April 20th, 2011
08:01 PM ET
'Idol' Top 7 storm the stage9:20 p.m. – Hey Rock Mafia! They are Miley Cyrus' producers and it was funny to see Jimmy back pedal a little bit on his comment to Lauren that she can sing better than Miley. He says he just said that to "motivate" Lauren. Riiiiiight. He brings Rock Mafia in to hear Lauren sing and she freaks a little bit. For someone who the other contestants say loves to talk, she looks like she can barely speak. But all that goes away when she takes to the stage to sing "Born to Fly" by Sara Evans and it was grand. The judges are so right in that she needs to believe in herself more. She could go all the way. I love this little country chick! 9:08 p.m. – Stefano is a flirt. He can flirt with me anytime. He goes with the Ne-Yo song "Closer" and I feel that he really wants to have some swagger as he tries to bust some dance moves. It was more sweet for me than sexy, I thought. Or maybe I was distracted by the blond backup singers who look like twins with the big hair. Stefano gets points for trying really hard. 9:02 p.m. - And the potty mouth of the night award goes to Steven Tyler, who had to be majorly bleeped. Kudos to Seacrest for peeling off his Casey beard and joking "So this is what it feels like to be a man!" You know he's going to catch it for that one. 8:55 p.m. – Casey gets the "he's weird" critique from the gang and I love that they all don fake beards. Cute. He selects "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5 and it's not the choice I expected from him. But it works. Casey is rocking it! He stalks across the stage like a madman and appears to be slapping away the hands of folks in the audience. But he saved the best for last by singing the last line softly in Jennifer Lopez's face before he plants a kiss on her cheek. Oh no he didn't! 8:44 p.m. – Happy birthday Luther Vandross! Jacob is called a diva by his fellow contestants and he selects "Dance with My Father" by Vandross. It's an emotional tune for Jacob since he lost his dad when Jacob was just 12 years old. It seems like he was having problems with the ear thingie which allows him to hear himself. He sounds great and Steven Tyler calls him "Luther Lusk." I thought it was a good performance. Randy says he needs "the church kid back" and that he needs to totally let loose. I'm afraid of that. Sidebar, Steven Tyler has a pair of lips drawn on his face for some reason. 8:33 p.m. – Seacrest just had to have those drummers play him in didn't he? Soooooooo, Haley and Stefano have a love/hate relationship that she says is more hate. Wow. She gets teased for her signature growl and arm movements. She works them both with Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and she really showcases her vocal dexterity. The song was not as hot as Adele's version, but I liked it. That stuns me because it was a risky choice given how popular that song is right now and how strong the original version sounds. 8:21 p.m. – We get to see Scotty heading back to the green room and the other contestants have love for Scotty. Lauren says "15 million little girls are pointing their fingers at Randy right now." Lauren, you ain't never lied. Next up it's James' turn to be teased about his screeching high note with the back bend. He selects "Uprising" by Muse and right away discusses with Jimmy his "vision" for the song. I love how this season everyone is so self-aware about their careers/image/style even though they haven't really been launched yet. Nice use of the drummers leading the way in for the song. James hits some wicked high notes and J-Lo looks like she is completely in love with him. She adored the theatrics and so did I. The singing wasn't half bad either. The judges are prepared to call it the performance of the night and we are only the second one in. Way to work it James! 8:10 p.m. – Ha! The other contestants joke Scotty for holding his microphone like a flute. I so totally agree with that. Scotty sings "Swinging" by LeAnn Rimes and it wasn't my favorite performance by him. And yes he held that mic like a flute. Seriously, he's been strong so far and I didn't think it was the best song choice. Jennifer says she agrees with Jimmy that he needs to push past his comfort level and Randy found it "safe" and "boring." What? Have the judges heard our pleas and decided to actually step up and judge? 8:04 p.m. – The former contestants are back to sing Pink's "So What." Why can't we get Paul out of those same crazy suits? And ooooo look who is in the audience cheering Ms. Pia on? Mark Ballas from "Dancing with the Stars." He's rumored to be dating Pia and there he is grinning super huge. Ummm hmmm. 8:00 p.m. - Welcome "Idol-"ators. I'm anxious to see what contestant selects which song. The theme is songs of the 21st century and we start with a retrospective of the auditions. We've come a long way peeps. Let's continue the journey, shall we?
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James,Casey and Haley are the final three and it will be a toss up between James and Casey.
Time for Stefano to go. Bottom 3 - Stefano, Lauren, Casey. Sucking up to a judge is not going to help his ratings. Use to be called brown nosing!
I like stephno, but his dress sucks, needs more flashy dresses and then he can fly
The opening showed why Paul has no talent...he is barely audible as he struggles to sing...very weak. I am just watching the rest of the shows as if attending a funeral...since Pia was stupidly voted off the show has become "Teenage girls Voting Idol" so unless they change the voting process next year I won't be watching...i will be checking out The Voice soon. When you hear a song on the radio and you like it you'll want to purchase it no matter what they look like or move like.. so it makes sense to look for a recording artist because they can actually sing. As for the side bar stuff last night...Ryan i can hear Simon reaming you out about the "how it feels to be a man." remark. I miss Simon and his quick honest wit. As for Tyler and his foul mouth – all i could think about was the underage children in the audience- very insulting but that's what Idol gets for hiring a rocker as a Judge. So long American Idol.
I guess you won't be watching next week because Idol will never change the voting. It's been the same way for 10 years (except for the texting). Teenaged girls have always voted like crazy, long before Pia was on Idol. You miss Simon, eh? Well Simon would have given Pia some constructive critism and probably would have told Pia how boring she was. I've always said Idol is not necessarily a singing contest – it's a voting contest and always will be.
Ho hum.... The girls suck. Only two acts worth watching/listening to now: James and Casey. It should come down to those two next month. Stefano's OK, but forgettable. Alfred E. and Jacob...OMG PLEASE go home soon!
James WAS the best of the night.!! He slammed a home run with Muse's Uprising!.I am sick and tired of everyone clambering all over Casey..frankly last night, hated the song he chose and hated the way he sang it even more. Jacob sucked as well and I can see why he would be called a diva. Hailey...I liked it......
James will win idol because he NEVER had a bad performance!
Good performances last night.
Judges actually starting to judge as well. Good for a change, but we didn't necessarily agree with them.
Scotty – OK but pretty boring. Not one of his best.
James – Rocked the house.
Haley – Wow. Great performance on a difficult song choice given how current and distinctive it is. She really stepped up and I just didn't get where the judges were coming from. She made good choices in where/how she changed the song. We really liked it and thought the judges were off base.
Jacob – OK, but not his best. Judges feedback was good here about maintaing control.
Casey – Surprising and entertaining again. Loved it.
Stefano – Good, but forgettable.
Lauren – Good, but forgettable.
Top three for the night were James, Haley, and Casey. (First time I'd include Haley in the top 3.)
Who will go home? I have no idea. Stefano? Scotty on a weak night for him?
My husband was going nuts over Scotty's "Swinging." He says it was just the same as it was in the early 80s! I guess it wasn't a 2000s song after all, no? Hee hee! So anyway, I loved James as usual! Casey sounded good. Haley did all right. It's just an amazing bunch of talent on the show!
He would HAVE to be nuts to like that dude. He 's totally creepy! Hillbilly Idol indeed. America will boot him eventually; hopefully sooner rather than later.
CASEY SCARES ME, HE NEEDS TO GO
I keep saying he has charles Manson eyes
Speaking of Casey, will somebody, pleeeaaase tell him to pull up his saggy pants ???
I hope Jennifer has some Germ-X or something to put on her cheek after that mess with casey.
I missed the whole darn show... FOX off the air here.. has been since early evening before Idol started.. !!!! not happy, good ole DirecTV did it to us again ...
Haley sings with a lot of heart. Does she play piano? If they put
her behind the piano and gave her a Carole King song,
I think she could win the whole thing
I will vote for Haley because of last week duet performance. I think she should sing some more jazz songs.
I don't think Scotty will be going home just yet. He's got all the teens on his side because of his looks. I'm not saying it's right, but it's the truth. I think Haley, Jacob, and Stefano will be in the bottom 3 (stefano going home) and hope that Lauren, Casey, and James are in the top 3. Just my opinion though.
I'l like to know what the judges are hearing because here in Canada, we are not hearing the same. Aside from James and Scotty, the rest were terrible. Jacob, Haley and Stefano have GOT to go!!!
I think you must have the wrong channel on or maybe they were piping this year's video with last years audio to you up in Canada then. Nothing you say makes sense otherwise.
I completely agree with you! James was AMAZING, and Scotty was Scotty, always good, but I would like to see something a *little* bit different. I think Stefano (or the garden gnome as my mtoher calls him) needs to go, as I've said before he should go to Broadway. I also cannot stand Jacob-what was with him sayign he heard drums!?, those 2 are def in the bottom, I normally dno't like Haley but she was alright tonight and as far as Luaren goes I could not get past her trampy make-up and when they were talking about all those crazy notes everyone does, she should stay away from them, they wouldn't make sense with her... and I think she would get eaten up in the music industry she seems very naive... So my bottom 3 predictions: Jacob, Stefano and Scotty (as much as I love him- the judges called him boring, as much as I hate teeny boppers I hope they pull him through)... my top 3 predictions: James (will win), Scotty (if he picks it up for next week), and Casey or Lauren (pref. Casey) and on a side bar that opening was HORRIBLE, it proved that all those people should have been eliminated... the girls looked horrible and sounded horrible and you couldn't hear/understand Paul (surprise!)
I dont think scotty is going home, Stefano was awful tonight, I think Scotty will be around to the top 3
I don't see Scotty in the top 3. He needs to appeal to more than the country fans while he's on the show. After Idol, who cares who he appeals to? Besides, Scotty is probably the ony contestant who doesn't have to win Idol. He'll be a big country artist for sure; so will Lauren. Country genre is a whole lot friendlier and easier to break into than the ther genres.
My bottom three: Scotty (going home), Jacob, Stefano.
jacob is good, but he wasnt himself tonight, i understand the song choice, but i dont think jacob is quite ready as well as Lauren she is not ready either. I see Haley, James, and Possibly Scotty being in the top 3.
Unbelievable talent this year. I can't help but think that, as great as Scotty and Lauren are, they are not ready to leap into the music business. Haley sold me tonight, as did James. Jacob is still my favorite and I totally agreed with what Randy said to him – Lovine gave him bad advice about holding back. I hope Jacob wins it all and Stephano is sent home tomorrow.
I agree with you to an extent. I disagree that Lauren is ready for the business yet, because it takes getting used to for anyone despite how old they are. And I don't agree that Jacob has all the talent. He's starting to become a little boring to me. It's the same types of songs every week and it's making me less and less interested. But everybody does have a lot of talent this year. I hope the teens start voting for the most talented and not the for the cutest!
i see stefano going home, durbin did have the best performance.
my view of bottom 3 is stefano, scotty, and jacob
Haley all the way. She has a incredible voice and is very dynamic.
Ok, my bottom 3 are Jacob, Stephano, & Hailey. Toss up between Jacob & Stephano going home We'll find out tomorrow !
My bottom three: Scotty, Casey and Stefano.
Agree stefano, casey, scotty.
Casey had another bad try at really rocking it, the last part of his performance was way over the top. There have been many weeks I have liked him though. Scotty seemed like he was impersonating himself.... perhaps his idea of trying to be different this time. Stefano had no pitch but he sort of saved it at the end. I'd send Scotty home but he won't even be in the bottom three and I guess he is fairly good at old time country if he doesn't start corning it up too much now. Casey has been great at times. So that leaves Stefano, who takes unfair levels of heat, but his best has never been right at the best and he was weak this week so....
Ok Good Night America......
Lauren is an amazing singer. She is the dark horse in this whole thing....she can actually be a big problem for the so called front runners...She can go all the way to the finish line...I can see her in the top three....
I agree but it was a terrible song choice.
I'm so glad others agree with me! Lauren is phenominal! And I loved her song choice, Sara Evans is perfect for her voice! Anyways, I hope people start noticing her talent because I find it crazy that she doesn't have more fans!! Good Luck to Lauren! I hope she makes it far! I <3 her!
when the contestants talked about each other Hayley and Casey did not mention each other – wonder why...
I think it may be an editing issue....
aren't they dating?
aren't they dating? That's what I thought
Jimmy is right. Stefano is cute but comes across as desperate and that is painful to watch. It's the same style every week with every song he sings.
Agreed. I have faithfully watched Idol since it started airing, and I never thought I'd say this...but I am really getting bored watching Idol. Same songs, same performances every week.
wow! bleeping on steven maguro tyler cursing potty language on live television!!!! What? Oh, and I wonder what Kelly Clarkson's going to say when she saw casey kiss Jennifer!
Tyler does it on purpose – good for the ratings -keeps things interesting
Why does Stefano sing so well but stays so boring?
Good Question:- My answer--he has not discovered to artiste he wants to be yet.,or the show does not give him room to show it... . Once he finds it, he will be interesting to watch..
Right now he seems like a Disney Channel heart throb singer.
He should go to Broadway, i think that he is very well suited for that venue... Big voice, good looks and a coreographer can tell him how to move around the stage
WHY on earth is there a half an hour delay in postings tonight? kinda lame :/
What was Stefano doing???? He looked different today.... i will not even talk about the singing.....I think the back singers did all the singing....
I would love to see Steffano( cant stand him he is too self centered), Haley (growly has to go!)and Lauren (not so good performance last night)or Jacob( R&B or gospel) in the Bottom three tonight. Casey did a great job last night. Scotty is a great singer and I am a huge James fan! He is taking over the show for sure....He is rocking it
Way to go James 
So far, James, Haley, and Casey have rocked it!
It's time for Jacob to go!
I do not understand why Casey is there. Is he just comic relief, like that Sanjaya guy a few years back?
xfm- Casey is the comic relief, but he's also so incredibly talented! He can sing so well, play the bass, guitar, and that recorder/piano thing the other contestants joked about. He is talented in so many areas!
Uh-oh I spoke too soon. That performance by Casey was rough! And the judges love it. Casey should be in the bottom three.
So far I see Scotty going home.
I think Scotty, Stefano and James will be in the bottom three.
I hope not! I voted for him for an HOUR! I like James much better but trying to call from my home phone wouldn't work, as soon as I switched to a cell it worked... what's with that? How are we supposed to vote if the phone lines suck.?!
Nice.....now we have all the expletives on the show....
This Casey guy is good. Love him
Yeah! Another Casey fan! I don't hear from many of those
I hope he makes it far. I don't think enough people appreciate all the talent he has!
If you enjoy listening to screeching Chinese tree monkeys, then James Durbin is your man! Another Adam Lambert wannabe. Total loser! Hope he gets the boot soon! Can't stand him!
He has the truest pitch of them all.
You are just wrong
I'm not a huge James fan, but you can't deny he sang great tonight! He was amazing, but I'll always be a Lauren fan at heart. I hope she makes it to at least the top 3 if not further!
Not a James fan, but this kid will be one of the last two standing.
Good to see the judges keeping it real for a change.
Jacob was same old Jacob. No growth from week to week.
I am thinking same too....
Scotty shows no growth either and he's boring. I see Scotty, Jacob and Stefano in the bottom 3 with Jacob probably going home. Scotty will get a contract and be a big country star in Nashville; Jacob too will get a contract (R&B radio is missing Luther Vandross) and become an R&B singing sensation; Stefano may end up on realty TV.
Wow! So far so good! Enjoying the show. Everybody is so unique this year. Gonna be a tough decision for me !!
Jacob shows his class with this performance. I think he sealed it perfectly... Good job ....but why the pitch changes every 10 seconds?? Just thinking aloud...
Copy cat night on AI!
Haley rocks! She's smokin and can wail and any peeps who can't see that has some serious issues. Unfortunately since this is a teeny bopper show she will never see the top 3. Disgusting and sad but true!
Big janis fan here and I dont think she has what it takes to re introduce that style. Was also glad to see her leave out the grawl
Scotty was a snooze and didn't mention John Anderson's iconic version. I love James – he's the real entertainer. Hailey really does have a magnificent voice but I can't take her personality.
Yes me either..... The stuck on me personality......yuk!
Jacob was Jacob...no growth at all.
Haley is amazing...her voice is crazy good,
It was nice to hear Haylee leave off some of the growling this week. She has such a beautiful, unique voice but overuses the growly thing big time. I think it was one of her best performances.
don't go to portalpunks website because it says go **** yourself !
Scotty rocks! But loving james.
Scotty rocks? I'm a Scotty fan but that was a horrible song last night. And why isn't anyone pointing out that the song Swingin' was by Jon Anderson and not LeAnn Rimes? It came out before LeAnn was even born, lol.
WOW that opening was brutal!!!!
I agree...and that's why they are the losers.
First!!!
Idol fans do the weirdest things
http://www.amishrakefight.org/gfy/
really?!
Having waited 'til the last minute to start–and finish in the same day–another research paper for my final semester of undergrad, I worked all day Wed to turn it in on time, so I missed the AI episode featuring 21st century tunes. Soooooooo, I was thrilled to read your recap of the unfolding events! I think I'll even check back with you after future episodes. Thanks, you're awesome!