It looks like we don't have any summaries for this title yet. Be the first to contribute.
Learn more- "American Idol" - Top 11 Performance Show... Again- March 30, 2011
We start with a recap of the dramatic save and some behind-the-scenes stuff.
We then get a video package on the career of Elton John and how awesome he is.
We then get a video package on the contestants going to an Entertainment Weekly photo spread.
Theme: Elton John
In the audience: Brittany Morris; Howie Mandel
Contestant: Scotty McCreery.
Song: "Country Comfort" Jimmy says if he's a one trick pony, it's a great trick.
Performance: Scotty plays his guitar and sounds good on one of Elton's forays into country music. He shouts out to his grandma in the crowd. He gets a nice pedal steel assist. It's not much of a stretch but it's solid.
Steven: "There's nothing I can say to you that an old-fashioned pair of high-heeled cowboy boots wouldn't fix." (???) He loves everything about him and that he tips a hat to grandma.
JLo:Thinks he has great instincts and tells him to keep grounded and never doubt himself and says it was good.
Randy: Thinks he has seasoned so quickly on this show and is so comfortable. Says very nicely done.
Contestant: Naima Adedapo.
Song:"I'm Still Standing" Jimmy thinks it's brave that she's turning it into a reggae song. He counsels her to dedicate the song to people around the world who are suffering. He points out the rearrangement will make it harder to stay in tune.
Performance: She does the dedication in a faux West Indian accent. It sounds a little like a parody of those old "come back to Jamaica" commercials. She doesn't seem to be having too many pitch problems and the rejiggering totally works, the accent's just a little goofy.
JLo: Thinks that's she's supposed to be still standing but doesn't think it totally worked, it was a better idea than a performance, but she liked the way she performed.
Randy: Says it came off kind of corny and that's not who she is since she has mad flavor.
Steven: He says it's good for her that she picked a song that fit her.
Contestant: Paul McDonald
Song: "Rocket Man" Jimmy says he needs to sing it like his encore, like he owns it.
Performance: He asks the audience how they are. He starts off gently and acoustic and monkeys a bit with the rhythm and cadence of the lyrics a bit. It's soft and seepy, he sounds good but the rhythm thing is weird. He's got no sustain and not much range and this song isn't great for disguising those issues.
Randy: He points out pitch issues but likes his soft/tender voice but also wonders if he's holding back. JLo thinks he hasn't gone all the way there. He says he's got it and they believe.
Steven: Asks if he's watering his suit. He points out that there are going to be some songs that people don't like and that's a good thing. The day when he hits every note Steven won't like him anymore.
JLo: That's why she's encouraging him to push. (Then Steven starts making Lamaze breathing noises.)
Contestant: Pia Toscano
Song: "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me" She was worried about doing another ballad but Jimmy says she has to go somewhere between Fergie and Axl Rose on that song and will knock Randy out of his chair.
Performance: She's very sparkly in her short silver dress. She sounds typically great. The crowd is already hooting. She tries to rough up her voice a bit and then she gets a backing choir for the chorus. She's very impassioned for sure and she put a little more soul into it.
Steven: Says she's done it again. Says this goes to prove that some of the judges might've been wrong to ask her not to sing ballads anymore. Says it was a complete and full sentence.
JLo: Agrees that the notes take them to an otherworldly place. She says she felt her more performance-wise as well.
Randy: Calls it unbelievable, and says she was great once again.
The judges agree they still want to be surprised.
Contestant: Stefano Langone. Jimmy thinks it's going to be a difficult night for him since the chorus was written specifically for Elton. Jimmy cracks the whip on him on pronunciation, rhythm, pitch.
Song: "Tiny Dancer"
Performance: His voice is nice and open at the beginning. He's very earnest but he's keeping his eyes open. There's a nice lightness to it, not so big and dramatic like last week. He takes the end of the song to JLo. Nicely done.
JLo: She says she could really feel him taking their notes about connecting with the audience. She thought it was really good.
Randy: He agrees that he connected and was glad to see his eyes open and that he was moving around and that he was right on pitch-wise.
Steven:Thinks he nailed it, and that he's not Broadway.
Contestant:Lauren Alaina
Song: "Candle in the Wind" Jimmy thinks she sounds magnificent and she's got the emotional connection. He thinks Elton plays to her strengths.
Performance: She's going simple voice and piano. Her pitch is good but her timing is really sloppy at first. Her emotions also seem all over the place, smiley, nervous, serious. It's odd though because the vocal is pretty great lots of fun country-style vocal squeaks/yodels at the end of phrases.
Randy: Calls it one of her best performances, very sensitive and very pro.
Steven: You know I've loved you since you first laid eyes on me. Calls it perfect. You keep singing like that and you'll be able to afford the rest of that dress.
JLo: Says it was amazing and gorgeous and hearkens back to her first audition.
Contestant: James Durbin. Jimmy is a little concerned about James' idea for staging the song by starting in the audience.
Song:"Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting"
Performance: His plan is kind of corny in actual execution because of the way they're shooting it but he hits the stage at the right point and then he runs some more through the audience. Considering how much he's moving his pitch is excellent. He takes a walk on the piano and hops off of it. Then the piano catches on fire. Then he basically just screams through the end of the song.
Steven: Says he brought the heat. Says he's got a really good rock voice and tells him to not wear out his welcome and that it was beautiful.
JLo: Feels like she was at his show and loved how he got the audience into it.
Randy: Loves that he enjoys himself and calls it a great, great, great performance.
Contestant: Thia Megia
Song: "Daniel" Jimmy tells her it's very poignant and to get away from the dramatic and to think about the lyrics and to sing from her heart.
Performance: This is my favorite performance of hers, it's grounded and quiet but not boring. The song may make it but she's singing it really well.
JLo: Calls it really beautiful and loves that she was internalizing it and very well-suited to her melodically.
Randy: Loved her beautiful voice, thought it was pitchy, and it felt safe.
Steven: Thinks when you find the right song the voice appears, thinks she sang a great Elton John song well.
Contestant: Casey Abrams
Song: "Your Song" He wants to do more interpreting of the lyrics and Jimmy likes it. Rodney tells him to cut the beard. He goes to get a trim.
Performance: It's nice to hear him actually singing, not growling so much, but still injecting some soul into it. It's a very mimicky peformance in terms of the vocal cadences but he sounds nice. His demeanor is very sweet as well. It's a very charming, understated performance. He growls a bit at the end and finishes on a nice falsetto. It's very dynamic, probably the night's most dynamic performance.
Randy: Says it was so nice and tender and brilliant and well done.
Steven: Concurs that one of the finest moments was putting him through, he loved the final two notes and that he sings different every time.
JLo: She didn't lose sleep over saving him and says he proved why tonight. She thanks him for the performance.
Contestant: Jacob Lusk
Song: "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" Mary J. shows up during his studio session and it was her version of this song he first heard. Jimmy likes his confidence and hopes he doesn't overdramatize it and blow the whole thing.
Performance: Shrouded in dry ice Jacob starts tenderly and plaintively. He looks like he's on the verge of tears but he's keeping a lid on the drama, until the modulation and then he lets it fly. The final note is held impressively.
Steven: Watches how far out there and how in there, was blown away by first half and second half was equal. Jacob slayed him.
JLo: Loved Tricky's arrangement and how he tailored it to Jacob, says we don't see a note like his last note all the time.
Randy: Liked the first half and his restraint but wanted him to pick a "Jacob spot."
Contestant: Haley Reinhart
Song: "Bennie & the Jets" Jimmy tells her to bring all her parts together in one car and drive to the show.
Performance: She starts off with a jazzy arrangement sitting on the piano. She then growls a bit and gets into a more rocking space. She does a nice job on the chorus. She gets off the piano and bounces and swings her arms but she starts to hit it a little too hard vocally. It's in tune but she's not earning the grit of it somehow.
JLo: Says that was it and that's what they've been talking about: the voice, the moves, the confidence.
Randy: Calls it the best performance of the night, very excitedly.
Steven: Says she sings sexy.
Bottom Three Prediction: Naima, Thia, Paul
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content