American Idol's Hayley Reinhart steals the show as Casey Abrams proves why he deserved to be saved in Elton John night

By Sophie Forbes


-Haley Reinhart wowed the crowd and was the judges clear favourite
-Casey Abrams proved why he deserved to be saved
-Tomorrow two contestants get eliminated

Star turn: Hayley Reinhart delivered the best performance of the night with her version of Bennie And The Jets as the Idol contestants took on the songs of Elton John


American Idol is now down to the top 11 contestants, but despite things becoming increasingly competitive not one person performed badly on this week's show.

However there was one performance that did stand out from the crowd last night as the hopefuls took on the hits of legendary singer-songwriter Elton John.

Hayley Reinhart wowed the judges with her rendition of Bennie And The Jets in a week where the contestants are under added pressure due to a double elimination on tomorrow's show.


The 20-year-old started her performance lounging on the top of a grand piano and looked gorgeous in a sparkling silver dress.

'That was it, Haley!' exclaimed Jennifer Lopez after her sultry performance.

'The poise, the moves, the confidence. You felt every place you were going...It was amazing,' Lopez raved.

'Best performance of the night right there!' Randy Jackson said excitedly while Steven Tyler backed him up saying, 'You. Sing. Sexy.'

Worth saving: Casey Abrams proved why he should still be on the show with Your Song

Still singing ballads: Pia Toscano stuck to her guns and sang Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me


Only today it was revealed that Hayley has become very close to another of her competitors - California's own Casey Abrams, 20, who last week got saved by the judges with their one save of the season after he was voted off in the public ballot.

Casey performed a version of Your Song and proved exactly why he deserved to be kept in the competition.

'One decision I didn't lose an ounce of sleep over was saving you,' Jennifer Lopez told him after his performance.

Big song: Lauren Alaina took on the challenge of Candle In The Wind and did an amazing job

Sticking to what you know: Scotty McCreery chose the only Elton John song with a country feel and chose Country Comfort


Pia Toscano also impressed the judges, despite choosing another ballad after being told last week to try some variation.

The brunette beauty picked Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me and powered her way through the song with not one bad note.

All the judges were impressed with Jennifer telling her the song took her to 'an otherworldly place' and they even began to argue amongst themselves about stopping her from singing ballads in the future.

Took their advice: Stefano Langone made much more contact with the audience and even flirted with Jennifer during his rendition of Tiny Dancer

Rocker: James Durbin bounced around the stage while blazing through Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

Lauren Alaina also chose a ballad - the record breaking song Candle In The Wind - which she sang beautifully, putting a country sounding edge on the famous track.

'That is one of the greatest Lauren Alaina performances on the stage ever,' Randy told her with Steven telling her it was 'beautiful.'

'That was amazing. You sounded gorgeous,' Jennifer added. 'That was it baby, that was it.'

Fan favourite Scotty McCreery got to kick off the show with his version of, unsurprisingly, Country Comfort.

The young 17-year-old maintained his consistently good level of performance and nailed the song, receiving a standing ovation and great comments from all three judges.

The shows Casanova Stefano Langone, took note of the judges previous comments regarding his interaction with the audience and even approached Jennifer during his performance of Tiny Dancer and held her hand as he sang.

Not great: Thia Megia version of Daniel was underwhelming but not terrible

Sorry: Jacob Lusk showed his range with Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word but didn't hit the spot


James Durbin also worked the crowd as he stomped his way round the stage singing Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting.

All three of the judges voiced how much they love his energy on stage with Randy telling him: 'You look like you are enjoying yourself and that's what matters.'

The more underwhelming performances of the night included Thia Megia's rendition of Daniel which none of the judges were overly happy with.

Not bad: Paul McDonald showed his skills on the guitar as he performed Rocket Man

Worst of the night: Naima Adedapo rearranged I'm Still Standing to a reggae beat but didn't wow the judges


Jacob Lusk performed a heart wrenching version of Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word which impressed the crowd but the judges felt was overdone.

Meanwhile Paul McDonald chose Rocket Man, a fast paced pop song which was pitchy, but still got the support of the judges with Randy telling him: 'When you start hitting every note, that's the day I'm not going to like you anymore.'

The riskiest performance of the night was from Naima Adedapo who delivered a reggae inspired interpretation of I'm Still Standing.

The unusual sounding song didn't impress the judges and is likely to land the 26-year-old in the bottom three.

Tomorrow night two contestants will be eliminated and sent home.










source:dailymail