What a week it's been Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina and Haley Reinhart.
From the adulatory hometown visits that await the Top Three to every year, to the surely butterfly-inducing time spent with mentor Beyonc?, how did they find the energy to perform three songs apiece?!
But of course they did, and it was a bright and shining night for all of them, despite a few bumps?or, in this case, thumps?in the road.
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Scotty got things rolling with Lonestar's "Amazed" and remained in top country-crooning form all night, perhaps hitting his stride on song No. 2, the Jimmy Iovine-selected "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not" by Thompson Square.
Yes, Scotty, we'll kiss you!
Whether you like the kid or not, you've got to admit his voice belies his 17 years and is as radio-ready as anything we've heard on Idol in ages. Randy Jackson even commented that Scott was "approaching Garth territory." (And we'll assume he means Brooks, and not the Dana Carvey character.)
For round three, the judges tasked Scotty with Kenny Rogers' "She Believes in Me," a major song with a major chorus. The teen rose to new heights in their eyes, and it looked already like round three was going to go to the country boy.
Lauren's tunes ran the gamut, from the spunky "She's a Wild One"?thumbs up for her Faith Hill impression, thumbs down for whoever picked out those white boots and huge white earrings?to the heartstring-tugging "If I Die Young," by the Band Perry, which was Jimmy's pick.
Jennifer Lopez heard a few iffy notes, but?true to the spirit of this entire Idol season?she attributed it to the 16-year-old getting "caught up in the honesty" of the song. (Or, Lauren was still flustered from her pantyhose ripping offstage, which required a last-minute shimmer job on her naked legs from the makeup artist.)
Lauren hit her stride, in our opinion, in round three with Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance," which seemed tailor-made for the 16-year-old, who looked particularly stunning in a sequined aqua gown.
"I dare to say you won that round for me already," confessed J.Lo.
Now, that Haley's got spunk!
Even Beyonc? needed a bleep when talking about the ballsy 20-year-old's decision to sing/howl/growl Led Zeppelin's "What Is and What Should Never Be."
With her dad sitting in on the bass (definitely an Idol first), Haley totally rocked, even when taking into consideration the stumble (physical, not vocal) that caused her to miss a few words.
At least none of the judges picked on her for choosing a non-Top 40 song this time! In fact, they all applauded Haley's fierceness and told her she was doing exactly what she needed to do to win the whole thing.
Her first was admittedly better than her second, when she took on Stevie Nicks' "Rhiannon," a subtly beautiful classic that is really hard to replicate properly.
"Why were you looking up, like, 'Thank god I got through that'?" Randy asked, laughing. "That was like the worst, to be honest with you," a relieved and hoarse-sounding Haley replied, also laughing it out.
In round three, the judges gave Haley the angry, shouting song of the '90s, Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know," and she duly busted a gut singing it.
It was after each contestant had sung their first song when we realized that, for the first time, no one was going to declare a winner at the end of each round, the way Simon Cowell always did. Ryan Seacrest noticed too, of course, so did the honors of asking the judges their opinion.
Round one went to Haley all the way. J.Lo and Randy were on Team Scotty in round two, while Steven Tyler preferred Lauren's performance. Jennifer and Randy then went with Lauren in round three, and Steven had nothing but love for his rocker girl Haley.
Might we have an all-girl finale, the first since 2004, coming our way? Who, as Randy would say, is really in it to win it?! The finale line-up will be set tomorrow night, when one of these hopefuls is sent home. We can't bear to watch...but we will!
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