Image Credit: Michael Becker/Fox
If recent American Idol history has any bearing on this season, then I think Haley and Scotty are headed to the finale tonight, thanks in large part to the Perk of the Proud Paterfamilias. No one but no one can resist the sentimental pull of a father who openly displays his affection and pride in his child on national television. (Who can forget Season 8 winner Kris Allen’s weepy pappy? And I still maintain that the tears from the papa of Season 9′s Lee DeWyze helped secure him the crown over Crystal Bowersox.) But while Scotty’s pops expressed his pride (and then adorably told us to lock them doors) and Haley got to perform on stage with her pops, poor Lauren had to settle for her beaming-but-also-terrified-to-talk-on-TV mother talking about how the worry of the show had aged her 20 years.
So that’s one way to prognosticate the outcome of tonight’s voting. But what if we go by the judges’ pronouncements of who won each round?
Round One:
Steven: Haley
Jennifer: Haley
Randy: Haley
Round Two:
Steven: Lauren
Jennifer: Scotty
Randy: Scotty
Round Three:
Steven: Haley
Jennifer: Lauren
Randy: Lauren
Four votes for Haley, three for Lauren, and just two for Scotty. Hmm. Curiouser and curiouser. But who do you think will be season 10′s second runner-up? Who should be? Vote in the polls below, and then sound off in the comments!
Read more on American Idol:
‘Idol’ recap: Three for the Money Shot
‘American Idol’ on the scene for Top 3 performance night
‘Idol” Season 10 Trivia Quiz
I’d like to see Haley win. She’s very talented. I’m a singer, I feel her talent.
Then you have no talent like her.
Not nice! Shame on you.
maybe not nice but true
I voted non-stop for Haley last night.
Hey…it’s already past your bedtime kindergartener.
I voted 150 times for Haley using 3 FB accounts.
Ok Haley has not talent but the others do? I don’t know where they left it because it was never on stage. Consistently mediocre does not talent make.
You are clearly just a Haley hater. She has more talent and range in her voice than the other two combined. Did someone that Haley reminds you of bully you as a child?
That made me laugh.
Haley hands down turned in the best performances of the night! And she wasn’t boring!! Scotty may have been consistent, but he shows no artistry or risk-taking and is consequently boring. I actually prefer Lauren’s performances over Scotty’s but technically, I think Lauren needs some more time to grow as borth a singer and artist. Haley is by far one of the BEST contestants in AI history. Period. I would put her up there with Fantasia, David Cook, Kris Allen and Adam Lambert. She is so versatile in her style of singing and consistently gives standout performances. She seems no natural on the stage. And I really don’t know how she manages to run around the stage, twirl around, fall down, sing all those Zeppelin lyrics and still manages not to be out-of-breath like Lauren. Haley is definitely a professional and true artist. I feel sorry for you Haley-haters who can’t see or appreciaste what Haley has to offer. HALEY FOR THE WIN!!!
I have to partially agree with Lee. Haley’s stage presence has improved immensely from the first few performances.
She’s talented, but I can’t see her winning, and win or lose I don’t see her selling many albums. Her “type” of music just isn’t as popular. I think Scotty will sell a ton win or lose. I believe that winning or losing would impact Lauren’s album sales the most, but I think winning would ruin her life as she’s just not mature enough to handle it. I’m hoping Haley makes the Final 2, but I still highly doubt it will happen.
What I think about Lauren–there was nothing unique and different about her voice last night. She sounded pretty and did nice notes, but she didn’t do a lot with her voice at all. Just sounded plain and pretty. Scotty and Haley kept changing their voice throughout their whole performance and that is what singers need to do. To be amazing you need to put variety in your voice
Idk what type of style you think she is…but she could have an extremely successful career if she takes on the likes of Adele [who despite being around for a while has hit an all time high], Amy Winehouse, or even Alanis. ALL very successful and haven’t done too bad with some Grammys either.
Wow. She could be famous…wow. AND YES!
One artist who I just realized she sounds so much like is Grace Potter of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.
I love Grace, who is relatively successful, and I think that is why I love Haley so much.
I tryed to vote for Hallie last night .but I kept getting busy singnals all the way to midnight.But ilove to hear her sing.
@darclyte: What are you talking about? Have you heard of Adele? Who has had the #1 album for how many weeks!! I can see Haley following in her footsteps. Haley is coming around the right time and she will be big.
I beg to differ that her type of music isn’t popular. In reality, there is more than top 40 radio stations. From Idol, only Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry seem to get played on Top 40 at least in the urban NY area. I’ve yet to hear some of the others. However, with the internet and satellite radio and other non-top 40 radio stations, there are far more avenues. There is also a big following for blues/rock (which is her niche) and somewhat of a following for jazz (the best new artist grammy went to a jazz artist this year). And with artists like Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Adele, neo-soul is making a comeback.
Wha? Scotty sings mainly one style: Country. Haley signs anything, all good. She is sexy and sweet, and you say Scotty. He is very good but one-dimensional. She is better and multi-dimensional. GO HALEY!!!!!
Scotty will be American Idol 2011!!! It is amazing the amount of fans he got, he is very humble and he got a great voice!! Way to go Scotty!
i hope scotty goes home. but I doubt he will. We’re in for a boring Finale with Lauren and Scotty.
Clearly the talented of the three is Haley. Scottie and Lauren no doubt are talented but do not have the voice range that Haley does. Clearly if Haley doesn’t win it will because of two things. The young girls voting for Scottie are enamored with his sickening movie camera arrogance and jealous of Haley’s talent, confidence and looks. Just calling it like it is.
nooooooooooo dont say that lauren will go home tonight its going to be scotty and haley…scotty will win unless haley really steps it up you never know…she has my vote…
I don’t understand what the girls see in Scotty. He sings these boring songs and he looks like the guy on Mad Magazine. Either that or David Letterman. Neither of whom I would say is that attractive.
@Lee- lol
You guys notice how she had been in the bottom three mutiple times (way more than lauren or scotty) and theres a reason.
Plus, she’s only ‘good’ when shes mad at the judges. otherwords her song choice is terrible, she screams, and hell she even fell BAD CHOICE ON SHOES
Haley rocks. (and so does her ole man). Rheinhart FTW!
yes she is so amazing and having her dad on stage with her brought tears to my eyes…She will be in the top 2 but i think scotty will win…The girls just love him and i can see why hes a little cutie pie
Scotty is profound, Haley is shallow.
she is like karaoke queen.
There is nothing karaoke about Haley. Lauren singing “I Hope You Dance”…how more karaoke can you get? (Yes, I know she didn’t pick the song, but still. Bad call on the judges)
Scotty profound? You need to get a dictionary stat!
Profound? Really? You’d use the word “profound” to describe Scotty “One Trick Pony” McCreery? Don’t get me wrong, the kid’s incredibly talented. No doubt about it. But Haley is anything but shallow. Her song choices, and more importantly her vocal inflections and accents, are at worst impressive, and at best transcendant. The girl can sing like a champ, and she’s a veritable open channel of VOCAL emotion, even if it doesn’t necessarily transfer to the way she moves her body. Scott, on the other hand, just likes to molest the cameras with his eyes. Alot.
You are SO wrong.
no i disagree haley is amazing her voice is unique it will be her and scotty in the end but scotty will win the girls just love him…
I can’t stand Haley’s screaming and yelling. She give me a headache.
LMAO. Send me some of the stuff you smoking, I need to lose touch with reality now and then, like you did when you wrote your comments.
Haley is a freakin snob. If you’ve seen any of the clips of her in the house with the other contestants, you’d realize she’s a total ass. Scotty is wayy predictable and sings the same basically everytime. They get exited when he tries to be funny, which makes hiim look unprofessional. Lauren is young and if she had time to mature a little more she’d win for sure.
Haley should win!
I wouldn’t go so far as to say she has “no talent” but I really don’t think she is everyone’s cup of tea. Her voice bugs me, I don’t find it particularly special or different, just annoying. For me she should have been gone long ago, but everyone is different.
Haley should have been eliminated weeks ago, Lauren should have gone over a month ago.
I agree.
Lauren all the way
I like Lauren, but I just don’t think she is ready for this. Scotty is great at what he does. Haley is so good and so interesting. So I think Lauren should go home. All my votes went to Haley.
What I think about Lauren–there was nothing unique and different about her voice last night. She sounded pretty and did nice notes, but she didn’t do a lot with her voice at all. Just sounded plain and pretty. Scotty and Haley kept changing their voice throughout their whole performance and that is what singers need to do. To be amazing you need to put variety in your voice.
I sure hope Scotty wins the Idol. I think Haley should go home. Lauren seems to have more depth to her voice. Haley screetches. jd
Haley does NOT screech. Get your ears cleaned out. James and Jacob screeched. There is a difference between what they did and what Haley does.
I agree. Haley just screeches.
Hoping Haley makes it to the final. Scotty will win as the american idol voting demographic deems it so.
Clearly, Haley is head and shoulders above the other two. Both Scotty and Lauren have the potential to have careers in country music, but I’m fascinated to hear what Haley would put on her first album. I would prefer that Scotty go home tonight, but I think that it’s going to be Lauren.
Haley, Haley.
Haley is just not my cup of tea. She slurs her words and I can’t understand half of what she’s singing. Even though Lauren is young, I see a lot of potential. I’m not saying she should win, but I like her more than Haley.
I agree Sue. I don’t dislike Haley but I’m not a fan. She’s hard to understand when she sings and doesn’t always stay on key. To me, Scotty and Lauren are more consistent. I wish Lauren would push herself more b/c I think she’s the most natural talent of the three.
They are consistent because they are singing easy songs.
Hard to understand when she sings!? Do you not speak english? Her singing is very clear…..sometimes i can’t understand scotty…but, truly, it’s just ’cause i’m bored and stop listening.
Lauren needs to push herself? When is she supposed to do that once the competition is over? She has had plenty of time to do that and has not.
yeah haley should sing like scotty and lauren. because diversity isn”t important. tell her to slow down, adopt a country drawlllll! now thats a cd id buy!
Doesn’t always stay on key? Are you kidding me? With the exception of that awful judges choice, she was literally pitch perfect ALL the time. Vocally, Haley is far and away the most competant singer in the competition. Scott was pitchy in every song. Lauren missed a key change entirely. Haley is consistantly, reliably right on. Her intuitive understanding of intervals and chord structure allows her to make artistic choices that are the most unique vocally this side of Casey Abrams. I swear, anyone who listens to Haley and thinks “off key” clearly doesn’t know what singing in key means.
I know, Jasper. It’s true. From comments like that–about her not being ‘on key’ or ‘in tune’– it’s clear that these people don’t have an ear for music. I mean a real ear. It’s not a subjective thing… those statements are just outright false. But I do see that maybe a good deal of the general public does have a hard time hearing the trueness of her pitch. I don’t know why, exactly… but any real student of music or vocalist knows that she is the most consistently “on.”
Haley just screams and yells.
Haley sang the most difficult songs. Imagine if you could, both Scotty and Lauren attempting to sing ANY of the songs Haley sang and do them as well. Haley could have sung ALL the songs they sang, probably better…
hailey should of been out a long time of go
Learn to spell, please.
You should be out,
Should *have been. And no, if she had been cut the show would be a total waste.
Yah she has been in the bottom 3 for many times in a row.
I haven’t watched Idol in a very long time, but I caught wind of Haley last week so I tuned in this week. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been keeping up with it, but I’m disappointed in the talent of the final 3. Haley is the only true artist…it seems as though the other two can ONLY sing country, and I don’t hear any “soul” or “heart” in their voices.
Needless to say, I hope Haley wins; and I hope there is better talent for next season.
Well there’s nothing wrong with only singing country, and Lauren is certainly capable of singing other genres…but yes, I agree that neither of them puts soul or heart into most of their performances. They’re just too young. Given a couple more years to mature a bit, maybe they could be as good as Haley, but they’re not there yet. It’s a shame that Idol is encouraging these kids who aren’t fully developed in their talent and who aren’t emotionally prepared for the music industry. I know they wanted a Bieber, but I really wish they’d raised the minimum age.
I agree, K. Hate that they lowered the age. Though the kids have great voices, they are not very good performers yet. It took Scotty weeks to learn how to hold the microphone so he could be heard. And I think Idol was really pushing to have at least one teenager in the finale to justify their decision.
Haley sucks!!!! When she gets loud all it is screaming. I hope she goes home tonight.
Thank you.
I hope she goes home also, however, I doubt it will happen.
Haley is lucky she made it into the top 10, she is not special enough to be an American Idol. Same with Lauren. The top three should be Scotty, James, and Pia. The voters got it all wrong and the judges used the save too early and were not strict enough, I don’t expect the show to last another season.
I hope Haley is going home tonight.
When she gets loud she is screaming. I like Lauren she has a beautiful voice. I pray to God that she will be the next American Idol this year she’s the best.
You are a hater.
All you have such nasty remarks about Haley. You are all just haters, get a life.
Renee, I pray to god that he grants you the ability to judge music accordingly. No way is Lauren the best…she deserved to make top 6–MAYBE–and I am shocked she has lasted this long, considering she has never lived up to the potential the judges have hyped about for so long. Pia, Casey, and maybe James deserved to go much further than her.
The haters really are scary. All three are very talented. I love Lauren, but she is not ready for the pressure. If you watched the interview Haley did on Chicago News and how compassionate she was to her fellow singers…you’d stop hating. I too voted for Haley.
It’s called grit, man. Grit. Screaming and grit are two entirely different things.
I hope she goes home tonight too!
Yeah, Jeff. There are numerous examples of the number one rated show being cancelled by its network. Happens all the time.
Haley really sucks!
She does? I didn’t know she was that talented!
I agree, Haley is not constant, and she yells everytime she sings, she sings like she is drunk sometimes.
I meant to say she is not consistent!!! lol
@Lefty, you wouldn’t know talent if it bit you in the @ss!
Would you people stop putting @ in your replies! This isn’t twitter. Go back to AOL and play with your key words
Thank you General. Haha, listen…I’ll take an original performer any day (and twice on Sunday) over decent karaoke singers.
Your post is just oozing with talent; I can tell you are a fantastic commenter! ……. ….
Lefty, super glad you see Haley’s skill, but to say this season was untalented based on a one time observation of 3 people is extraordinarily unfair. Pia, Paul, Casey were dynamite and the last time the show had this much variety of talent was David Cook’s season.
the finals will be against lauren and scotty… PERIOD!
Meh. Now that James is out, I’m really not interested.
Do we really care!
Suck it!
DITTO
First, take it as set in stone that Scotty has the votes, did a pleasing performance. Ergo, ipso facto, blah blah – he is a lock for the Finale….
The Top 3 situation reminds me of the old bear joke.
Two hikers see an enraged huge grizzly bear a few hundred yards away burst out of the bushes and start charging them. “We are gonna die!!” observes the 1st hiker as he sees the other shucking his backpack and begin ripping off his heavy hiking boots. And adds “You know you are crazy, right? You can’t outrun that bear..Pray! It’s all we can do” as his buddy gets up and the bear is halfway to them already…. “Don’t have to outrun the bear, just you..” the 2nd hiker says, sprinting away.
Well, there is no way either Haley or Lauren are going to beat Scotty in the votes this week. He is the bear.
But Haley survives if she outruns Lauren. In her performances, I think she did outrun Lauren. Whole Lotta Love from the rocker base for Haley smoking that Zepplin song.
(And perversely, outside the bear joke analogies, Scotty’s 3 very pleasing songs established him as the better country singer last night, the one country fans likely prefer. And people who have been voting for BOTH Lauren and Scotty are thinking this week, it may be best to vote only for the real fave…Scotty. Why vote for Lauren if there is a chance she will survive and Scotty won’t?)
LOL, LOVE YOUR JOKE … and it is quite apropos.
LMAO. You know, Haley’s got a high-powered, repeating rifle. The bear is gonna be dead as a nail in no time.
Scotty won’t win. He’s going to sell records, regardless of winning the AI crown, so they won’t waste a win on him. One of the girls will win because they can use the boost from the win to try and sell more CDs.
Everyone thinking Scotty is going to sell Carrie numbers are kidding themselves. No dude who likes country music is going to buy his Bieber crap. And all of those teens and older ladies who voted for the Taylor Hicks and the Lee Dewyzes won’t actually BUY THE ALBUM. They don’t care about his music. It’s, I guess, his wholesome good ol’ Christian boy image. I’m not even sure he’ll sell David Cook like sales.
The only similarity Scotty has with Bieber is that they’re both young. It’s perfectly reasonable to imagine Scotty joining the country music world to learn and work with a lot of artists – it’s totally unreasonable to assume he can be a fully formed artist at age 17.
@NedPepper…I totally agree…sure, Scotty will probably carve out a solid niche in country music and be able to make a good living at what he does…but there is no way on god’s green earth that he will sell Carrie Underwood or Taylor Swift type numbers…what sets them apart is that they are able to cross genres and appeal to a wider demographic. Scotty has shown that he is unwilling to remotely go outside his comfort zone…he would never put out a pop-country album, and therefore I just don’t see him as a multi-platinum recording artist…yes, he’ll probably win, but he’ll go the likes of Lee Dewyze and Kris Allen…cute, humble, unassuming, guitar-playing guys who got the votes of tweens and grandmas alike, but majorly disappoint on the charts.
“he would never put out a pop-country album, and therefore I just don’t see him as a multi-platinum recording artist” –to his credit, I’d say. Compromising your music is NOT cool, and no fan gives a crap about record sales, they care about the music they’re putting into their ears, and if they like scotty’s mojo and he betrays them with some god-awful mutant pop-country drivel…THEN his career will fail.
Also… you have to factor in that Carrie is as big as she is because she had crossover success. “Before He Cheats” and a couple others were played on Top 40. That’s not going to happen with Scotty. It’ll be country charts and ONLY country charts.
I wouldn’t buy a Haley album if my life depended on it. I can’t stand the growling and screeching.
And no one says you have to. That is the beauty of it. I won’t even buy the top four performances because I have to buy the whole album and Alaina’s and McCreery’s performances are not welcome in my iPod.
It doesn’t seem to difficult to start a Country music career…e.g., Kelly Pickler?
So I’d like to see Haley get the win. The other 2 will be fine without it.
Haley has some edge to her. With the right songs and vibe, she can be a star.
TEAM HALEY! although I am still shocked about James cause I thought it would be the two of them in the finale…at this point Im all for Haley
I thought Haley really put on some great performances last night (despite Rhiannon, which was a mistake by Iovine!), and I am Team Haley all the way now!
Regardless of who actually wins Idol this season, I believe Scotty McCreery will have the biggest post-Idol career of all the finalists.
yes i think so too he is amazing and he will win although haley is pretty amazing she is forgettable im just sayin…
I’m rooting for Haley to win. I think she’ll squeak by Lauren tonight and make it to the finale, but I doubt she has a shot at beating Sctty, which is unfortunate because I don’t like Scotty at all and I think he should have gone home weeks ago.
And the hick Lauren Suddeth doesn’t scream? Haley is the only artist. That poor lil homely boy with the deep voice is a novelty only but Nashville will embrace. The hick girl with the inbred mouth is out of her league. The judges aren’t judges at all; they are celebrities reading scripts for large paychecks. Haley is too good of a budding artist to be involved in what has turned into a country hick joke show which needs to be cancelled. Bring on The Voice!
The voice battle rounds are boring!The singers are all washed up club acts! Scotty and Lauren would sing circles around these folks!
Why they can’t even sing circles around Haley and she has been “inconsistent”.
Dave – Far too much emphasis on THE WIN!!!!!!!! as the only thing that matters. An ‘honorable’ second, even 4th or 6th is pretty darn good for the right talent. Not winning has meant little to the right talent that excelled in front of a large American and international audience.
Nor is Idol just country.
It may have voters there and in the power text tweens, but if they fix the system to something not so disconnected with the main audience – you will see the Pias, Siobhans go deeper and better odds a Lambert, a Bowersox or a Haley could win.
hudson, daughtry, lambert. need i say more?? they’re doing a helluva lot better than kris allen and taylor hicks. the win makes you a hostage to the management team. go haley…for second. be your own person, baby!
pr62 Just so you know, Adam Lambert and Daughtry are still contracted to 19 E (American Idol) and managed by Simon Fuller (AI’s creator). Taylor Hicks is not and it remains to be seen whether Kris Allen’s contract will be renewed after the original 3 album contract. So, you are right, it doesn’t depend on the place they finish, it depends on the artist and what they do with their opportunity. (Not the management)
The only way for this show to be interesting is for Scotty to leave and the two chicks start making out.
Nasty.