American Idol: Season 10, Episode 34 :: Top 4

May 11, 2011

The Top 4 on American Idol Season 10 hit the stage this week with two songs each: the first, a song that inspires them. And the second, a song co-written by the legendary Leiber and Stoller. Lady Gaga showed up to the rehearsals for their second songs to offer some advice on their performances. Episode 34 aired on May 11, 2011.

American Idol: Season 10, Episode 34 :: Top 4

Courtesy of CTV

James Durbin

First up was James Durbin, with a song that nearly everyone knows and loves—Don’t Stop Believing by Journey. Randy Jackson, a former Journey band member, appreciated James’s take on the song. From home, it wasn’t the best ever version of the song, but the judges weren’t going to say anything negative.

Later, James closed the show with Love Potion #9. J-Lo didn’t think he could pull off that kind of song. But he managed to give it a rock sound and showed J-Lo that he can sing anything.

Haley Reinhart

Haley Reinhart’s inspirational song choice was Michael Jackson’s The Earth Song. Her performance got terrible reviews from J-Lo and Randy, and rightfully so. The whole second half sounded like she was yelling instead of singing.

But like always, Haley redeemed herself with her second song, I Who Have Nothing. The judges loved it so much that J-Lo even called it one of the best performances of the entire season.

Scotty McCreery

Scotty McCreery (a.k.a Scotty the Body) was inspired by Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning by Alan Jackson. The judges said it was the perfect song choice and deemed him ready for super-stardom.

He turned up the energy with a playful performance of Young Blood by the Coasters. With his two songs, the judges saw both sides of Scotty...and they liked what they saw.

Lauren Alaina

Finally, Lauren Alaina wowed the judges with both her song choices—I Do It Anyway by Martina McBride and Trouble by Elvis Presley. She even brought a little sass to the stage with her second song, which J-Lo said showed her mature and sexy side.

Vocally, it’s anyone’s game. It’s up to America to decide—do they want their American Idol to be a little bit country, or a little bit rock n’ roll?

Elimination

Logically, one of the girls should have been eliminated. But on May 12, America and the judges were shocked to learn that the favorite to win--James Durbin--recieved the fewest number of votes.