海角大神

The night started out with a glimmer of promise; American Idol was thirteen strong again when the first six contestants to be voted off returned for an encore performance. Naima Adedapo, Pia Toscano, Karen Rodriguez, Ashthon Jones and Thia Megia took the stage with a cover of Pink鈥檚, 鈥淪o What.鈥� There was some serious girl-power going on and Naima鈥檚 over-the-top dance moves compensated for Pia and Thia鈥檚 stiffness.

But then, it all went wrong . . .

Paul McDonald, wearing that ridiculous rose suit again, joined the quintet and completely killed the vibe. Now, it鈥檚 hard to blame Paul for this failure (well, except the fashion one, that鈥檚 all on him) since Paul would have never attempted to sing a Pink song on stage. Why? Because Paul knows what kind of an artist he is and suffice it to say, he is not Pink. It was sad really, it would have been so much more poignant to remember him bidding adieu with 鈥�Maggie Mae.鈥�

Scotty McCreery attempted to bring entertainment back with 鈥淪wingin,鈥� by John Anderson. The judges, perhaps sensing the true disaster of the Paul debacle, decided to throw the audience a bone and give real judging a shot Wednesday night. Though Steven Tyler loved it, he would have liked more boot scooting. Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson both struggled to make sense of Scotty鈥檚 song choice. With a decade of music to choose from, it certainly seemed a safe and rather dull choice. C

Thankfully, James Durbin was next with the Muse song, 鈥淯prising,鈥� which was exactly what the show needed on the heels of Paul and Scotty鈥檚 performances. JLo and Randy didn鈥檛 go too far out on a limb predicting James would be the best of the night. Sometimes James seems to lack the maturity needed to really shine but every once in a while, he forgoes the self-indulgence and reminds everyone that he could very well go all the way. The marching drummers didn鈥檛 hurt, either. A-

Haley Reinhart took on Adele鈥檚 鈥淩olling in the Deep.鈥� Randy thought she chose a perfect song and Steven said that despite it starting slow, it was a great performance. Haley sounded wonderful and seemed more at ease on stage than she鈥檚 been in the past. B+

Jacob Lusk, or 鈥淟uther Lusk鈥� as Steven dubbed him, chose a song that was, wait for it . . .meaningful to him this week. How鈥檚 that for a plot twist? Seriously, Jacob鈥檚 eternal suffering is getting old, fast. 鈥淒ance with my Father,鈥� was so meaningful for Jacob he blew past barely suppressed suffering to full-on agony. The judges weren鈥檛 impressed with Jacob鈥檚 vocals but since they are ever ready with their spoonful of sugar, said it was a great performance, "emotionally." B-

Casey Abrams selected Maroon 5鈥檚 鈥淗arder to Breathe,鈥� and reminded everyone why he was once a frontrunner. The vocals were great and chock full of his unique personality. That personality also strode right up to the "most beautiful woman in the world" and planted a kiss on her cheek at the end of the performance. JLo was good-natured, exclaiming, 鈥淐asey鈥檚 got soft lips!鈥� Steven, desperate to upstage Casey鈥檚 bold move, decided to remind the network why they have a five-second delay and broke out a string of obscenities. Apparently he, like us, was tired of his standard 鈥渂eautiful.鈥� A-

Stefano Langone sang Neo鈥檚, "Closer," earnestly singing the repetitious chorus, 鈥淚 just can鈥檛 stop, I just can't stop.鈥�

Please try, Stefano. Try to stop.

After watching him prance around the stage wearing his silly suspenders and even sillier expressions, the judges gave up on the judging. They told Stefano he did a good job and JLo halfheartedly continued the 鈥淪tefano is a lady鈥檚 man鈥� charade. Maybe teenage girls are susceptible to the power of suggestion, but adult women know that talent upstages doe-eyes and dimples any day, which is precisely why JLo was blushing and giggling after Casey鈥檚 performance and not after Stefano鈥檚. C-

Lauren Alaina and Scotty must have had a bet to see who could pick a more inane song. Lauren chose, 鈥淏orn to Fly,鈥� by Sara Evans. Steven said it was beautiful while JLo and Randy spent a good deal of time beating around the bush when essentially what they wanted to say is what Lauren needs to hear: 鈥淧ull it together, and sing like we know you can or you鈥檙e going home.鈥� Lauren鈥檚 had chance after chance to rekindle the magic of auditions; it鈥檚 only a matter of time before the audience starts to wonder if it was a fluke. C-

This week鈥檚 predictions:

1. Stefano Langone
2. Jacob Lusk
3. Haley Reinhart

With Jacob leaving us.

Enjoy the Official Muse video of "Uprising" below.