IDOL WATCH: Top 7 Keep it Current!

After the great Pia Toscano debacle of 2011, last week's elimination of Paul McDonald was refreshing to say the least. Though I can't deny that I already miss his uncomfortably white teeth and the kooky way he pranced around the Idol stage, it was his time to go.

For those who still haven't coped with Pia's tragic departure from the show, there's good news this week. Tom Bergeron announced last night on ‘Dancing with the Stars' that the 22 year old will do some network hopping next week to perform on ABC's April 26 results show. Bergeron revealed: "Thanks to our friends at FOX and American Idol, it's the network return of the sensational Pia Toscano. She'll be singing and it features what promises to be an amazing dance by her close friend, Mark Ballas." Close friend? Wow, the Idol contestants are certainly getting around this season!

Tonight's theme was the less than thrilling ‘Songs from the 21st Century.' Yawn. Also, each performance was preceded by adorable montages in which the other six talked about the person in question. They like each other! They really like each other!

In a thoroughly unexpected move, the eliminated contestants took the stage right off the bat in results show fashion to sing P!nk's ‘Rock Star.' Wait...I'm confused. Why did that just happen? Not only was the performance random, but despite Steven's contradictory comment, I doubt that it left America regretting their past six elimination decisions (except for Pia of course). It was clearly a time-filler.

After pointing out his microphone holding habits, Scotty opened the evening with Leann Rhimes' "Swingin." Like most of his country picks, I was unfamiliar with the song, but I thought he brought a lot of life and charisma to it. Vocally, he has done better. Jennifer loved the storytelling quality he brought to the song, but wished that he would have brought out the big guns. Randy agreed that the song was boring and safe.

James followed him up with Muse's " Uprising," rocking his signature scarf tail. God I love that scarf tail, but did I like the performance? Well, yes and no. I give him props for taking the end up the octave, but my bleeding ears didn't care for it. Jennifer loved that she got to hear him sing his highest notes yet, and Randy agreed that the performance was brilliant. Steven warned him to stay out of his closet, proclaiming that he was "Mad Max meets storm troopers on Melrose," and that "you'd be surprised how expensive it is to look this cheap."

Haley sang one of the most played songs on my iPod right now: Adele's "Rolling in the Deep." It was perfection. She made the song her own, playing around with the melody in the second verse, but stayed true to the brilliance of the original. Dare I say that she might have sung it better than Adele herself? I can't believe I even just typed that. Randy and Steven thought the song was a perfect choice. JLo thought that she had guts for singing something so current and liked that she "brought a little bit of Haley to it."

Singing a song by one of his idols, Jacob did "Dance with My Father" by Luther Vandross. Hello, predictable. The vocal was beautiful, in his typical male Jennifer Hudson kind of way. I'm just sick of hearing the same old emotional-ballad-with-a-gospelly-twist from him. JLo thought that the performance was beautiful emotionally. Randy told him that it's time for him to stop holding back. I echo that sentiment completely!

Casey sang Maroon 5's "Harder to Breathe," while strumming a guitar. Is there any instrument that this kid can't play? Vocally it definitely wasn't my favorite Casey performance- maybe even a little reminiscent of "Smells Like Teen Spirit?" JLo liked that he brought all of his ‘Casey-isms' to the performance. Randy love that he always takes chances, including the song ending JLo kiss. The song triggered a long string of expletives from Steven that I'm sure had the whole Idol control room sweating.

Stefano sang Ne-Yo's "Closer," and big surprise, I didn't like it. Is it something that he does with his vowels? Maybe weird placement in his upper-register? I can't really put my finger on it, but there's something about his voice I just don't care for. I liked his outfit and the fact that he didn't do a ballad again, but that was about it. Randy liked that he took his time and incorporated dance steps and Steven agreed. JLo thought that he owned the song.

Lauren took tonight's pimp spot singing "Born to Fly" by Sarah Evans. Again, I've never heard the song before, but I thought that she brought a lot of personality to it. She definitely picked up momentum throughout and got my toes a-tappin by the end. Steven was a big fan of the song, and JLo urged her to sing bigger notes next week. Randy also recommended that she pulls out the stops for next week.

My official consensus of the week: Haley gave the best performance of the evening. Though it's difficult as always to pick a bottom three, if I had my way, it would consist of Stefano, Jacob, and Scotty.

Tune in tomorrow for a performance from season seven winner David Cook and Katy Perry! Don't forget to check in with BroadwayWorld's IDOL WATCH tomorrow night to find out which contestants don't make it past the next elimination! American Idol airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8pm on Fox. Vote for your favorite contestants at Americanidol.com!

Miss the Top 8 sing last week? Click here for a full recap!

Emmy Award-winning AMERICAN IDOL is created and executive produced by Simon Fuller, Founder, 19 Entertainment, a division of CKX, Inc.; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; and Nigel Lythgoe, President, Big Red 2 Entertainment.

Among the many American Idol finalists and winners to appear on the Broadway stage are Fantasia, Justin Guarini ,Jordin Sparks,Diana DeGarmo, Ace Young, Tamyra Gray, Constantine Maroulis, Frenchie Davis, Clay Aiken and Taylor Hicks.

Visit americanidol.com for exclusive videos, interviews and photos, as well as special behind-the-scenes information and all of your AMERICAN IDOL news.

 

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