American Idol 10 - Top 13

I barely have enough time to finish writing this week's top 13 American Idol performance recap before the night is over - in fact, the results show has already been over for almost an hour! Well anyways, I finally got it completed. You know, it takes a lot of time recapping all 13 contestants. I try to keep my comments fairly short, but some need longer recaps than others. Nevertheless, here is this week's recap. It's featuring songs from each contestant's musical idols, and some have some interesting choices for idols. Here's how it all went down...

Lauren Alaina - "Any Man of Mine" by Shania Twain : One of the proverbial favorites goes first tonight with another country tune. I wasn't aware she was a big country fan, so color me surprised two weeks in a row. Yes, the song is a fun one to sing, particularly in a karaoke bar. But by no means do I think it's a smart song to sing on American Idol. It was just an okay performance by Lauren. I mean sure, she sang it fine but it's not a performance I find to be all that memorable. She seemed rather surprised by the negative critiques she got from the judges. Lauren must not be lazy with her song selections from here on out, otherwise she'll be in for a rude awakening and an even quicker departure from the show.

Casey Abrams - "With a Little Help from My Friends" version from Joe Cocker : Casey is one of this season's eclectic performers, who you cannot help but root for. He has a comedic side to him, yet he's a pretty good singer, too. I wasn't sure if this was going to be the right song for Casey, but he was absolutely stellar. He infused a lot of energy into the performance and gave it all he got. It's not a song that really shows off a singer's vocals per se, yet it suited Casey quite well. He really got the crowd into his performance and it was one of the most energetic of the night.

Ashthon Jones - "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" by Diana Ross : Ashthon is one performer with big potential; she just needs to know how to use it and in the perfect moment. She could even be this season's diva; that is if she can stay in the competition long enough. She barely made it through last week, so we'll see if she's able to capitalize on another opportunity. All in all, I didn't think it was too bad of a performance. It was slightly boring and not all that memorable, but I did like the fact that she was able to turn the song into something current. It had a contemporary feel to it and the song didn't over power her. It was a decent performance, but there's definitely room for improvement.

Paul McDonald - "Come Pick Me Up" by Ryan Adams : Paul is up next and his song choice has me scratching my head a little bit. I know of Ryan Adams and I am familiar with a couple of his songs, but is he that mainstream nation-wide? Is enough of America going to recognize the song to connect with Paul's interpretation? I do rather enjoy his shout-outs to America before he sings - like he is so comfortable being out there. Yep, my earlier fears as to whether this song will work for Paul are confirmed. It started out rather slow and pretty low for Paul's range. Then as the tempo picked up, so did his pitchiness. Although I do enjoy his random movements on stage most of the time, I think it kind of threw him off during this performance. Certainly not his strongest night on the Idol stage.

Pia Toscano - "All By Myself" by Celine Dion : Here is one of last week's brightest stars - a memorable rendition of "I'll Stand By You" that had everyone on their feet after she had concluded singing. She has raised the bar quite high for herself so it will be interesting to see if she's able to keep that momentum going. I would like to see her experiment a bit and go away from the ballads, but there is no denying that she excels at performing the slower-tempo songs. And again, it's another strong performance by Pia. She even hits higher notes with such ease. She is quickly becoming one of this season's front runners with her vocal prowess.

James Durbin - "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney : As James performed this song, I think back to last season and remember Crystal Bowersox singing this song, hitting it out of the park. Let's see if James will have similar success. Despite some of his unfortunate comments during Hollywood week, I think James changed a lot of people's opinions of himself last week. And I think even more people are becoming Durbin fans after this week's performance. James picked a very smart song by one of the world's most enduring singers. I really enjoyed his look this week and I enjoyed his performance even more. His vocals were spot on, he didn't overdue it with his rocker-esque screech, and he presented himself quite well. Another strong week for James.

Haley Rinehart - "Blue" by LeAnn Rimes : Haley is one contestant who has sort of flown under the radar, but she has a unique sound to her voice that is unforgettable. However, she has to know when to use that uniqueness, otherwise it sounds off. Whether it was nerves or what-have-you, she's pitchy right from the get-go. She almost sounds like a strangled hound dog at times with her howl. Needless to say, I am not a fan of this performance and this song just not suit Haley all that well. She thinks she did well and had fun, but it did not translate well on the Idol stage. I think she could find herself in trouble during result's night.

Jacob Lusk - "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly : Here's one song that should be permanently banned from being performed on the Idol stage from here on out - because it's been performed too darn much, and to mixed results, too. However, I'm not upset that Jacob is performing it because maybe he'll be able to work his magic on it. It seems that thus far, everything he's performed has turned into a gospel affair, which is definitely not a bad thing. But tonight, it did not work. I actually thought the second half of the song was better than the first and I wasn't a huge fan of the falsetto-portion of the song, but he did seem to get things together at the end. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to save his performance this week. However, he's in no danger of going home anytime soon.

Thia Megia - "Smile" version by Michael Jackson : I don't entirely get Thia yet - and I understand that's how many people feel about her at this stage of the competition. A lot of people are wondering about her personality, because at this point it looks as if she doesn't have one. Yes, it's obvious she loves to sing and she is totally passionate about it. But we don't know much else about her, do we? What other hobbies does she enjoy, does she like school, etc? I mean there's no question she's an excellent singer. However I don't think she is connected to the American audience like she could be. Tonight's performance was great again, albeit not too memorable and kind of sleepy. Let's see if she's able to pick up the pace a little bit more one of these weeks.

Stefano Langone - "Lately" by Stevie Wonder : I have really been finding myself enjoying Stefano as a performer lately. I did not get a chance to comment on the wildcard performances of last week, but my god, the passion and soul he poured into that wildcard performance that solidified his spot in the top 13. It was well-deserved and so I am looking forward to more awesome performances by Stefano, now that I know that he is capable of such. Now this week wasn't quite as memorable as last for Stefano, but I did find his performance of this Stevie Wonder song to be enjoyable. I liked how the tempo picked up, although it was a tad-bit corny. However, he sang it well and every note was spot on. Now THIS is how you perform an up-tempo song.

Karen Rodriguez - "If I Could Fall In Love" by Selena : There is something very intriguing about Karen and I think it could be her bubbly personality. I enjoy her smile and she appears to be a very positive person. Now Karen is an example of someone who's personality we can connect to. Let's see if she's able to connect to the audience with her singing this week. All in all, I wouldn't say it was too bad. It certainly wasn't her best vocal. She seemed to struggle with the lower-end notes in the song, particularly in the beginning. It was a bit of an underwhelming performance from Karen and I know she is capable of much more.

Scotty McCreery - "The River" by Garth Brooks : Another one of this season's proverbial favorites, who had a bit of a rocky road, particularly during Hollywood week, but now seems to be hitting his stride. You know what would really surprise me one week, if he did anything but a country number. I am sure later on that could happen, especially if there are more specific themes. But Scotty is in a league of his own and totally excels on any country song he sings (except when he doesn't know the lyrics). I'm not a huge country fan but I've always enjoyed Garth Brooks' songs. So needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed Scotty's performance this week. It was a song that virtually everybody knows and he performed it splendidly.

Naima Adedapo - "Umbrella" by Rihanna : There have been a few contestants who have picked questionable song choices this week and Naima can be included in that bunch. It reminds me of Jordan Dorsey singing "OMG" and Ta-Tynisa Wilson singing "Only Girl" last week. These are not songs that caters to an individual's vocals. And Naima's performance was all over the place. However, she did something different with the song with the infusion of reggae into it and the little bit of rapping. And her dance moves were pretty cool. No, it wasn't the best vocal this season, but she made it very entertaining and it proved to be a nice way to cap off the night. I think Naima will be around for a few more weeks, at least.

Top 13 Performance Rankings:
1: Casey Abrams
2: James Durbin
3: Pia Toscano
4: Scotty McCreery
5: Naima Adedapo
6: Thia Megia
7: Stefano Langone
8: Lauren Alaina
9: Jacob Lusk
10: Paul McDonald
11: Karen Rodriguez
12: Ashthon Jones
13: Haley Rinehart

UPDATE: Ashthon Jones is sent home during tonight's results show. The judge's do not invoke the save.