The Top 9: One HELL of a Heavenly Night!

THIS is AMERican Idol!

"It's Go Time" - Ryan Seacrest

How do we have 90 minutes of show with 9 contestants . . . and why do the girls get styled and not the boys?

Rock and Roll is the theme tonight . . .

Here are OUR TOP 9!

Will.I.Am is in the house.

Paul
Pia
James
Scotty
Haley
Lauren
Stefano
Casey
Jacob

1. Jacob - He is singing, "Man in the Mirror" . . . Lord in heaven let this boy come out of his nose. He's going against what the mentors thought. If he ends up in the bottom three it will be because America wasn't ready to look at themselves in the mirror . . . He sounds like his throat is full . . . and as per usual he is a little pitchy . . . though no one will mention it, I'm sure. The middle of the song picks up and he sounds better. I wonder if anyone will mention that he picks these same types of songs like they always say to others . . . we'll see. Overall a pretty good showing.

Steven - Thinks he brought another little piece of himself to the party
JLo - Thinks something . . . she liked it, but I didn't quite get her comments.
Randy - Thinks he did him

2. Haley - She is singing, "Piece of My Heart" . . . this could be an idol moment or it could be a disaster. This could be Haley's moment to move into the top group or to solidify her bottom three status. Good start for Haley. This may be the first time I've heard Haley connect with a song. She's getting a little overly screechy at times, but overall I'm quite impressed with her performance. Good work, Ms. Haley.

JLo - Thinks she is a contender
Randy - Thinks she did her bluesy, souly, thing with this song
Steven - Couldn't find nothing wrong with that . . .

3. Casey - He is singing, "Have you ever seen the rain" He's playing the bass . . . I kind of love that. . . I could do without the electronic rain. He's giving a little Jason Castro vibe tonight. He is giving it that Casey vibe . . . a little too screechy at times, but definitely on key. It wasn't my favorite of his, but def better than Nirvana. Kind of boring, but good all around.

Randy - thinks he did "well" justice to the song . . .
Steven - thinks he is a true musician
JLo - thinks he is exactly where he belongs . . .

4. Lauren - She is singing, "Natural Woman" . . . I don't have to remind Little Tasters that Kelly Clarkson blew this shit away in Season One . . . I wish her luck. She even has herself done up a little Kelly like . . . It's a little like Kelly lite . . . she's got all of the notes, but I'm not sold yet. . . and then she hits it during the middle of the song. She did the song proud. Good for you, Lauren.

Steven - Thinks that tonight she is a natural born woman
JLo - Thinks she is amazing
Randy - Thinks she picked one of the more difficult songs, but he's not jumping up and down.

5. James - I missed what he is doing, but it's by the Beatles and he's slowing it down. I love the change of pace from him . . . reminds me of when Lambert would slow it down. He's actually showing off his voice However, and I hate to say this, but it's a bit on the boring side. The scream at the end picked it up because it was on key, but it was a strange performance for me. Still the best of the night by a hair, for me.

JLo - She's becoming like Paula . . . I'm not really sure what she said, but she liked it.
Randy - He loved seeing the true emotional side.
Steven - thought the brought the emotion

6. Scotty - He is singing, "That's all right momma" . . . of course, it's Elvis. Did anyone else think the combination of country and rock would be "cock" . . . maybe it's just my dirty mind. :) Scotty said this was going to be different from his usual performance, but it still really sounds Scotty like. His vocals, as per usual, are spot on . . . and frankly, not quite as annoying as usual. A mighty decent performance tonight from Scotty . . . mama.

Randy - Scotty is in it to win it
Steven - Thinks he brought Elvis into the house
JLo - Thought she felt a little bit of flava in that performance.

7. Pia - and Ryan says our girl is taking a walk on the wild side . . . She's singing "River Deep Mountain High" . . . This girl has a nack for singing the right song. This song could be an Idol moment . . . Y'all know I love her. She's doing the Celine Dion version of this song . . . As per usual, she is pitch perfect and bringing the energy. I'm impressed. She gets better each week. Simply Stunning!

Steven - He thinks she murdered it.
JLo - She thinks she sees greatness and wants her to start researching the great performers.
Randy - Thinks she showed that she can do the uptempo.

8. Stefano - He is singing "When A Man Loves A Woman" . . . I think if he doesn't bring it, he may be done. He's too far up in the upper register for my taste, but he is singing it well. He's closing his eyes too much, but his vocals are spot on. Man, it's been a good night.

JLo - Thought it was beautiful
Randy - Wasn't jumping up and down . . . he liked it but didn't love it
Steven - Thinks he has a great range that he needs to keep playing with.

9. Paul - He is singing, "Folsom Prison Blues" . . . interesting choice. As I sit on the island of unpopular opinion . . . I love my boy, Paul. Man, he is ripping up that guitar. His vocals are especially good tonight. I thought that was one of the best of the night. Excellent job, Mr. Paul.

Randy - He has three words, "I LOVED IT"
Steven - thinks he is a perfect imperfect boy
JLo - thought it was the perfect way to end the show.

I have to add an aside here . . . my 85 year old grandmother just hung up with me so that she could start voting for Scotty and Paul. I love her. :)

Overall, I think this was the best show of the season. They all did a great job. I think it's going to be very close in the voting. We may have some surprises coming tomorrow.

My Bottom Three: Stefano, Casey, and Jacob
America's Bottom Three: Jacob, Haley and Casey
Going Home: Jacob (In a SHOCKER!)

I could be totally off . . . anyone outside of Scotty and Pia could be in the bottom three . . . But that's what I'm going with . . .