Meanwhile, under Lady GaGa's guidance Haley Reinhart made one of the best performances of the year on 'Idol' with her version of 'I Who Have Nothing' on May 11.
- May 12, 2011
AceShowbiz - The four finalists of "American Idol" were returning to the stage on Wednesday, May 11 to compete for the top three spots. With Lady GaGa as guest mentor, they performed two songs: one is an inspirational song, and the other is from Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's catalog.
James Durbin opened with Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' ". Randy Jackson said, "That was the highest degree of difficulty and you did it," and Steven Tyler added, "You did it right, man." Jennifer Lopez called it "a really, really great job."
Haley Reinhart delivered her version of Michael Jackson's "The Earth Song". J.Lo felt the song "did inspire" Haley, but she should have picked a song that is as popular as the one sung by James. Randy said, "It confused me with who you are as an artist...I didn't like it. I thought you were screaming," but Steven disagreed, stating "They're both wrong." The Aerosmith frontman said she nailed it.
Scotty McCreery came out next with "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning" by Alan Jackson. Randy said the song is a perfect choice "for where we are now as a country." Steven said, "That was beautiful," while J.Lo gushed, "I'm in love with you."
Martina McBride's "Anyway" was Lauren Alaina's pick for the first round. Randy said "Lauren is back and she's in it to win it!" Steven praised her "pure and perfect" voice and said she has the "whole package". J.Lo felt Lauren has listened to their suggestions, saying "That was exactly what we were talking about."
The second round was started off with Haley's performance of "I Who Have Nothing". She delivered it well emotionally and technically, getting a standing ovation from the judges as J.Lo called it "one of the best performances of the year here." Randy added, "You just had a moment right here, which puts you in it to win it."
Scotty opted for "Young Blood" and he delivered it with his comedy style. Steven liked it, noting "It was funny, it was good." Randy chimed in, "You were having such a good time...We just saw both sides of a Scotty concert."
Next was Lauren with "Trouble". She was worried about what people might think of her because the song says "I'm evil", but GaGa convinced her to do it anyway. J.Lo said Lauren's performance was mature and sexy. Randy enjoyed it too, while Steven thought "it was well done".
James sang "Love Potion No. 9", and GaGa told him to shake his hips because he looks sexy when he does it. After listening to James' rock version of The Clovers song, J.Lo felt that he "can sing anything". Randy claimed, "You're peaking at the right time," while Steven simply said, "Beautiful thing."
On Thursday's (May 12) result show, one of these remaining "Idol" contestants will be sent home.
