American Idol Season 10, Episode 38: Scotty and Lauren are In It To Win It

American Idol Season 10, Episode 38: Scotty and Lauren are In It To Win It

Television Review

By our guest blogger, Catherine Fuentes

As Randy Jackson would have us all believe, America, Lauren AND Scotty are both in it to win it. For any American Idol fan – or even people who have seen Randy judge one performance, as the case may be – this shouldn’t come as a surprise… everyone is always in it to win it. But an hour before show time, TMZ ran a post that said that Lauren Alaina might drop out of the contest since she had no voice, and that producers were trying to find Haley.

Lauren didn’t have laryngitis, as initially reported. Instead a doctor explained that she blew out a vocal cord when trying to hit a high note. As a result, while she sang really well, she was lacking some power that she could’ve used, and her voice sounded a bit raspy toward the end of each of her songs.

Before I get into assessing the three “rounds,” I just want to express a general sense of disappointment at this entire finale. This has been such an exciting, interesting season full of talented performances, yet tonight just seemed lackluster and anticlimactic. Lauren wasn’t at 100%, I don’t care for Scotty, and the contestants seemed too young and too country to hold my interest. I really wish James or Haley (especially Haley) was singing.

First up, they each sang their favorite song from the season, which both sang during the Top 5 week, and were met by tremendous praise for their performances then. Good moves for both Lauren and Scotty.

Scotty opened the show with Montgomery Gentry’s “Gone,” which was a really good decision on his part, because it was so full of energy. It was one of my favorite songs that Scotty performed all season, since it seemed different for him, and tonight was no different: he walked through the audience and he had a confident stage presence. It was the ideal way to kick off the show, and it shows that Scotty can perform on big stages really well, which was a fear I had with him. His performance this time around was so much better than his Top 5 night performance, which shows his tremendous growth as a performer in just a few short weeks.

Lauren then sang Carrie Underwood’s “Flat on the Floor,” which has been one of my favorite Lauren Alaina performances to date. I imagine her “I Hope You Dance” was too recent to reprise, but I’m glad she went with something so fierce and high energy. As much as I enjoy Lauren when she sings a ballad and we’re treated to hearing the unique tones of her voice, I really believe she’s at her best when she’s doing something fun. Her voice sounded scratchy at points, but she sounded better than I thought she would based on early reports of her vocal condition.

The judges give a slight edge to Scotty, which I think is fair. Lauren gave a great performance, but Scotty was fantastic, and it takes a lot for me to give Scotty the edge.

Next, they each had their idol pick out a song for them to sing. Scotty had George Strait select a song, and George chose his own “Check Yes Or No,” which I found a bit weird. It’s a huge vote of confidence for an artist to tell someone to sing their original song, but I’m more surprised that Scotty chose someone as old school as George Strait. Then again, he doesn’t seem as mainstream country as someone like Brad Paisley, so maybe not terribly surprising. I liked that Scotty played the guitar, because it toned his phony performance movements down a few notches. It sounded good, but not dynamic, or as good as his initial song.

Carrie Underwood selected Pam Tillis’ “Maybe It Was Memphis” for Lauren, which was an interesting choice as well. I have zero familiarity with this song, and I know the judges always criticize the little known song selections. However, in her glittery cupcake dress, Lauren sang beautifully. Her voice sounded raspy at points, but it seemed almost intentional and worked for the song. This was a perfect song for Lauren’s voice, and she seemed like she came into her confidence a bit through it.

The judges gave an edge to Lauren in this round, which I wholeheartedly agree with.

Finally, the contestants sang the song they will release as his or her first single should he or she win on Wednesday night. Both were slower country songs, and in all fairness, I didn’t really love either, and am glad I don’t listen to radio stations that would play either.

Scotty sang a song called “I Love You This Big,” which was distracting at first, thanks to a violinist with an even creepier gaze than Scotty himself! Who knew that was possible? I didn’t love the song, but I can imagine it being a huge hit, and I can imagine it being played at every Southern prom (or weddings for ’16 & Pregnant’ couples that make it). It was a really pretty, sentimental love song, and that just seemed strange coming from Scotty; he still feels too young to sing a song that big and old. It was a great song for his voice, though, and his confidence was at such a high, which helped in the delivery of a more mature song.

Lauren sang a song, “Like My Mother Does,” dedicated to her mother, who has been very visible throughout the show. The song was beautiful, she sang it amazingly, and although I wished her voice was 100% to completely slay the big power notes, I still felt her tone was perfect. Ryan Seacrest, being the rare gentleman, led Lauren down the stairs to her mother, who Lauren hugged without missing a note! It was a beautiful, emotional, poignant American Idol moment, and the absolute perfect way to end the episode.

Jennifer Lopez told Lauren, “you may have just won” based on that song, and I honestly agree with that assessment. The judges showered Lauren with praise, saying that she had heart, emotion, and feeling in that song, and that it was totally present, which it was. I felt all those things were missing a bit from Scotty’s, which isn’t terribly surprising: Lauren is one of the most emotional contestants on this season, if not the most, and Scotty seems the most stoic. And again, I find it difficult to honestly believe a 16 year old singing a love ballad, whereas a 16 year old who is close with her mom singing a song dedicated to her just feels so right.

The judges gave round three to Lauren, which, if you’re keeping score at home means that the judges in theory gave the title to Lauren, since 2/3 rounds (or 3/3 rounds if you’re Steven Tyler) is the majority. Of course, they played diplomatic and professed their love of Scotty, which is only fair, but I feel the title will be even closer than predicted.