'Idol's' top 4: Who's in it to win it?
From left, Haley Reinhart, Scotty McCreery, James Durbin and Lauren Alaina are the four finalists in Season 10 of "American Idol." Credit: Fox
We've reached the final four on "American Idol" (Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Fox/5), with the contestants performing the Leiber-Stoller songbook and Lady Gaga in the driver's seat. Here's how the four shape up.
Lauren Alaina
STRENGTHS Country pipes have kept her in the hunt.
WEAKNESSES She's tried, oh how she's tried, to pry herself out of her comfort zone, which can be defined as anything, musically speaking, south of the Mason-Dixon Line. She's gotten mixed results, like "Unchained Melody," which sent her to the bottom two last week.
BOTTOM LINE Could still be next to go.
James Durbin
STRENGTHS Beloved by fans, justifiably so, with solid pipes and a take-no-prisoners performance swagger. And if "Idol" had ended a couple of weeks ago, he might even have been a surprise winner after one of the season's standout performances, Muse's "Uprising."
WEAKNESSES Geographic, primarily. (He's from California.)
BOTTOM LINE Reaches the top two. Then . . .
Haley Reinhart
STRENGTHS No one would've bet she'd be standing here by mid-May, but there she is. Why? She's good, and usually connects with the audience and judges. The Leiber-Stoller wall-of-sound pop standards should be to her benefit.
WEAKNESSES She has no obvious voter-fan base, and it's hard to imagine anyone out there was swooning over her covers of "Call Me" or "Rolling in the Deep," before dashing off votes. In fact, they didn't. She landed in the bottom three those nights.
BOTTOM LINE Most likely next to go, unless Lauren evaporates tonight.
Scotty McCreery
STRENGTHS Country, and competent country at that. Scotty's bass vocals roll right out of the heartland, which has kept his fan base locked (and loaded) on his number right from the beginning. That's a huge benefit for any Idolist, because it means they can count on votes even when they don't deserve 'em. For example, under pressure from judges, or (more specifically) Jimmy Iovine, he added some rock touches to LeAnn Rimes' "Swingin' " and the country lines became muddled. But last week's cover of Montgomery Gentry's "Gone" swept away all confusion.
WEAKNESSES Can you be too country on this show? Apparently not for most of the Southern fans who do most of the voting.
BOTTOM LINE The likely winner, making him the seventh contestant with Southern roots to take the "Idol" crown.
