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Learn more- "American Idol" - Top Five Performance Show - May 4, 2011
Theme: Now and Then
In the audience: Anthony Hopkins; Kelly Preston;
Video Package: We get a rundown on tonight's guest mentor Sheryl Crow, invited by Jimmy Iovine. She promises we're going to see different sides to people.
Contestant: James Durbin
Song: Now: "Closer to the Edge," Thirty Second to Mars. Sheryl sings along with him during his performance.He and Jimmy agree that he fits into this kind of contemporary music.
Performance: It starts in a low register and then bumps up into a more power area for James who takes to the crowd to high five people. He's going flat here and there, perhaps from moving around. The song is just okay. He throws a big old Durbin scream in the middle and gets some onstage pyro.
Steven: Thinks he kicked the song's ass and thought it was beautiful.
JLo: Says he's been showing America that he wants it.
Randy: Loves the song and thinks he fits well there in that genre and thinks James is in it to win it.
Contestant: Jacob Lusk
Song: Now: "No Air," Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown The actual writer/producer Harvey Mason is in teh house. Jimmy and Sheryl think it's challenging, especially since it's a duet and he's singing both parts.
Performance: He immediately has breathing issues, just like the song says. He's also singing in a weird key that makes him sound strident.
JLo: Thinks he has great showmanship and is a good singer and tells him to keep going in this direction to define who he is.
Randy: He doesn't think that's the direction for him and he thought the whole thing was corny and that most of it was sharp. He sees him more as a Luther/church singer and he doesn't think it wears well. Jennifer argues with him.
Steven: Says they're waiting for him to find a niche and that certain something that's 100 percent him.
Contestant: Lauren Alaina
Song: Now: "Flat on the Floor," Carrie Underwood. She says it's a hard song, Sheryl tells her to stay put and stay strong.
Performance: Lauren counts it off confidently. She stays put and does put some power into it. She moves about a bit and shimmies with the fiddler. She's controlling her breath well and really getting into it. It sounds good and looks confident.
Randy: Says that is the direction for her and says Lauren is in it to win it.
Steven: Says she's as good as it gets and the sky's the limit.
JLo: This is what she likes to see, and says she ate it up.
Contestant:Scotty McCreery
Song: Now: "Gone," Montgomery Gentry. Jimmy likes that it's got grit and a rock feel to it. Sheryl likes it's got a big range.
Performance: Scotty starts off in the audience down in his lower register. He hits center stage and then hops down to the judge platform. He is using a lot of his range and he sounds great. and he isn't doing the microphone thing the whole time! It's very energetic and fun.
Steven: He says up to now he's been a Puritan but tonight he danced with the devil and it was beautiful.
JLo: Says she lost it because she was so excited and says he owned the stage. Says that's some "American Idol" stuff right there.
Randy: Felt like he was a Scotty concert and loved that he rocked the stage and that Scotty is also in it to win it.
Contestant: Haley Reinhart
Song: Now: "You and I," Lady Gaga It's an unreleased song and Gaga gave her blessing. Sheryl thinks it's super-bold. Jimmy thinks she kills it.
Performance: She starts on the stairs. It's a midtemp piano number in an Elton John vein, which Haley is giving jazzy undertones in her vocals. She's raspy and growly but she sounds good. She seems more confident than ever and like she's actually having some fun.
JLo: Loved how she sounded especially at the end. Isn't sure if it was a great idea to do an unreleased song. Thinks Jimmy might've given her bad advice.
Randy: Agrees and isn't sure it was that great of a song although it was a good vocal.
Steven: Thinks she put all of her range into it and said it was risky but is one perfect song away from being the "American Idol."
Contestant: James
Song: Then: "Without You," Harry Nilsson. James tears up listening to the song before rehearsal. He goes to have a good cry about missing his family before he can start. We never actually see him rehearse.
Performance: It's a classic piano ballad, and James starts off nice and gently and shows off the nice tender side of his voice and hits a nice falsetto note. The chorus is a little shaky pitch-wise but gets better when it reaches his power zone. He falls apart a bit again on a big note near the end but he's tearing up so it's an emotional moment. He gets a long ovation.
Randy: Says he could feel the emotion and is impressed by the vocal, even though it wasn't technically perfect it was emotionally perfect. He says the competition is his to lose.
Steven: He says it was a beautiful as it gets, pitchy, but beautiful.
JLo: Says he's not just a screaming rocker but a true artist with heart and soul.
He tearfully tells Ryan he leaves everything on the stage every week.
Contestant: Jacob
Song: Then: "Love Hurts," Nazareth. He does it on Jimmy's recommendation. Sheryl models the song for him. Jacob is nervous but thinks he needs to take a risk.
Performance: He follows Sheryl's tender lead, which suits him, even though it's pitched really high. he takes it a little lower on the verse and then heads for the heavens near the end-- hitting one big clunker along the way-- and testifies, ending with a big run and a scream.
Steven: Says he's a sucker for a passion, and calls it beautiful. Says he got lost on the song but that was okay.
JLo: Says everyone probably heard the bobble in the middle but he took it home in the end.
Randy: Says he redeemed himself on this one and that might have been the highest note sung on this stage.
Contestant: Lauren Alaina
Song: Then: "Unchained Melody," The Righteous Brothers. It's her mom and dad's song and she sings it for them. Jimmy and Sheryl seem a little nervous but feel like people will be impressed.
Performance: In a pretty blue and white gown Lauren is very precise in her singing. It's a nicely measured performance with lots of nice tender parts balanced with blasts of power.
JLo: She says it was a beautiful song sung beautifully.
Randy: So happy to see this other side of her.
Steven: Says her voice is so ripe and so there, says it was perfect, and agrees with JLo that there's nothing to judge.
Contestant:Scotty McCreery
Song:Then: "Always On My Mind," Elvis Presley. Jimmy tells him to stay true to himself. Sheryl loves him and can't wait for him to move to Nashville and be part of his career.
Performance: A quiet piano ballad that Scotty handles nicely. The wire from his in-ear monitor is hanging out distractingly but Scotty is convincingly grave.
JLo: She says he's shown what a well-rounded artist he is. It's beautiful.
Randy: Says sometimes the quietest things get the best reactions and basically he loves him.
Steven: Says it's going to be so hard for America to vote and calls Scotty's rendition perfect.
Contestant: Haley
Song: Then: "House of the Rising Sun," the Animals. Sheryl suggests starting it a cappella. Sheryl thinks people are going to love it.
Performance: She takes Sheryl's advice and starts a cappella and seated. It's very powerful and shows off her way with phrasing. The band kicks in as does her growl. It builds and builds and she hits some nice notes along the way to a big finish, earning a standing ovation from all three judges.
Randy: Says the award for tonight's best performance goes to Haley.
Steven: Sweet and sour, raspy, he can really relate, says she really sold it.
JLo: Thinks she did a great job.
Elimination Prediction: Jacob
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