It’s rock and roll week. I didn’t need this long introduction but I enjoy Steven Tyler more than you know. The gold pants did me good. The top nine was looking good. WHY is Will.i.am coaching during rock and roll week?

Jacob sings “Man in the mirror.” I’m nervous. I could be embarrassed or I could cry. I was hoping for a tear. I am not sure this is how I wanted the song to turn. I didn’t think it was his best performance but he certainly ended strong. White isn’t a good color for him to have so much of on! It was special for Jacob to have sung the song with the woman who wrote it, though. This is something you tell your kids!

J. Lo’s hair looked great. Why did Randy have on that glossy jacket? The judges were more impressed than I was with Jacob, but I really like him, though.

I love Haley, as you probably know. I always look forward to her roar. Her voice translates SO well… but I wanted a little less roar this week. She did well, though. This was a great song choice. I thought she ripped it! VERY strong ending!

Casey’s turn. I love his personality. He sings so wonderfully. He paced himself well. He is one of the best idol contestants ever. I am so serious. He doesn’t even need to climax. He has the best tone, ever. I would buy his album. He’s such a MUSICIAN!

I love Randy’s critique because he LOVES music! I am so glad he is still on!

Lauren can go home. I like her but I didn’t want to hear her singing a classic and not blowing it out of the water. It was not believable, at all! I didn’t like that she needed a teleprompter to sing this legendary song! She was trying to do too much for my taste with the look and all. No. Aretha is displeased, I know. She did a GOOD job but it wasn’t AMAZING.

I didn’t know what Will.i.am was talking about half of the time.

I do NOT do James. He’s not bad, but I just don’t connect with him. I thought he did better this week. In previous weeks, he annoyed me. I just don’t do the rock thing and I have seen better. The ending was much bigger than the entire song… and it saved him but… I just can’t.

Scotty doesn’t do it for me, either. Same ole thing every week… but this week he was great! It was a great song for him. The wiggling and walking was good stuff for him! He does the Elvis thing well… I guarantee he will do this song on the tour! I enjoyed this more than any previous week!

Pia is my girl. I really hope she would work the stage a little more. Taking on Tina Turner was… interesting. Will.i.am was right. Stay away from the Madonna thing when you get in Tina mode! The performance was very Vegas to me. GO PIA!!!!!!! She rocked! She does need a little more charisma!

I have been quite critical of Stefano. The falsetto rubbed me the wrong way right off the top. He reminded me of the guy who comes to karaoke every Wednesday night. He did warm up after a while! The key change was cute. I liked the heart in the performance, if nothing else. Other than that, I feel like Stefano may not know which genre to tag on to.

Paul closes us out. He’s such a good artist. He will certainly do some damage in the industry. I am not sure if Idol has ever had a Paul. I love him. His performances are so REAL… It’s like being at a concert… or a bar with some really good local act to passionate for the music to “go pro.” I just love him!

Well, here is how they round up for me. Shall I grade them?

1.     Pia (A+)

2.     Casey (A)

3.     Haley (A)

4.     Paul (A+)

5.     Jacob (B)

6.     Scotty (B+)

7.     Lauren (B-)

8.     Stefano (B)

9.     James (B-)

Lauren and Stefano will be in the bottom 2. Lauren goes home.

Top 11 Review: It’s American Idol day! For some reason I have enjoyed this season a lot! I think the re-branding has motivated me. I like the judges a lot… Especially Ms. Jennifer Lopez. She is special to me. Tonight’s celebrity mentor was Elton John… who has CUTS!

Last week I love Pia, Haley and Jacob. The guy they saved is awesome as well.

Scotty McCreery started stars the evening off with his guitar and a country song. Nothing new. I wasn’t moved. I think that if he got cut tomorrow, he would still blaze the country charts. His grandma was too cute in the audience. I like Scotty but I am not sure this show is built to anoint a country icon. I think its boring that he does the same thing week in and week out.

Naima Adedapo just doesn’t do it for me. I’m one of those people who didn’t expect her to make it this far. The whole reggae thing…. Same thing with Scotty… too much of the same thing. Just did NOT work for me. She’s talented. I’ll say that. She hasn’t had an amazing performance yet.

Paul McDonald sings Elton John’s Rocket Man. I like his voice and I think he is a true musician. You can tell he writes songs. He gets into the lyrics of the song. I felt like I was watching the Grammys. I liked his rendition. It does, however, feel like too much of the same thing.

I loved Pia Toscano last week! She is such a natural… but didn’t they tell her to move around the stage last week? Whatever, she is a ballad girl! She does WELL! She could have done a little movement around the stage and gave us a little Kelly Clarkson… I didn’t think it was her BEST week… but a slow week for Pia is better than most folks with a recording contract! I agree with Jennifer… stomp a foot…do something! It was cute but it wasn’t GREAT!

Stefano Langone has nice tone but he started off a little pitchy. I think he’s the weakest guy. He reminds me of an older David Archuletta in the face. I don’t think this was the best song choice for him. I do think he could make a good pop artist. Bottom 3 again. Bring me Jacob!

I keep forgetting about Lauren Alaina. She has a great voice. She reminds me of a husky Martina McBride. That falsetto note took me to the mountain top! She has great control of her voice! Her “look” is cute but it kind of doesn’t match her voice. Anyway, she had an almost perfect performance.

James Durbin creeps me out. I want him to go home. I don’t get his angle. It doesn’t seem like he’s being authentic. Was he using auto-tune? The fire and the walking the piano were too much for me! I am not sure why his performance made me so… angry. It just did! The judges are saying everything in the word except… “You are going to be a star.” The “Pepsi moment” thing was funny!

I really love Thia Megia in the beginning but she has fallen off! I was praying she amped it up a notch this week. If not, she definitely goes home. Her tone… out of this world. I wouldn’t know she was so young if I was listening to this on the radio. I would have liked the song to climax sooner but I thought it was an amazing performance! She is in my top 4 so far. Randy’s remarks… no!

Casey Abrams was up next. He had this cute intro where Rodney Jerkins wanted him to shave his beard. He goes to the barber and has it done! I just love him. I see him in the finals! His performance was well delivered and the beard was back!

Okay… Jacob got to meet Mary J. Blige. I appreciate that he reverenced the Queen… Anyway…. Doesn’t he remind you of Anthony Hamilton? I didn’t care for the song choice but its Jacob! He starts and finishes strong! He seemed to have connected with the song but it wasn’t my favorite.  He still can BLOW! OMG!

Haley did it for me again. I love that growling! Her lower register was a little slacking but that’s all!

Overall… Haley wins the night… then Casey… then