As sad as I am to see James eliminated, I keep thinking back to another rocker who went out 4th, and HE is one of the most successful non-winning idols. I see a great career ahead for James.

Yes, I don't think winning American Idol is crucial to success. (Chris Daughtry, by the way, is the most successful non-winner ~ only Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson have eclipsed him in record sales. Clay Aiken has also sold more than any of the other winners.) The Top 4 of American Idol has frequently been a point at which many "front-runners" have gone home despite their fellow contestants having noticeably worse performances ~ Tamyra Gray went home before Nicki McKibben, Allison Iraheta went home before the super-pimped Danny Gokey. And let's not forget the other Mother of all Idol Injustices (second only to Daughtry's ouster) when LaToya London went home before Jasmine Trias.

The ouster of James has been the most talked about event of this Idol season, even more than the save of Casey. To wit, there's been more activity on this particular forum than we have seen all season! I regularly visit several of the Idol forums, and while the consensus all season has been that Scotty will win, I have yet to encounter a Scotty fan or a Lauren fan. Obviously, they're out there dialing, but they must not be hanging out in the forums!

I live 20-ish minutes from Garner (Scotty's hometown). They are all ready for him to arrive sometime this morning. *sighs*

I'll be far away... well, as far as I can get.

In fact, I live 5 minutes from the airport (RDU). I won't be leaving the house until I know he's safely in Garner. I really don't want to get caught in THAT traffic.

Funny...the way the producers phrased it, the Top 3 would be "whisked away by private jet immediately following Thursday's results show". That's a really slow jet!

I don't know what he was doing Friday, but all Scotty's *things* are happening today. It's ALL over the news. I can't wait until it's over.

Song choices for tonight:

Haley's have all been leaked by her parents. Her judges pick song is "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette. Jimmy's choice is "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac. Her personal choice is "What Is and What Should Never Be" by Led Zeppelin. Word is, someone from Led Zeppelin contacted her after seeing "House of the Rising Sun" and offered her any of the Led Zeppelin catalog. What a compliment!

Neither Scotty's parents nor Lauren's parents have so graciously leaked their tunes, so all we know so far would be the judges picks: "She Believes In Me" by Kenny Rogers for Scotty, and "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack for Lauren.

Speculation is rampant on the internet that our final 2 might actually be Scotty and Haley. Who would ever have thought?

If you'd told me a month ago I'd be saying this, I'd have thought you needed your head examined, but....GO HALEY!

I'm pulling for Haley as well. I don't think I can stand to watch Scotty's eyebrows waggle around much longer, and Lauren just does nothing for me. She should never have been in the top 3.

Most of the blogs and forums I've read are also pulling for Haley. Let's hope America in general feels the same way, or we'll end up with an all-teen, all-country finale.

The beautiful count tonight was 19, trumping our previous record! I must admit I counted ALL the beautifuls, including those involved in the clips from auditions, as well as the one uttered by Lauren herself. Still, even if I discounted those, we would have broken the record. An amazing 5 beautifuls were logged in the critique (if you can call them that anymore) of a single song (Lauren's second). Even more significant: we got our first beautiful of the season from Randy ~ as well as the second! As beautifuls go, this was truly a banner night. (Luckily, I play this game with wine instead of liquor ~ or this post would look something like this: Anek l ejipo fe.jo3 pperl...)

Not such a banner night as performances go. I was hoping for another "moment" from Haley. (Maybe the judges should have criticized her ~ anger seems to bring out the best performances from Haley.) I found the Led Zeppelin song to be interesting, but definitely not "a moment" ~ and I was surprised the judges gave it the glowing reviews that they did. "Rhiannon" was good but not great. I can see why Jimmy picked a Stevie Nicks song for Haley, but "Rhiannon"? It's a little light and fluffy for Haley, don't you think? If he wanted her to sing Stevie Nicks, how about "Gold Dust Woman", "Dreams", "Landslide"? Or even one of her duets like "Leather and Lace" or "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"? The AI performance songs are chopped into such tiny pieces, they could easily cut out that whole second-singer part. Any of those would seem a better choice for Haley than "Rhiannon", if you ask me. Then we come to "You Oughta Know", my absolute favorite angry woman anthem ever. What was up with those verses? The choruses were nice and powerful, but she seemed completely out of her element, and her breath, during those fast verses. Man. I was really hoping for something more on that one. Which brings me back to my earlier point ~ we really need an angry Haley to pull that one off.

Scotty did very well for Scotty tonight. That means I still wasn't impressed, but I was less unimpressed than usual. (Why does my spell checker recognize "Rhiannon" but not "Scotty"?) "Amazed" is kind of a country classic, and I didn't think he sang it nearly as well as the original. I'd never heard the Jimmy-pick song (yes, I know, I live in the South, but that's new country and I'm a classic rock girl at heart) but I thought he sang it very well while annoying me much less than he usually does. I found the comparisons to Garth Brooks to be more than a bit of a stretch, though. Garth Brooks is the god of country music, and Scotty, um, isn't. And, oh, please! The 33-year-old "She Believes in Me" was the best pick the judges could come up with? Is it a coincidence that for the first year ever, we were not told which judge picked which song? Are we to believe the judges actually got together to choose the songs? Did the producers actually choose? Or did each judge not want to be responsible and own up to claiming their choice?

I didn't think Lauren did nearly as well as she was given credit for tonight. It's two hours later, and I really can't say that much about Lauren because I've already forgotten two of the three songs she sang. The one I remember, "I Hope You Dance", was the one the judges raved about and I didn't get it. The original version is such a powerful song and I found Lauren's version to be a pale comparison, lacking the passion and conviction of the original. So I really didn't think she won the round with that one.

Based on tonight's performances, I'd have to say the final two should be Haley and Scotty. Based on the entire season's performances, I'd have to say the final two should be James and Haley. Can we do that? Please?

I haven't read any recaps yet (except yours, Starfish -- which I agree with 150%, especially about the anonymity of which judge picked whose songs ~ if you ask me, in at least one contestant's case they picked titles by drawing them out of a hat!) but there just has to be a little dust getting kicked up about what Haley got to sing last night. I typically don't buy into all the conspiracies people suspect, and I still don't, but somebody somewhere had to have kinda noticed that Scotty and Lauren get songs that surely required neither to stretch much more than half an inch (which is, o' course, just about Scotty's "stretch limit" to begin with). Kenny Rogers and Lee Ann Womack? Im pretty sure even I can sing those songs pretty well. OK, well maybe I can't ... but my point is that most vocalists wouldn't call either tune a challenge bearing much heft. Morrissette, though? "You Oughta Know" IS an awesome song but I don't think it's very easy to sing capably, which Haley sorta proved (yep, Starfish, through much of it she sounded so out of breath it was unsettling). Twice last night I said out loud "Thank God for choruses!" Haley got the second such blurt since she nailed the chorus on Alanis's song so perfectly that it almost made up for the breathy parts. The first *chorus kudo* went to Scotty who stood out, for a change, doing his in that second song. More agreement ~ Scotty definitely won the 'Jimmy Picks The Songs' round. I liked Haley doing "Rhiannon" but, in all fairness, McCreery did his number better. Naturally I have to observe that it was also easier for him to do that song better. No sour grapes there (I don't really dislike the Scottster, I'm just bored with him). He got lucky that someone did the right thing and picked a decent song for him that both fit his niche AND made him try a sensible degree (or three) harder to do it right. I kinda doubt Haley could have successfully pulled off Stevie Nicks even had Lindsay Buckingham showed up, guitar in tow. I'll give Lauren the 'Judges Pick The Songs' round because, again, she was simply better at fitting into what she sang than the other two happened to be. [Agreeing again ---] That is a moving song and Lauren doing it didn't 'move' me a millimeter. She sang it beautifully but she missed her chance, one more time, to turn herself partly inside out sharing those perfect notes. There's more to being a stage prescence than boasting "sass" that Lauren hasn't learned yet. Interestingly, though? Last night, here and there, I could picture and/or hear hints of her going in a Bonnie Raitt direction maybe a dozen years down the road. Then there was that (marvelous!) Round 1 ~ where the kids picked their own songs. Each picked, in my opinion, a song they thought fit them to a tee ... and that was what they were supposed to do, I reckon. Scotty picked a good safe one (Lone Star) and sang it high school country perfectly. Nothing new there. Lauren picked a song I suspect she thinks mirrors her "appeal" to the audience. I hate to be rude, but I thought it sounded terrible! I'd call her spin on Faith Hill/"Wild One" the hands-down worst of the night. Then (sigh) along came Haley. Miss Confusing-To-The-Moon-And Back - and she must be a little confused about what she presents, too, because that was an odd odd choice of 'signature' for her to decide on. But I was thrilled watching her do it! I thought it really worked, stumble and all. And her DAD up there on stage, riffing in the background? Smart (smart smart smart) move, sistah ! Clearly, my pick for victor in 'Pick Your Own Song' round was the Led Zeppelin girl. Good timing, too, as it got things started. Now I'm totally rooting for her. With that, she got my Season 10 share of enthusiasm that I still had reserved for Casey and James. Yes, I know they both are off into the sunset now. But I'm stubborn and saw no reason to give up on 'em entirely. Now, however? I'm willing to invest, without reservation, all gladness to Miss Haley.

And I'd like a Haley/James finale, too. Sigh. Hard to settle for a Haley/Scotty one in the same breath. If there is any justice, though, and a decipherable voting pattern to go with it? The latter is the finale I expect. Lauren really should get the boot tonight. Which, I realize, doesn't mean she will ...

Do we really have any choice but to root for Haley? Could you see yourself rooting for Scotty or Lauren? I certainly couldn't root for Haley if she were up against James, but despite my early dislike of her, I have to admit she has grown leaps and bounds during the course of this competition and has earned my respect. Those other two haven't grown even a little bit. Many of the performances in previous years that really made me respect a contestant as an artist were ones in which a bold move was made, and a contestant took a song and completely made it their own. Immediately leaping to mind: Adam Lambert's "Ring of Fire", Kris Allen's "Heartless", David Cook's "Billie Jean". When those choices were announced, did you not say, "What? Is he insane? This will never work!" And not only did they work, but they became some of the most memorable performances in Idol history. Scotty and Lauren have done the exact opposite. They've done nothing more than dig themselves deeply into a rut they feel comfortable with and stick steadfastly there. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting all season for those two to take even a tiny step outside the box, and I'm still waiting. Haley, meanwhile, doesn't even have a box!

I have to think they are where they are simply by default. In my mind our final three probably should be James, Haley, and, as much as she bored me, Pia. If not Pia, then Casey. When you take James and Pia and Casey out of the equation, who amongst the other deserves to be there any more than Scotty or Lauren? Jacob? Ugh. Stefano? Ugh. Thia? Double ugh. While Scotty and Lauren may not be stupendous, they're certainly better than those three. I therefore dub this season of American Idol "The Year of Winning By Default" or perhaps it should be "The Year of Hiding Inside a Box" ~ unless of course Haley wins! Then I will have to dub it "The Year of the Underdog". But with Scotty's reportedly Chinese Army-sized fanbase, does anyone really think that could happen? Part of me thinks we should all just give up and go home right now. The conclusion is obvious. (Please, America, I'm begging you...MAKE ME WRONG!) If it weren't for the promise of some really spectacular surprise guests on finale night (c'mon Zeppelin, show up to sing with Haley!), I would do just that. When those first few notes of "Beth" played on finale night two years ago, I about had a heart attack. I can't risk missing a moment like that, even though I know in my heart of hearts that Scotty will be taking a confetti shower one week from tonight.

(I'm always left to wonder how the producers manage to schedule these acts if they don't know who the final 2 will be until the week beforehand. What if they'd scheduled KISS and the final 2 ended up being Kris Allen and Danny Gokey?)

If Haley goes home tonight, a huge injustice will have been done in my opinion. I cannot find anyone on the internet who wants a Scotty/Lauren finale. And the recappers/bloggers seem to ALL be wholeheartedly behind Haley. However, none of that means a whit this season, and maybe didn't any of the other seasons either. DialIdol has Lauren with a slight edge over Haley ~ with Scotty, of course, up in the stratosphere where he's comfortably resided all season. His score is twice that of Lauren's. I get that he has some appeal, but he has been waaaay above anyone else all season long, and that I really just don't get.

I'd say the night belonged to Haley just for her rendition of "What Is and What Should Never Be". Very gutsy to do that song, but she killed it! She blew me away. It seems to me that the judges have been taking it very easy on Scotty and Lauren -- maybe it's an age thing. Haley isn't much older, but she's a lot more confident and poised than Lauren (and apparently able to take more critical bashing).

Has there every been a season where a contestant never went outside their comfort zone? There certainly has been easier theme weeks this season for the competitors. Scotty pretty much sang country songs every week. Last night Haley had no option but to prove she was more versatile than the other two, with the song choices she was given.

Anyway, I predict a Scotty/Haley finale. We'll see what happens!

No, I don't think there's ever been a season in which contestants weren't forced outside their comfort zone. Themes like Broadway show tunes and Disco come to mind. Scotty's managed to turn everything into a country song. Even during Motown week, which should have been a challenge for Scotty, he turned a Stevie Wonder song into a country song. The next week, he found an Elton John song that was as close to country as Elton will ever get.

The most one-dimensional contestant I can think of prior to this year would be Ruben Studdard, and even he branched out of his solid R&B comfort zone by singing "Sweet Home Alabama", "Just The Way You Are", and "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" ~ and, if I remember correctly, did not turn any of those into R&B songs.

I hope your prediction is right, Squisher! We'll soon find out! I'll return later tonight either happy or frustrated and disgusted...

I'm returning now. And I'm pretty much frustrated and disgusted ... but not quite surprised, somehow. Bah, though! I think I've typed "bah!" several times too often this season ....

Count me frustrated and disgusted, too.

I blame the judges for this mess. Entirely too much butt-kissing for mediocre performances. I've read in several places over the season some variation of the statement "America doesn't need Simon to tell us what to think". I beg to differ. I think a large portion of America does indeed need Simon to tell it like it is. It's awfully easy to listen to the judges glorify average performances and believe that they know what they are talking about. I also think the contestants would have been better off for the presence of Simon ~ some pushing to improve was definitely needed this season and there was a glaring lack of that.

It's pointless, really, to bemoan what isn't and what never will be. But I hope that next year we can get back to a little more reality. Of course, as has been stated before, it really doesn't matter who wins. It's what happens afterward that counts! But I really would have enjoyed that James/Haley finale. I'm really not particularly forward to this one now.

Hey, y'all! Are you ready for the hoedown next week?

Man, add me to the frustrated list . Sure are a lot of country music fans out there (scratches head). What can I say? I don't really care who wins now. I'm not saying the finalists aren't talented, but it seems like the whole season was geared toward them. Give Lauren a few more years and I think she'll be a stellar performer; I just don't think she's ready for a recording career now. Scotty has a great career ahead of him, but it sure would have been nice to put someone fearless and exciting into the final like James or Haley. It'll be a finale full of predictable and safe performances, yawn.

You said it, Squisher. Predictable and safe ~ the buzzwords of the season (now). If I ever find anyone who's happy with this final two, I'll let ya'll know.

That settled it for me. The only one left with some semblance of originality. Shall not watch the final. This season ended for me with Casey.Bah and Bah again Gats.

Here's a snippet from The Idol Guy I found interesting:



He goes on later to say this:



Of course, this is everything we've been thinking and saying. But it brought to mind another thought: it's not only our Final 2 who have played it safe all season ~ the judges have played it safe as well. I wonder how long it will take Nigel Lythgoe to figure out that "safe" = "boring"?

Nope, this is "The Year America Got It Wrong", also known as "The Year it Was All Beautiful" or "The Year Everyone Was Drinking From Paula's Cup"

Those are all great!

Although I would have preferred it if we got to use "The Year of the Underdog".

What luck! I managed to dig up a sneak peek of the finalists, Scotty and Lauren (or at least I'm pretty sure this is them), rehearsing for the big show this Tuesday. Surely makes me even MORE excited to watch, indeed. Check it out here ...

Thanks so much for posting that ~ I am now more excited than ever about the big finale!! I'm really not sure I could be more excited ~ this is the most exciting American Idol finale ever!! I'm having a huge party because everyone I know is just thrilled beyond belief with the outcome of this season!! Two more deserving contestants could not be found anywhere on planet Earth!! We will be voting non-stop during our 4-hour voting window because we truly and deeply care who wins this show!! The suspense is absolutely killing us all ~ there's just no way to predict who's going to win this one!! <insert non-existent smilie for retching>

I've watched (most of) every season so far. Quite frankly this one has been the most boring and really, no one "stood out" more than any of the others, except for James (but mostly because of his back-story). However, I think he will do quite well should he choose to pursue his singing career.

I think everyone realises that Casey is remarkably talented (in that he can play lots of instruments and is quite creative and "different"). That's all well and good, but quite frankly, this is supposed to be a SINGING competition, not an "all around talent show". If you wanted to choose "the best musician", then yes you would pick Casey. If you were picking the best SINGER, you probably wouldn't.

My summation in 5 points?
1) they should not have saved Casey (or anyone else at that point in the game). They should have reserved that vote for somewhere near the end in case it was needed(for example: to save James)
2) while Steven Tyler is amusing, he's going to pick the "hottest" girl every time, regardless of talent. Get rid of him. He (and lots of other 15 year old boys) are probably the only reason Haley is still on the show lol
3) If Jennifer Lopez cries one more time, we're going to have to put her in a padded room with Paula
4) I am thankful that Randy has used the word "dawg" less than a dozen times this year.
5) Folks may be bored with Scotty turning everything into a "country" song, but Carrie Underwood did exactly the same thing and she's done quite well for herself since. So has Miss Pickler. There is absolutely nothing wrong with remaining "true to yourself" or picking a niche that you definitely fit into. As it should be (and the folks on Idol stress this all the time - that you have to know "who you are"). NO one can be all things to all people. I don't think anyone wants to hear Garth Brooks sing hiphop lol. It's possible he COULD, but who would buy the cd's?

In part, I completely agree with you about the "true to yourself"/"staying in your lane" ideal, Jakeroo. I (kinda) think I believe the judges when they say so, too -- except, when they say it, the very next week they seem to encourage the singers to 'try not to do the same old thing' much of the time. In many ways to juggle it, the contestants are damned if they do, damned if they don't that way (or so it seems to me). One thing about Underwood, though. As mentioned, there was no doubt to the majority of us listening that her route was definitely in a Nashville, Tennessee direction from the minute she showed up at auditions. BUT ... I remember her doing a song by Heart during her season ("Alone", I think it was) and, honestly, there wasn't a hint of *country* in it. It made it all interesting, her doing that. And it made it clear that she wasn't just a one-niche cowgirl. The lady had vocal chops that can do that magical thing in the music industry: churn out a crossover hit if the time came to be required to do so. That's why I get jazzed when the Idols push their limits. In a career sense, they may never have to. But in a contest full of all sorts of genre singers, it makes said contest much more exciting when they mix it up. Yes, it's also an invitation to possibly fall flat. When they don't fail, though? To me, that's an artist-in-training who stands to have a possibly remarkable career. So, given all that, it seems to my ears that all we got to enjoy this year (and parts of it were entirely enjoyable ... before it got rehashed too often) was Scotty and Lauren doing the same song with a different tune to it week after week. I'll be fair and admit that both got rather terrific doing that same song. I kept hoping we might get to listen to them try a different song, with similar good results. Never happened, though. Jacob got the bounce for exactly the same reason(s) that Scotty and Lauren made it to the finals, with resounding praise as they got there? I suppose the only reasonable conclusion therein is that a 'country rut' is better to be stuck in than a gospel one, which is a tad confusing (and probably, depending on who you ask, inaccurate). It's weird. I got all baffled as to what I expected and I was just a fan, watching the show on TV. I imagine the kids doing the singing were far more baffled as to what was expected of them than I was, by miles. I should quickly note, too: when one throws Jacob into this mix, like I just clumsily did --- the two finalists are at least 3,000 times more likeable, in almost all directions, that Jacob was. Which is just my opinion, o' course.

All that rambling rambled (sorry 'bout that ) I have to say that tonight's final was one of the most boring I've ever seen! Not Scotty or Lauren's fault, that. They were, pretty much, marching to the drummer they'd been given the cadence to stick with all season. After watching, though, it was clear to me that (at least in boundaries of what I think an "American Idol" winner should be ~ while being keenly aware that my boundaries aren't always realistic) Lauren should win it. Back to "crossover", she has more potential to grow into some, or so it sounded like (a little) tonight. Scotty likely will win, though, because he's more popular (or so I'm told, anyway). Whoever wins it? My hunch is that, as it all shakes down, each will do better that Ruben Studdard or Taylor Hicks has as they travel. But neither will pose any great threat to Carrie Underwood or David Cook. Jeesh. Only 16 and 17 years old, these two!? They have so much time ahead of them to change, grow, develop. It will be interesting to see how they do out there in the ol' dog-eat-dog world of show biz. I 'like' them both, as people. They seem like kids any parent would be proud of, entirely. The mysterious 'artistry' that folks like to talk about out there at judges' tables. It'll come. I'm anxious to see how it lands on 'em when it does.