In this publicity image released by Fox, Lauren Alaina performs on the singing competition series “American Idol,” on Wednesday, March 9, 2011, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Fox, Ray Mickshaw)SUSAN PIERCE: I was so proud of our girl Lauren Alaina Suddeth‘s comeback last week after a lackluster previous week. While there really wasn’t one performance I thought stood out above the others, I did think Lauren and Stefano Langone were the two best of the evening.
The Top 11 are singing songs of Motown tonight. I think this will be a test for finalist Scotty McCreery. It’s going to cramp his country style. However, he could probably pull off an interesting interpretation of “My Girl” with that bass voice.
LISA DENTON: Or maybe a little Marvin Gaye? That bass voice on “Let’s Get It On”? Oh, yeah.
There’s enough variety in Motown that I think he’ll find something. And the Motown theme should give the week some cohesion. Last week was all over the map since the singers pulled from so many years.
I also thought Stefano did well last week. I think it has been a little harder for him to stand out since he’s more of a crooner, and he’s up against two crazy-eyed rockers: James Durbin and Casey Abrams. His version of “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” wasn’t Teddy Pendergrass good, but he did show that he could break out and sing. That performance changed my mind about his chances.