'American Idol' 10 Recap – Handicapping the...

The unthinkable has happened yet again on American Idol 10. It was yet another shocking result Thursday night as James Durbin was voted off the show, leaving Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, and Haley Reinhart as the final three. Everyone wondered who would leave this week, with most thinking it would be Lauren or Haley, and a few wishing it were Scotty. Yet no one was predicting or wishing for a James Durbin dismissal.

american idol 10,james durbin

To a certain point, it defies reasoning, how James could have been voted off when he has never been in the bottom three, and when the worst said about any of his performances was that he got too emotional. All season long, the question was who would be standing in the final two next to James Durbin. It was understood he would be there.

Everyone is making comparisons to season five when Chris Daughtry was shockingly voted off in fourth place. Similarly, the question all season long was who would face him in the final two, and here he was voted out in fourth place. Hopefully, James Durbin will go on to meet the same after-Idol success that Daughtry has had. Music producers need to jump up and get this guy to sign on the dotted line before he gets away.

Here's a look at the top three and their chances of making it one more week to the final two:

1. Lauren Alaina, 16, of Rossville, Georgia.

Lauren has finally come into her own in the competition. She's finally showing what she had showed in her audition, the strong vocals with just enough sass. She's perhaps the cutest 16-year-old to make it this far in the competition since Jordin Sparks, who coincidentally performed live on the show Thursday night.

Next week, Lauren needs to do everything exactly the same as she did this week. She needs to show no fear and just belt it out. If so, she has a shot at making final two.

2. Scotty McCreery, 17, from Garner, North Carolina.

Scotty is probably the most consistent on the show next to James Durbin. He knows who he is and what he should be doing, which is definitely odd for a guy of his age. This week, he showed he could pull off an amazingly tender performance as well as be completely entertaining, running around in the audience.

Unless he has some really bad song choices next week, Scotty should be a lock on the final two. Then again with this season, anything is possible. He is the most likely to pick up James' fans, and the battle seems to be over who will join him in final two.

3. Haley Reinhart, 20, from Wheeling, Illinois.

Haley's performances have been all over the place. Jimmy Iovine said it best, that she needed to figure out who she was. Every time it seems like she has it figured out, she goes backwards. In the last two weeks, she's either been amazingly great, or been viewed by the judges as having the worst performance of the week. Though in this group, the worst performance is still great; it's just not amazingly great.

Next week, the final three will be doing three songs apiece, and Haley needs to show everyone that she can be consistent and be amazingly great for three performances in a row. If she can wow each of her times up to bat instead of just one or two, she should make it to final two

There's still no way to make sense of James Durbin heading home this week, and this will be the one people talk about for weeks to come, just like with Daughtry. A few weeks Taylor Hicks won, people stopped talking about him, but kept talking about Daughtry. Will it be the same if Scotty, Haley, or Lauren win?

For more on American Idol 10, see SirLinksalot.

American Idol 10 pictures used with permission of Fox.

Comments: 13

dave h. May 13, 2011, 1:28am UTC

Now don't get me wrong, I think James has the most talent of all the contestants, but I had a feeling that he would be voted off and here's why. 1. he's in love with a woman who is obviously much older than he is, which turns off the younger girls who would idolize him. 2. according to what I've been reading online, a lot of guys who are into rock, think he's a wanna-be rock star who's trying too hard. 3. he showed too much confidence on stage and a lot of people view that as being cocky, a no-no with mainstream America (the people who do most of the voting). The judges killed him. Mainstream America also seems to take umbrage with no-it-alls, Randy and JLo, who praised him a little too much. 4. he was competing against the modern-day version of Debbie Reynolds and Pat Boone, Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery. These two kids cut across the board when it comes to popularity with the mainstream. Remember, this isn't a singing contest as much as it's a popularity contest and Lauren and Scotty have the right combination of looks, stage presence, personality, singing ability to leave far more talented people (vocally) in the dust. 5. Haley is getting sympathy votes, although she's just as, or more vocally talented than either Scotty or Lauren. JLo and Randy are actually doing her a favor by attacking her every chance they get. Unlike the writer of this article, I don't think she's had an off song, except when she takes Randy's advice too seriously. My God, I have no idea how the man has survived in the music business as long as he had, the clown has a tin ear. The only "expert" with less ability to judge talent was Simon Cowell, who dismissed Adam Lambert, Chris Daughtrey and Jennifer Hudson.

August Lady May 13, 2011, 6:44pm UTC

"My God, I have no idea how the man has survived in the music business as long as he had, the clown has a tin ear."

Wiki Randy Jackson, and after you read that, see how off-base this comment is...

Laura Tucker May 13, 2011, 7:19pm UTC

The youth in America is not chasing after Scotty. I have two high school kids, and they, and their friends, are fans of James. He sang the type of music they listen to.

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Julia Emmerett May 13, 2011, 9:20am UTC

You are wrong as hell. If anything, Haley is the best there. She can actually sing unlike the other two. Lauren is boring. Her performances are plain, her vocals are plain so she really isn't much of a contender. She doesn't have any confidence at all, she's not ready for the world of show biz. Scotty is lame. Plain lame. The only reason Scotty and Lauren are still there is because of little girls all over the world with no taste in music who have cell phones. If you were handicapping them, Haley should be NUMBER ONE since she has the looks, personality, stage presence and most importantly, TALENT.
So if you had good ears and could tell what actual music was, you'd have handicapped them like this:
1. Haley
2. Scotty
3. Lauren
Lauren should be the next to go home, and I can't wait to see it happen.

August Lady May 13, 2011, 6:45pm UTC

"Haley should be NUMBER ONE"

My fave from day 1!

Laura Tucker May 15, 2011, 6:01pm UTC

Just so everyone knows, the list is in alphabetical order, not the order I think they should finish.

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Del Nerkez May 13, 2011, 6:05pm UTC

I was surprised, but not shocked.

My Wife and I hated the drama of this show and the rudeness of Cowell.

But then we started watching it maybe 3 seasons ago - and became hooked. Cowel was rude as could be - but that business is like that.

The drama - we eliminate by putting it on DVR and skipping a lot of the "hoopla".

This year - we started scoring every proformance, and tracking the cumulative results. Ok ok - ok - I did - I am a bit retentive LOL.

We stopeed scoring week before last - they were all too simply amazing in their own way.

Scotty, tho we BOTH love him (yet my wife HATES country music) is more one dimensional.

Lauren we had in the bottom 5 until they were down to top 8 - then she vaulted up.

This week - we honestly looked at them all, and they are all qualified to be "American Idols" and to have a chance at mega-star recording contracts.

I have heard there is a one year non-compete clause for those that dont wiN?

I hope not - it should be an open market.

We have purchased several of the runner up, and 3rd or 4th place people the last few years.

Non-the-less. James will have his dream - he said his goal was to change things for his wife and child. For a while he apparantly thought that meant winning this.

But I predict - an incredible touring and recording life for him - which will indeed achieve his dream!

Laura Tucker May 13, 2011, 7:16pm UTC

The contract does not prevent them from recording elsewhere for a year. It keeps them from signing with someone else until after the tour which is this following September. It gives the Idol folks and the producers that work with them a chance to sign the winner first. As much as the Idol folks liked James, I think they'll be picking him up. I don't think it'll be Jimmy Iovine working with him, though, as he didn't seem to like him very much.

Del Nerkez May 15, 2011, 12:30am UTC

thx laura,
i had heard the other, but was unsure of the valididty.
can see that side of it completely - i sm aure many of the top 10 (at least 6 of them) will probably be offered at small contract.
after the top 6, it was a toal tossup to me!

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August Lady May 13, 2011, 6:49pm UTC

Haley was criticized for screaming~I find that totally ironic 'cuz that's what James has been doing the entire competition!

August Lady May 13, 2011, 6:49pm UTC

Glad he's gone too!!

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Laura Tucker May 13, 2011, 7:17pm UTC

James wasn't screaming. As Randy had pointed out since the beginning, what was great about him was that it wasn't a falsetto, but was truly the upper range of his voice.

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'American Idol' 10 Recap – Handicapping the 2011 Top 3

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