy.

Round three winners: Steven says Haley, Jennifer says Lauren, Randy says Lauren.

A lot of people are thinking it's going to be a Scotty/Haley showdown next week, and I have to say that I am inclined to agree. I thought for a good while it would be Scotty and Lauren, which doesn't make sense now that I think about it because they probably divide votes somewhat. So between that and Haley's growing fan base thanks to her taking so many punches and proving herself each week (and Lauren often times not), I think that'll be it. Too bad it couldn't have been a Scotty/James finale, that would have been interesting...