‘American Idol’ on the scene for Top 6 performance night: James wins over the Idoldome, and Lauren’s onstage admirer vanishes
Game-changer? James had to follow a very solid performance by Scotty, who, like James, opted to dial it down a bit this week. But as soon as James finished his opening verse — “Tonight, you’re mine completely” — the Idoldome had already forgotten about Scotty. On TV, you could hear some of the crowd’s screams during James’ a-cappella prologue, but your Dolby 5.1 sound system didn’t really capture the electricity that was pulsating through the audience. People were jazzed. Nigel Lythgoe, who usually strolls around conducting research for his human-psychology thesis The Willingness of People to Clap on Command, was instead dancing in place (!).
EW
AI10 Top 6 – On-Scene Observations
1. The boy Lauren brought up on stage during her song was a plant straight out of Central Casting. He exited the studio after her song and met and shook hands with Lauren’s parents on his way out.
2. During the playback at the end of the show, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe gestured to the audience to applaud louder as James’ performance came out. He didn’t do that for anyone else.
Water Cooler Convo
More Recaps after the JUMP…
‘American Idol’ Live: Who got booted from the audience?
– The contestant who received the loudest applause from the studio audience was, without question, James Durbin. Dude has got a lot of fans and they are vocal: The Durbinators are, to quote Randy, in it to win it for their man.
– The contestant who interacted the most with the audience was Haley Reinhart, who entertained the crowd during the commercial break by dancing around a bit and waved to fans.
– Let’s keep on the Haley train of thought and discuss that almost-technical difficulty before her performance. Here’s what went down: While her pre-performance package was playing, Haley made the crew aware that she couldn’t hear herself. Immediately, three men ran over. While two shined flashlights, the third was sticking his hand down the back of her dress trying to fix the problem in time. Seriously.
Zap2it
American Idol Recap: Kings of King
A sudden rush of panic filled my chest at the start of American Idol‘s Top 6 performance episode Wednesday night. All season long, I’ve been craving genuine musical and emotional moments from the contestants (and to a lesser extent, the judges), and what’s the first thing I see? Costumes! Jennifer Lopez dressed as a tasteful figure skater. Randy Jackson imitating a dandy school boy. And Jacob Lusk channeling a pre-makeup Fizbo the Clown.
TV Line
‘American Idol’ recap: King, Pinned
It was “the Carole King songbook” night on American Idol
, and the utter inanity of Randy Jackson has nearly struck me dead. Ah, the Rananity! Clearly, this sad excuse for an introductory paragraph is not “in it to win it, nor is it “trying to win it,” “here because it’s a great singer,” or — least of all — “a hot one.” So what good is it? Let’s gets to this week’s solos!
EW
Guest Blogger and ‘American Idol’ Alum Michael Johns: ‘Scotty Sounds Best When He’s Sitting’
First, it needs to be said: It’s really hard to blog about these Season 10 contestants when each of them is so incredibly good! As they should be. We’ve come to the top 6 and at this point in the season, any one of them could be the American Idol.
I love that that the competition is so much more real this year. It’s not like in previous season, where the producers try to inject that constant state of fear. This year, it’s like they’re trying to nurture the artist within every contestant and it’s showing.
Hollywood Reporter
‘American Idol’ Recap: James Durbin Follows Fans’ Lead; Lauren Alaina Goes For the Money Note
Carole King and her former husband, Gerry Goffin, used to live in West Orange, N.J., on Pleasant Valley Way. In this house, she wrote the song, “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” recorded by the Monkees. The doorbell actually chimed, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” I know this, because my friend, children’s entertainer Mr. Ray, grew up in this house. As a born and bred Jersey girl, I, for one, am very proud of King’s Garden State roots.
The Hollywood Reporter
‘American Idol:’ ‘Top 6 Take on Carole King’ Recap
Bizarre, baffling and occasionally brilliant; three words that start with “b” and happen to describe tonight’s Top 6 Carole King hit parade.
Most of us were left scratching our heads when Ryan Seacrest announced yet another random theme night in a season that was originally supposed to be free of such historically disastrous affairs.
TV Squad
Scotty McCreery Croons, James Durbin Swoons On ‘American Idol’
It’s a well-worn cliché, yes, but this is the point in the “American Idol” season where the men (and the few remaining women) are separated from the boys. It’s do-or-die time and if there was any artist whose oeuvre was going to challenge and force the top six to step up their game, it was Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Carole King.
It’s safe to say most of the remaining half-dozen “Idol” contestants had either never heard of King, were sorely unfamiliar with her work or, in the case of Scotty McCreery, likely to face an uphill battle finding their groove in her Brill Building pop stylings.
MTV
‘American Idol’: The Final Six Perform the Songs of Carole King
Jacob Lusk was first to take it on with “Oh No, Not My Baby,” which impressed the judges. Steven Tyler said, “We all knew you could sing…but its about time you shook your tail feathers.” Jennifer Lopez acknowledged his performance wasn’t perfect and that he’d chosen a tricky song, but said that still he “killed it.” Randy Jackson told Jacob he was a great singer, but that this performance was a “little sharp here and there.”
Wall Street Journal
Favorites rock Carole King’s tunes on ‘Idol’
Carole King night on “American Idol” turned out to be just what the favorites needed to prove their ability to put their own spin on some American standards.
The danger in going with this kind of theme is that if the singers don’t put their own spin on the songs, it becomes the stuff that high-school talent show third-place finishers are made of. That was especially true for the guys, who probably saw the list of choices from the prolific singer-songwriter’s handbook and had to look a little harder for something they could work with.
MSNBC
‘American Idol’ 2011: Judge Randy Jackson calls it for James Durbin with weeks to go
It’s Carole King Night on “American Idol.” Judge Randy Jackson is dressed for the occasion in his letter sweater – it has big R on the chest. Randy’s a letterman from the University of Randy! He’s the big man on campus at Randy State! He’s the sweetheart of Sigma Randy Chi!
JLo has broken out her Transformers dress. Little boys in the audience – do not try to disassemble her.
Steven Tyler has come as Tin Man 2011.
Washington Post
Did you feel the earth move? American Idol 10 Top 6 do Carole King
Nothing screams current like Carole King, does it? And nothing ever seemed longer than tonight’s open. Didn’t the American Idol theme music drag on forever? And what happened to Ryan Seacrest’s hair again? Come on…are these really the six best singers in THE NATION? What about those people on The Voice (including former Idol contestant Frenchie Davis, who’s always been simply fabulous)? Ok. I admit it. I still have to watch The Voice. (But I WILL and I WILL BLOG about it!) I’m having a bit of trouble even watching Idol this week, aren’t you? Its so long and I’m so tired. And then they let this guy back in the building.
Top Idol
Top 6 Recap- Randy Turns the Other Cheek In His Great Home State of New Orleans
To help show how the top 6 contestants on American Idol can sell records in today’s market, they tackle current superstar producer Carole King’s catalog. And no one enjoys it more than Randy Jackson. The man was in rare form tonight, contradicting himself after every other phrase, uttering catch phrases that didn’t make any sense, and trying to steal the spotlight from Steven Tyler. Yet in the end, Randy Jackson’s new attitude is much like his gastric bypass surgery – he can try as much as he wants, but he’ll just go back to being a bloated, useless mess and it’s just not worth the effort.
Vote For the Worst
American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Carole King Night and the Mysterious Presence of Penny Marshall
I am still suffering from jet lag and have slept horribly for the last week. I haven’t slept through the night in days, waking up every hour on the hour and having the most insane dreams I’ve ever had. Lifetime. The only one from last night that I can remember was like a movie that I was just waiting to be in. Like, I knew I was going to show up eventually, because the other characters were making references to my character, but my brain just had to watch this movie for a while. The cast included Nicole Kidman and Jimmi Simpson. Nicole was taking out the trash, not realizing there was a chopped-up dead body in it. Jimmi played her ex-husband, and you were supposed to think he did it, but really, it would end up looking more like I did it, and then later it would turn out that someone else really did it. I awoke before making my entrance onscreen. My point is, I am not physically and emotionally ready to watch this episode of American Idol.
New York Magazine
D-RIZZ OUT!!!
