{Sasha}Fierce! (Top 3)

1. Scotty McCreery

“Amazed” by Lonestar – I have to say, I kind of liked this song choice for him.  Although the high notes sounded a bit strained, I really enjoyed the simple melody showcasing his voice at the beginning.  There were some weird off-tempo backing vocals that overpowered the singing, too.  But in Scotty’s defense, sound balance isn’t really his fault.

2. Lauren Alaina

“Wild One” by Faith Hill – I liked the idea of this song for her, but she dropped the whole first verse – I couldn’t understand any of it.  The chorus was better, but stil fairly unexciting.  I can picture her doing songs like this in her inevitable career, but on this idol stage, I am not sure that is enough for top 3.

3.Haley Reinhart

“What Is and What Should Never Be” by Led Zeppelin – OMG – Mid song, Haley wiped out! And her Dad played guitar with her!   She’s bringing out the big guns.  For creative points, Haley wins this round.  Was it her best vocal?  no.  Was this the best song choice for her to make as a recording?  prob. not.  But she gets points for being fearless in her performance, having a solid rock vocal and changing it up.

4. Scotty McCreery

“Kiss Me or Not” by Thompson Square – I’m still not on board with the “Scotty guitar stance.”  LOL – he stands the same way every time.  It was a good song for him.  But nothing outrageously different from what he has done before.  In the words of Simon “I’m not jumping out my chair.”

5. Lauren Alaina

“If I Die Young” by Perry – I liked her up until the modulation, and it all went to hell after that. The first 2/3 of the song was fantastic, and I loved the soft and sweet part of her voice.  But the end she was screaming, off key, and just totally off.  Don’t lose focus, Lauren!

6.Haley Reinhart

“Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac – I love me some Fleetwood Mac, but I don’t know if this was the right FM song for her.  But she had the wind machine and kind of looked like she was in a hair commercial, so there’s a bonus.  Her vocals are always spot on.  But I guess I wish she would have sung Landslide (not that it was her choice).  Perhaps just an all acoustic version would have been better.  The tempo change was just weird to me.  But FM automatically gets points from me.  Iovine gets points from me (OMG I know.  What the eff is going on – I agree with Iovine?)

7. Scotty McCreery

“She Believes in Me” by Kenny Rodgers – His voice was a little bit strained before, but it was straining in a bad way with this one.  The key seemed way too high for him.  His voice was waivering and he had pitch problems in the higher notes.  But I will vote for Daddy McCreery for his impromptu “Lock Them Doors.”

8. Lauren Alaina

+1/2

“I Hope You Dance” by Le Ann Womack – Nuts of Wonder! Nuts of Wonder!  Scotty’s Hollywood performance will forever own this song.  But in all seriousness though, this was the most comfortable she was tonight, and I think the pressure was lifted and she could just concentrate on having fun.  It was a little generic of a song choice, and the tempo seemed really rushed.  But she did what she could.

9.Haley Reinhart

“You Oughta Know” – I totally would not have chosen that song for her.  The verses are too low, the rhythms are too fast, but that said, she did the absolute best she could with it.  She does have a similar yodeling tendancy with her voice like Alanis does, but Alanis songs are hard to cover because they are very stylistically specific.  I mean, how do you rearrange that?   Again, this song was a bad idea for her.  And LOL at the PG lyric edit.  But her big voice soared on the chorus.