“So … that was it?”
“Yes. That was it.”
“Seriously? That was the big finale … ?!?”
“Yes. That was it. That was the big finale.”
“But … there weren’t really any fireworks, were there? No huge, stomping country numbers to bring the house down. No two-steppin’, horse-kickin’, rip-snortin’ barn burners to tear the place down to the ground!”
No. There really weren’t any “barn burners” in this all-country finale, were there? Truly, American Idol gave us an old-fashioned contest between The Boy Next Door and The Southern Belle.
And you know what? It wasn’t all that bad.
It was kind of nice to see a bit of back and forth along with some finesse thrown in for good measure. Toss in a few psychological shenanigans from our little buddy “Seacrust”, some confident Scotty McCreery posing and one surprisingly strong and heart-felt closing number from Lauren Alaina and you end up with an Idol second-to-last show that held up pretty damned well.
We’ve witnessed these two go from endearing to seasoned all in the expanse of thirty-nine Idol airings. From auditions and critiques, from goofy-good stage presence to revelation, from excellence to stutter-steps and back again … we’ve seen it all. These two kids have “aged well” over the course of the season and it’s been good for the both of them.
You could see it in the stature and the way Scotty held himself up there on the stage. You could see it in the confidence (finally!) Lauren put forth for us despite the possible performance-hindering mental monkey business we witnessed. I’m talking about Lauren’s strained voice acquired during rehearsal which, psychologically, could very well have come into play if she had let it. When you toss in information like that for everyone to chew around, specifically at a contestant as young as Lauren about to perform the most important songs of her life, it could have a detrimental effect. But she was apparently up to the challenge and didn’t let Ryan’s Bozo antics nor that doctor’s words get to her. Good thing.
At the start of the show, Scotty came out freight train-like committing an encore of “Gone” like he was on a mission. When Lauren countered with “Flat On The Floor” in an attempt to match his energy, the only thing I could think was it was a shame she wasn’t 100%. Keep up, as she did in her first song, and she was going to be vocally desiccated come her closing tune of the night.
(Maybe it was the presence of “Scruffy McFiddler” who urged Lauren on. Perhaps his fiddling bolstered her strength and demeanor, coaxing her ever onward, quashing any possibility of her losing her voice.)
“Check Yes Or No” and “Maybe It Was Memphis” were rather the throw-away tunes for me. Neither second song did either singer justice. Speaking of throw-away tunes, I wonder: Did anyone — ANYONE — head to iTunes to download the craptastic “Positive” from Taio Cruz? I’d love to see those download numbers on the morrow. (“… I’m gonna be positive … I’m gonna be positive … I’m gonna be positive … Ooooooo now, now …”)
The “decision makers” of the night were the final tunes, however. My impression of Scotty’s “I Love You This Big” (the song he will release if he is crowned the winner of Season 10) reminded me of something coming out of a Sunday praise service at church. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it just wasn’t the dynamic “WowZer!” one would expect. It didn’t bowl you over with any *umph*. Is a song like that going to hurt his chances at the win? Nah. I doubt it. The voters voting for him aren’t going to give a rip. Could he have done more with it, however? You betcha. A lot more emotion and feeling could have gone into making it much bigger tune.
The clincher, though, was Lauren’s “Like My Mother Does” at the last. You gotta admit her song was an outstanding heart-tugger, head and shoulders above Scotty the Body’s offering. And tons better than any ending tune on the same night of any past season.
The winner? I still think Scotty’s going to grab the goods come the final episode.
Clacked by Michael Noble 
on May 25, 2011 @ 03:35 EST5EDT
Yes, yes, and thank you … sincerely.
Something makes me wonder which will lose the most votes due to the horrible storms sweeping Oklahoma, etc., during the performances. Lauren lost the coin toss for position, but Scotty let her have her choice anyway. I wonder if she will do the same if she wins the coin toss for the win tonight?
And I would much rather have Like My Mother Does released as Lauren’s first song than I Love You This Much released as Scotty’s first song.
I have to agree. Lauren never sounded better or looked more poised than when she sang “Like My Mother Does.” It was a great song selection because it didn’t feel cheesy or sappy – just full of genuine, honest emotion. She didn’t need to dance around or pose for this song, which is good because she seems most comfortable when she can simply stand at the mic and sing (giving her mom a hug was a nice touch – it wasn’t anything fancy, just walk over there, hug mom, and walk back – but it gave the performance that extra emotional bump). And I have to agree with Randy – the breathy Mariah notes at the end were perfect.
I really went in thinking that Scotty would win but after that last song of Lauren’s, I am not so sure. She sang the best she has ever sang last night. Mostly, her performances have really been boring to me but I could tell she was much more confident last night.
I thought the movies behind the singers at the ending songs were really distracting. Also, I didn’t like that they took away from Scotty and Lauren by bringing on other singers. This was their night. I was surprised but happy that there was less judges input since most of what they said this season hasn’t been helpful to the kids.
Still think Haley, Casey and James are better than these 2.
Should be interesting tonight.
Well we had a bunch of first this year. They youngest contestants, Country Final. Maybe we will get another 1st and have the first tie and they both win!!! Wouldn’t that be a hoot. I think Lauren’s last song was amazing, had me crying my eyes out. Scotty’s song was ok. I miss the days when they use to have to come out and sing the same song. I like that let you really see who was better I think. I don’t care who wins, I voted for Lauren because of the last song, but I will be ok no matter which of them wins.
I don’t have to say much about the show because Maureen did it for me.
Country is so lackluster for me that it made the entire show, well, lackluster. Not to be confused with lacking talent however.
To anyone that follows “The Law of Attraction”, or you could call it “having a dream” or “believing from your heart”, then you know that Lauren has had it hands down all along. Throughout the season when she’s been presented with Cresty questions her answers have always been, “I’ve just always pictured myself on this stage.” Where as Scottie says, “I never (NEVER being the operative word here) pictured I’d be here.” Ask any winning athlete, musician, or movie star how they got where they are and you will almost alway hear a POSITIVE winning statement.
As the Universe is my witntess, Lauren had this thing at Hello.
I’m in the Lauren camp. And the students that were talking about it seemed to be in the Lauren camp, too, although there were a couple vocal Scotty fans.