Episode 'American Idol' Season 10, Episode 32 - The Top 4 Perform Recap

Big dramatic opening with that one song that thinks it's cool to open your song by singing the chorus really slowly and softly. "Tonight they need your vote" it says. Actually, I think they need our votes every night.

Lauren needs a new wardrobe person. James almost trips on her dress and dies, and she can barely walk in it herself.

James Durbin:

James is going for broke here with Journey's "Don't Stop Believin.'" He opens it up by yelling "Does anybody know this song?" Uh, yeah. We've seen "Glee." And commercials for "Glee." Of course, the song has plenty of long, extended high notes for James to belt out. He even hits that last one, while J.Lo makes a "he's not gonna make it" kind of gesture.

Steven likes it, J.Lo likes it, Randy of course likes it (he was in Journey). No surprise. James is gonna win this thing.

Time for some plugs. Everyone, marvel at the new Coca-Cola cups! Buy Steven Tyler's best-selling book!

Haley Reinhart:

Haley is doing "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson, which starts out subdued but ends up all Haley-growly by the end. The judges pull the same crap that they pulled with the Lady Gaga choice last week, saying that she should do a recognizable song. Randy says she was just "screaming the same note over and over" at the end. Steven, thankfully, comes to her aid: "They're both wrong," he says.

And then the other two try to backtrack. Haley looks seriously pissed, and I don't blame her. Casey Abrams, in the audience, looks baffled as well.

Scotty McCreery:

"Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning" by the opportunistic Alan Jackson is Scotty's choice. REALLY?! You're going to sing a 9/11 song? I guess with Osama bin Laden dead, maybe it's a little timely, but still. Seems like the wrong venue.  He sings it well of course, because it's a country song and that's what Scotty does.

The judges all love it. After that exciting exchange with Haley, we're back to the same ol' judge's comments.

Casey and Paul are there to plug the tour.

Lauren Alaina:

Lauren sings "Anyway" by Martina McBride. At least we get all the boring country stuff together in one dose. You can see her opening up a little bit onstage, but even when she goes for some of the big notes, she still doesn't commit fully. I'm willing to bet the judge's won't say anything about it. Ready? Here we go:

Steven loves it. J.Lo loves it. Randy says there was "absolutely nothing" wrong with it. Told ya.

The contestants come back out for a quick recap...in other words, they pick on Haley some more. MAN is she pissed. I hope she picked an angry song for the next round.

Time for round two, in which the songs are from Lieber and Stoller, and the Idols are mentored by Gaga. And she  looks TERRIFYING. Boy, I can't wait to see her and Scotty interact.

Haley (Round Two):

Haley is going with "I Who Have Nothing." It seems like another bland song to Jimmy, but Gaga steps in and inserts a little drama. Sure enough, it really helps Haley out...she comes out and rocks the thing, and gets a standing ovation from the judges.

J.Lo and Randy have turned 180 degrees on Haley now. Steven still loves her, and coins a new verb: "Reinharting."

Scotty (Round Two):

"Young Blood" is Scotty's choice, and Gaga did not disappoint me. She convinces Scotty to "make love to the microphone," and totally freaks him the eff out. She also notes that if he sings into the side of the microphone, we can't hear him. Translation: don't hold your microphone like an idiot. He has fun singing the song, but he looks like a T-rex up there.

"You made Gaga's la-la go ya-ya," says Steven. Take that as you will.

Lauren (Round Two):

Lauren's doing "Trouble" by Elvis, but doesn't want to call herself evil. Then why did she pick the song? Also, does she understand the concept of a character? Gaga finally straightens her up.

She rocks most of the song, but breaks a little at the end. Nobody mentions it, though, and the judges all love it. Not much of a surprise there...Lauren doesn't seem to be able to do any wrong by them.

James (Round Two):

James is singing "Love Potion #9," which is an interesting bluesy choice for him. James is just singing his song, but Gaga isn't having it. She actually gets up, grabs his hips and starts swinging them around. "When you start swinging your hips, you're sexy," she says.

Her notes about performance translate to the song, as James takes it up to the crowd, gets on the floor, and orchestrates one hell of an ending, complete with full stops. The judges love it (of course).

Haley is doomed.