Casey Abrams to American Idol Fans: Vote For Haley Reinhart!
Casey Abrams may have been voted off American Idol, but he's still trying to be a force on the show, telling his fan base to vote Haley and vote often!
Abrams has been telling friends, family and hometown supporters in Idyllwild, Calif., to stay united and send Haley Reinhart through to the final four.
Casey denies being in a romantic relationship with Haley, but last week referred to her as a "special musical friend." Translation: TOTES hitting that.
JAZZED UP: Casey and Haley may or may not be dating, but he wants to make sure Reinhart has a date to perform in the next round of American Idol.
Abrams was ousted last week in a bit of a surprise, as many viewers felt Jacob Lusk would be the next to pack his bags. But the votes are the votes.
Regarding America's rejection of him, Casey has been humble from the start and says the five contestants remaining were just better than he was.
We have a hunch which of the five he thinks was the best ...
American Idol Exit Interview: Casey Abrams Says Goodbye
Humble until the end, Casey Abrams recently spoke on his elimination from American Idol.
The bearded crooner told MTV he had a feeling his name would be called on Thursday night. Not because he did poorly, but because he was so impressed by his competitors.
My performance was pretty good," he said. "But seeing Jacob kill it and then seeing Haley kill it, seeing Scotty and Lauren kill it and Durbin obviously... it just made me feel like, 'These guys are incredible. These guys could carry the show. I don't really need to be here, so if I go home tomorrow, I'm prepared.'"
On a personal note, Casey's goodbye to contestant Haley Reinhart - which included a kiss - forced him to clear up all rumors about the two dating. He just refers to her as his "special music friend."
American Idol Performances: Bruno Mars, Crystal Bowersox and a Departing Casey Abrams
Grammy-winner Bruno Mars, last season's finalist Crystal Bowersox and the departing Casey Abrams all performed live on American Idol on Thursday night.
While Casey's elimination was another surprise in a season packed with unexpected American Idol results, he enjoyed a nice run and proved worthy of a save.
Unfortunately, the judges couldn't bail him out a second time last night.
Watch Casey go out in style with his jazzy swan song, "I Put a Spell on You," followed by the performances of Bruno and Crystal below ...
American Idol Results: Who's Safe? Who's Out?
Well? Who among American Idol's final six is no longer with us?
Did the singer a lot of us expected to get the boot actually get it tonight? Or did voters have yet another surprise up their sleeves here in Season 10?
As we saw it, Jacob Lusk would end up in the bottom three, while James Durbin and Scotty McCreery would be safe. Beyond that? Anyone's guess.
It turns out there wasn't even a bottom three tonight ...
Ryan just started send people to safety in random order until there's no one left. First Haley Reinhart, then James, then Lauren Alaina were in the clear.
Scotty, Jacob and Casey Abrams were left vying for two of the three safe spots. Follow the jump to see which singer left American Idol this evening ...
Haley Reinhart Delivers a Beautiful Performance
Haley Reinhart's version of Carole King's "Beautiful" - a bit of a surprise choice from the singer - was good, but not great last night on American Idol.
But we can blame her background singers and ear monitor, neither of which did her any favors. Despite those hiccups, it was a cool arrangement.
Heck, to hear one observer tell it, it was beyond perfect: "Haley, you are as beautiful as all that song is," Steven Tyler says. "I just saw God."
Not hyperbolic at all, is he? In all seriousness, she was good:
Follow the jump to watch Haley's second performance of the night, a duet with Casey Abrams, and then vote on who you think was the best:
Casey Abrams: On An Old, Sweet Roll
Wednesday on American Idol, Casey Abrams picked "Hi-De-Ho (That Old Sweet Roll)" from Carole King's catalog - a song made famous by Blood, Sweat & Tears.
While there was no blood, sweat or tears on the stage (well, maybe a little sweat), there was plenty of passion from Casey, who remains a unique performer.
"You always keep this show different," Randy said. "I'm excited every time you're up there, because I know I'm going to see something different."
"It's like this song was written for you."
He may not win this competition, but every week he sticks around, the Ace of Bass proves more and more deserving of the controversial judges' save.
Later, Casey and Haley Reinhart dueted on "I Feel The Earth Move." Did it move for you after listening to their rendition of this King classic? See below:
Lauren Alaina Hits High Note on American Idol
Lauren Alaina was nervous about going for a high note last night.
Interestingly, what she felt were the toughest parts of "Where You Lead (I Will Follow)" - a Carole King classic that later became the Gilmore Girls theme - were actually where she was at her best. Maybe she needs to give herself more credit.
She sounded great when she sang in harmony with her backing vocalists, too. Watch and listen to her performance here and see what you think:
Think she'll survive another week? It looks good for her. Meanwhile, Lauren joined Scotty McCreery on a duet, which you can see after the jump:
Scotty McCreery Has Got a Friend (or Many)
After a lackluster effort a week ago, Scotty McCreery sought to expand the range of his delivery with his performance of "You've Got a Friend" Wednesday.
While imperfect, it was still a distinct vocal performance that showed improvement from the guy, and that won raves from both the judges and audience.
Watch him sing the Carole King song that James Taylor popularized here and tell us if you think he has the skills to make the finals of American Idol ...
Meanwhile, Scotty and Lauren Alaina sang their third duet of the season, and while they each sound lovely on their solo lines, together it didn't quite mesh.
At least we didn't think so. You decide after the jump:
James Durbin Asks: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
No flaming pianos, no heavy metal last night for James Durbin on American Idol. Just a stirring take on the Shirelles' "Will You Still Love Tomorrow."
The audience went bonkers. They will indeed love him today.
"Carole King and James Durbin were made to come together," says coach Jimmy Iovine, adding that "James is 100 percent a child of rock 'n' roll."
That's extremely high praise, but not altogether unwarranted. Watch him sing the tune in a cappella, then build up to a terrific finish below ...
We said that James is the man to beat yesterday, and this isn't about to change our minds. But, as always, it all comes down to voter turnout.
Follow the jump for Durbin's duet with Jacob Lusk ...
Jacob Lusk Shakes His Tailfeather on Idol
Last night the American Idol top six performed, both separately and together, the songs of Carole King. Did Jacob Lusk do the legendary artist justice?
With a fun, energetic take on the hit "Oh No, Not My Baby," we would say so. Whether it's enough to keep him around another week is another issue.
"You really brought yourself back," says Randy. "The scatting was incredible, and that's why you're here." But will he be here in about 15 hours?
Performing in the dreaded opening slot (another act of sabotage, perhaps) won't help. He needed someone else to stumble, and they didn't really.
Still, you never know, and he added a fun duet with James Durbin later in the show. Watch them perform "I'm Into Something Good" below:
