American Idol 10: Top 7

Wow. I actually LOVED this episode. Seriously. I think it was from the awesome combo of solid song choices and hilarious personality packages. Imagine that, these kids didn't not stick with the outdated, antiquated themes and suddenly lead to greatness - well, not really but still..

Plus, the rejected Idols group number was an unexpected hot mess. Haha. I know. I know. That group number was a disaster - thanks Paul McDonald! - but I'll sit through disasters if it means I get to see Naima Adedapo getting her freak on again and Pia Toscano!

Also, the judges were being judges this week and not merely cheerleaders! Yay! They weren't exactly on point, but again, I'll take that. Oh, and Ryan was having a blast. He was hilarious, complimentary and genuinely having fun.

To be honest, I didn't care much about the imperfections as I really loved the show. So much hilarity and the clip packages were adorable. Such a bada*s night!

DISCLAIMER: I am no expert, but this is my opinion - to each his own - and yours will be in the comments below! Haha. 

7. Scotty McCreery

Swingin'
Eh. This was basically more of the same for Scotty, though he was using lots of that lower register than usual. To be fair, he was so much better vocally and more entertaining compared to last week’s dull performance, but when you sing something like this, it needs a great deal of sass. Unfortunately, I didn't get that here. Could Scotty be in serious danger after this performance? 6.5/10

6. Lauren Alaina

Born To Fly
So, out of ALL the country songs, the two country singers sing the most RANDOM songs this week! Sigh. This was definitely an improvement from the past few weeks, but this wasn't even close to her Top 24 performance. I still felt like she was holding back yet again. Yes, she - as always - sounded good, but there's just no pop to her. Everything was just generic, lackluster and safe. She has so much potential. Sad. 7/10

5. Jacob Lusk

Dance With My Father
Do I want him to stay for another week? Aboslutely not. But I have to admit, Jacob has been improving. I thought he preserved the melody of the song - finally! - and again he gave a very nice restrained vocals. The key change sounded a bit weird, but other than that it was actually good. He needs to work on his emotion though as it seemed a bit affected. I don't know. The fun and passion seemed to have been sucked out of Jacob. He looked more sad and frustrated to me with each passing week. Oh, and shut the f*ck up Randy, I definitely don't want the over-the-top Jacob. This, to me, is fine. 7.5/10

4. Stefano Langone

Closer
This song makes me want to take ecstasy and go clubbing - NOT! Haha. I did not think Stefano could work this tune, but he seemed to have the right amount of energy to carry everything convincingly. Good vocals if a bit frantic. The first half was actually pretty good as he kept it controlled and clean. His over enunciation of the words still bothered me though. Oh, and his dancing was, umm, interesting. Haha. I was just glad he went upbeat tonight. 7.5/10

3. Casey Abrams

Harder To Breathe
To me, this was probably what he hoped Smells Like Teen Spirit would be like. Very convincing performance. I'm seriously not fond of him doing rock, but I liked how he can switch up styles like that. I thought the beginning when there were no instruments in the background was really good, the arrangement was great and the ending was cute bordering on creepy. Haha. His vocals were pretty decent but it was more staccato instead of flowing. Oh well. 8/10

2. James Durbin

Uprising
Major points for singing Muse! I must say, I appreciated his vision - it's pretty creative and interesting. I loved that he came out from off-stage - a first on American Idol, I think - and he had a drum line, for crying out loud!  Maybe Lee DeWyze will loan him the bagpiper from last year at some point too? Haha. That said, his vocals were a little rough on the extreme edges to a point where I actually thought all the theatrics were there just to "cover up" the lack of vocal talent control. I found his lower notes to be a tad weak and everything became a bit screechy when he went to his high register. Regardless, I thought everything worked well for him. 8.5/10

1. Haley Reinhart

Rolling In The Deep
Haley has been the biggest surprise for me this season! Seriously. I was ready to write her off as another Haley - Scarnato or Vaughn - and instead she's shown that she deserves to go much farther in the competition. This performance was incredible. Sure, the vocals weren't perfect by any means, but that didn't affect the awesomeness of it. Her transition to that crazy falsetto was amazing, her phrasing was absolutely gorgeous and the best parts were when she did her own adlibs. What she can do with her voice is crazy! The judges were annoying though when they gave her a bit of a half-hearted praise after a far more superior performance than, umm, James Durbin? You SHOULD NOT go home after this. 9/10