by Gabrielle Abrams

 

Tonight on American Idol, the contestants sang songs from the movies. After Pia's departure last week, the contestants know that they have to bring the heat with every performance.

 

Paul McDonald - "Old Time Rock n' Roll"

Paul does not have the strongest voice in the competition but he does have something unique about him. He is quirky and does not care about what he does on that stage. He is 100 percent himself and dresses himself in the most odd of ways. But would he be as entertaining if you heard him on the radio? I'm not so sure.

 

Lauren Alaina - "The Climb"

Lauren took a song that is made fun of a lot and created something beautiful out of it. She sang it better than the original, by Miley Cyrus. Lauren is growing up more and more as the competition goes on and she is picking more challenging songs and ones that are perfect for her range. The judges just showered her in compliments tonight.

 

Stefano Langone - "End of the Road"

Stefano has a great voice but it doesn't seem to compare well to the others. Whether it's the way he performs or the songs he chooses, there is just something that is keeping him a step behind everyone else. Randy said it was Stefano's best performance on the stage so far.

 

Scotty McCreery - "Cross My Heart"

Scotty slows it down tonight with his song selection but he refuses to stay put as he moves around to the music. He held out a note tonight that was quite impressive and it was something he's never shown us before. As always, Scotty rules the country songs. Jennifer said "Wow." Randy said that a star was born on this stage and for America to take a good look at him.

 

Casey Abrams - "Nature Boy"

The beginning was rough, but got progressively better. Casey has his own genre, bringing in his standing bass. This song was a little slow for the night, but did show off a new side vocally to Casey. But in the array of performances, his might be forgotten easily.

 

Haley Reinhart - "Call Me"

In a dress that looks like a mosaic painting, Haley rocked out to her chosen song. She really chose a great song for her, immediately you could tell she was going to do the song justice. She always looks like she is having fun and each week looks more and more confident on stage. Randy said the song sounded more like karaoke, which did have truth to it. Jennifer agreed with Randy but doesn't want to see anymore girls get eliminated.

 

Jacob Lusk - "Bridge Over Troubled Water"

Following in the footsteps of former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken, Jacob picks a song that was so iconic to season two. Jacob sang it in his beautiful voice but did not make it his own in the way it was done before on the show. Jennifer called him a "gifted vocalist," and Randy said he was really controlled.

 

James Durbin - "Heavy Metal"

James ends the show with a little heavy metal. He is back in his rock mode, which is never disappointing. He hit his trademark high notes with ease and rocks out just as easily. The guitar solo could have been cut shorter since this is a singing competition. But what a way to end the show! Jennifer said it was "Really, really real." Randy ended with, "Durbin Rocks!"

 

 

Tune in tomorrow to American Idol at 8/7c on FOX to see which contestants make it to the Top 7.

 

(Image courtesy of FOX)