Eye On Idol (5/6/11)

Jacob Lusk’s American Idol journey has come to an end after the last night’s (5/5) results show.
Chalk it up to his first-round performance on Wednesday (5/4). Contestants sang two songs that night, one current song and one from their parents’ generation in the next round.
Jacob’s first-round choice of the Jordin Sparks/Chris Brown duet “No Air” proved to be a major misstep. The lightweight pop hit was a bad fit for his soulful style, and he struggled with his pitch as he attempted to compensate for both singers’ parts. Even an impassioned rendition of the evergreen “Love Hurts” later in the show couldn’t redeem him following that.
Haley Reinhart could really mess things up for the heavily-favored Lauren Alaina, James Durbin or Scotty McCreery. She’s come on like gangbusters in recent weeks and won over lots of voters despite her rough start to the season. After a super performance night Wednesday (5/4) that included unreleased Lady Gaga tune “You And I” and the Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun,” she was safe and it was Lauren’s turn in the bottom two with Jacob.
Lauren obviously didn’t take the news so well, and busted out in tears. Right now Haley has the momentum, so Lauren will have to bring something jaw-dropping to hang around for another week.
Barring something really extraordinary, I imagine that we’re going to see another all-male finale between Scotty and James. They’ve been the most consistently strong all season, and yet still manage to show something new every week.
James’ emotionally naked delivery of Nilsson’s “Without You” likely struck a chord with many viewers. He has a keen ability to break down those barriers between singer and audience, and that’s one more reason he’s going to be very tough to beat.
But Scotty could do it, especially if he stretches himself like he did on Wednesday. He stepped out of his comfort zone and worked the stage Garth-style with Montgomery Gentry’s “Gone,” marking an exciting departure from his more intimate and subdued style.
Win, lose, or draw, I suspect we’ll see both Scotty and Lauren making the rounds in Nashville after the show is over.