'American Idol 10' - Top 8 results show recap

Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson perform their hit single

Movie night wasn't the greatest for most of the Top 8 and now another one will bite the dust. Who will it be? Will Haley's journey finally come to an end, or will we see the demise of Paul McDonald? How about Stefano? It's pretty much up in the air and I wouldn't be surprised if none of the above are eliminated.  I'm guessing Paul, but who knows.

Let's see how it shakes out.

Cold opening features judges' comments, clips of Wednesday's performances, and some backstage comments by the contestants. The judges and Ryan are introduced, and the judges take their seats. Ryan welcomes us to the show. The Top 8 received over 53 million votes this week. Ryan tells us Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson are in the house along with Rihanna.

The Top 8 will sing in groups again tonight. Scotty and Lauren sing Lady Antebellum's "American Honey."   Their voices blend nicely. Actually, they sing very nicely together. Scotty does a lot of gyrations and makes his "I'm too sexy for my hat" faces. They get a nice reaction from the crowd.

After the break we watch the Idols get made up as zombies for the Ford video. James says it's a dream come true and Haley says she feels sexy. Now we see the video itself.  "Thriller" it ain't.

Haley and Casey are up next with "Moaning," a "jazzy duet." They sound pretty good together as well. It's very '20s! Haley scats and Casey answers back. I read somewhere these two have hooked up. I would say this might be true. Too bad Haley couldn't do this well during her performance. Jennifer "the most beautiful woman in the world" Lopez loves it. Randy says, "Haley, baby, that's what's up." JLo says it sound like they'be been doing this all their lives. Steven says they just summed up everything he knew.

Ryan calls Scotty and Lauren back to the center of the stage for some results. Ryan reads Casey's comments first, then Haley's. Lauren is next and then Scotty. Scotty is safe. One of the remaining three is in the bottom three, and it's not Lauren. So, it's got to be Haley, right? Right. Haley moves to the stools of doom.


Back from the break, we watch Rob Reiner interact with the Idols. He lectures them on iconic movie songs. He makes up his own lyrics to the "Chariots of Fire" song. He also tells them they can transition to movies like Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, and Kelly Clarkson (oh, 'From Justin to Kelly' - I'm sure she's thrilled to be following this reference).  He asks if any of them are interested in going into movies. Several raise their hands. He tells Casey he could play Seth Rogan's younger, bass-playing brother.

Now for Kelly and Jason singing "Don't You Wanna Stay."  Randy is grinning and nodding. Show 'em how it's done, Kelly. The audience cheers when she does her part. Silly me, I get teary-eyed. Kelly can't keep from smiling. Nice. Kelly says Casey is sweet. We go to break.

Jacob, Paul, Stefano, and James sing "Sound of Silence." James and Paul play guitar. Their voices are totally out of sync. They break into "Mrs. Robinson." Oh, a mini group number. It's pretty awful. After the performance they line up for results. Ryan starts with Jacob and then Paul. Girls cheer. James is next. He gets more cheers. Randy does rocker hands and James gives him right back. Stefano is last. So who's it going to be? James is safe. He looks like he's about to faint. Methinks that was a bit fake. Stefano is in the Bottom 3. He goes off to join Haley. This leaves Jacob and Paul, and it's Paul in the Bottom 3. Ryan asks what the audience thinks and the audience boos.  This is the way I predicted it.

Chaka Khan and Anita Baker are in the house to help Ryan introduce Rihanna, who's singing her new single "California King Bed." She starts out singing behind some curtains and there are dancers writhing about on the floor. Rihanna's hair is longer, curlier, and bright red. Ryan chats with Rihanna. She tells us there are going to be two sections on her stage where fans will be seated.

Now for the results. Ryan tells us since the Top 13, we've only seen girls eliminated, but Haley breaks this trend and is safe. Casey is thrilled. So, who's dreams will be shattered. The first guy to leave the 'Idol' stage is Paul. Stefano is safe. Someone swears. Ryan says, "We're bummed about this. You're the life of the party." Paul says it was a good ride so far. We watch his farewell video. Oh Paul, I'll miss your brilliant smile.

Paul sings us out with "Maggie May." Casey is dancing along. Lauren doesn't look all that sad. Paul high fives the remaining Idols. Goodbye Paul. Nice encore. He gets a group hug and we are out. No tears from Paul. He leaves us with his brilliant smile intact. I am going to miss him.