AI 10: This is it!

We’re down to the last two and I’m still somewhat interested. Which is new and different since I was fairly sure I hated “American Idol” after last season. It’s the last night to vote and I’m still unsure who will be our next American Idol. Will it be Scotty? Or Lauren Alaina?

We’ll find out tomorrow. But today. . . today’s the day that makes the difference. Let’s see how the kids do in the youngest match-up in AI history.

(Just as an aside, I don’t know how I feel about J.Lo’s dress. I kind of love it. And I kind of think it looks like she’s going to perform and ice skating short program in a few minutes.)

Round 1: Contestants’ favorite song of the season

Scotty: “Gone” • He starts in the crowd, and to be honest it’s a little underwhelming. His vocals are fine; he’s just kind of boring. • That’s until he gets to the chorus and goes a bit crazy. He makes good use of his lower register, but also sings a lot of it in his regular voice. He also plays to the crowd and the millions of teen girls AI has pressed right up against the stage. • In my mind, it’s good. It’s fun. The vocals are good. But it’s not as exciting as the first time he sang this on the show

Lauren Alaina: “Flat on the Floor” • Lauren is apparently having vocal issues, and I thought I could tell at the very beginning of the song, but she seems fine the longer she sings. • Lauren seems to be having fun and really into her performances tonight. She also seems playing to win. Her vocals are mostly spot-on and her voice just seems so big. I still think I can tell she’s got some vocal problems, but still, good job.

Round 2: Contestants’ idols choose the song (Carrie Underwood for Lauren and George Strait for Scotty)

Scotty: “Check Yes or No” a hit for George Strait and picked by George Strait • I actually think this is a really good choice. But why does Scotty stand like that when he plays the guitar. Does he not know you don’t have to do a modified plié to play the guitar and sing? And sometimes he sticks his butt out. It’s just weird. • I love that Scotty was forced to sing most of this song and not rely on any country music gimmicks. • The performance is nice; the vocals are pretty good; but it’s still not AMAZING. It’s the finale. I want AMAZING!

Lauren: “Maybe it was Memphis” • OK, I love the idea of Lauren singing this song. • Where in the world did Lauren get that dress? It’s a cross between a Loretta Lynn original, shortened for square dancing. Weird. • The first few lines of this song were a little hard to understand. . . and if I must say so, musically boring. But then this song isn’t known for it’s verses. It’s known for the chorus, which I thin Lauren handles nicely. • I think Lauren was having fun, but there were a few moments when her vocals just weren’t eaxactly pitch perfect. In the big moment when the band dropped out, her vocal just wasn’t big enough. The ending, though, was beautiful and right on pitch.

At this point, Ryan lets the judges talk. Randy says they’re both incredible, but loved Scotty’s reprisal of “Gone” and thought Lauren’s “Flat on the Floor” was great. He gave Round 1 to Scotty, but awarded the edge to Lauren in Round 2. J.Lo complements them both and agrees with Randy about the winners of the rounds. Steven gives both rounds to Lauren, only because she’s prettier than Scotty. And Scotty agrees. Sweet little guy!

Round 3: Contestants’ first single should they win

Scotty: “I love you this big” • I like the lyrics, but I feel like Scotty is jumping around on the notes, from his regular singing voice to his lower register. • Actually, this song is kind of boring. How many times can someone say “this big” in a song? • OK, the performance was good. The song was OK. The melody was somewhat boring. But Scotty performed it all with heart and feeling. I may in the minority here, but for me it was just OK. Not brilliant, as Randy said, or amazing, as J.Lo claimed. He definitely showed off his range, though. For me, it was good, but it didn’t make my heart jump up in my throat, and on the finale, I’d kind of like to have that moment. And I haven’t had that moment once this season, except a little last week when Lauren sang that song by the Band Perry.

Lauren: “Like My Mother Does” • I like this song a lot more than Scotty’s, but I also love my mom a lot and this song pulls on that heartstring. • Lauren sounds good, except for when she goes for a big note and her voice just doesn’t quite get there for her. But it doesn’t really matter, because her heart is in it. • Lauren goes into the crowd and sings this song right to her mama, and it was truly very sweet. She pretty much made her mama bawl, and being a crier myself, I give her props. Great song choice, beautiful performance, and she wins it for me with this song. The vocals got progressively better and it was just a great song.

My call: Lauren Alaina wins because she sang about mamas. And most of us love our mamas. I wish I could hug mine right now. (But Scotty gets bonus points for how he handles the judges picking Lauren as the winner and the sweet way he whispers to her.)

#AmericanIdol #music #TV