Why Haley Reinhart's Original Song was Cut from the American Idol Finale

While we loved seeing Haley Reinhart “Steppin’ Out” with Tony Bennett during the American Idol finale, we were more excited for our little pony’s first original song, which her parents promised we’d hear that night. But as we were treated with Beyonce performances, Gaga-vision, and a look back at Steven Tyler-isms, we began to wonder how Idol would fit everything in.

It turns out, two hours simply isn’t enough time for Top 13 reunion songs, judges’ hip shakings, and celeb cameos. In fact, as Haley explained to The Hollywood Reporter, it was one of the uber-famous who took over the spot that was originally given to the growly girl for her new single. “That was going to happen. And then Bono came in and it was taken away,” says Haley.

Et tu, Bono? The U2singer, along with The Edge and Reeve Carney, brought Broadway to the Idol stage (didn’t Simon Cowell always warn against that?) when they performed “Rise Above 1” from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. The superhero-themed musical is having myriad problems, and even J.Lo wasn’t keen on kissing the masked crusader during the finale.

Now that Haley’s original song doesn’t have the benefit of an Idol audience debut, its fate is in peril. “They had said that it was going to happen,” explains Haley, “and like everything else in this business, it’s all subject to change. I was excited about it, but then again, I think I'd like to wait and come up with something that's very me. Everything happens for a reason, so it's all good.” Way to take it in stride, Growlylocks.

American Idol finales are typically star-studded spectacles, and they always try to cram in the maximum amount of show-stopping performances, but swapping Haley’s potential hit for an established singer’s lackluster project just strikes us as bad form. What do you think? Should producers have kept or cut Haley’s original song?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

American Idol's Haley Reinhart Goes Out With a Bang Belting "Bennie & The Jets" on the Final 3 Results Show

Feisty Haley Reinhart goes out with a bang ~ and gets her revenge ~ belting out Elton John's "Bennie & The Jets" as her final song on the American Idol Season 10 Final 3 Results Show. We've all been waiting for someone to have their 'moment' during the Final 3. Haley came very close with Led Zeppelin's “What is and What Should Never Be”, but that was one song out of nine ~ on a very boring, very safe show. Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina never sang a show-stopping song for the Final 3. But after Haley got eliminated, she blew them both out of the water. You could tell by the looks on their faces, they were both wondering, "How am I going to top Haley's "Bennie & The Jets" on the Finale?"

BRAVO HALEY!!! You went out with grace, and one of the best performances of the season. We are so, so proud of you!

Did you all catch Haley's subtle, yet beautifully placed, slap in the face to JeaLous JLo and Randy?? Her brilliant change of words in "Bennie & The Jets" told us exactly what Haley thought of their harsh, unjustified criticism...

"Say, Randy and JLo, have you seen them yet?
OH, BUT THEY ARE SO SPACED OUT, B-B-B-Bennie and Steven"

Sultry, Sassy Haley Reinhart Plots 'Sultry, Bluesy Rock' Future After American Idol

Haley Reinhart is gone from the American Idol world ~ but won't be forgotten any time, soon. "Everybody is such a great big family...and I knew I'd miss them. But then again, I'm gonna see them again today," the ousted singer from Wheeling, Ill., told Idol's weekly conference call with reporters as she, in fact, rode to rehearsals for Idol's finale episodes next week. Being No. 3, after all, means not having to stay on ice too long before you're part of the show again, so Reinhart is, not surprisingly, "at peace with everything" as she contemplates her Idol past and where she'll head from here.

You'd been in the bottom three four times before Thursday. Did you feel it was only a matter of time before you'd be eliminated or were you starting to feel invincible?

Reinhart: I kind of go with option B a little bit more. I don't like to sell myself short, and I believe that taking that all in stride and realizing I've been in (the bottom three) so many times and I'm still around, there's something going on. I've got to step up my game even more week to week, and it pulled off.

Is it fair to say you were angry when the decision was announced?

Not at all, not angry. Of course everybody's gonna be surprised with the verdict, but all in all I accepted it very quickly and took it in, took it all with a grain of salt and said, "Hey, everything happens for a reason. This is a good thing." This happened for a reason, and it only means that I'm going to start my career as a solo artist even sooner.

What did it mean to perform with your parents this week?

My parents have basically just taught me the rules of the stage and everything since I was eight...It's always been a dream of mine to get somewhere, and just as important to me, it would be an honor to have my mom, my dad, to have them with me up there. So I got to go back home and play with their band, and having (her father) on stage and actually getting to give him a couple licks and show America what he could do, that was just so special to me.

In hindsight, would you have done anything differently on Wednesday?

I don't live in regret, really. There's of course gonna be some things, and I do nitpick. I'm a Virgo. Other than that, I don't regret anything. Each step along this way has gotten me to where I am today. Each song and the genres I got to show off in the early stages of everything, I wouldn't trade that for the world. I got to show versatility, and I'm proud to do that.

You covered a lot of territory on the show. What would you like your album to be like?

I have a lot of ideas, even from now into the future, of what I'd like to do. I would love to do an album that's like sultry, Bluesy Rock. I absolutely love Jazz, so if I can slip that in there somewhere or even in the future get more into Jazz...(But) I definitely am loving the sultry, Bluesy Rock feel.

If you could work with some of the folks you met and worked with on the show, who would it be?

Well, Steven Tyler, y'know. I love Classic Rock. Just growing up with Rock 'n' Roll in my life, if I could so something with him that would be fantastic. Otherwise there's plenty of people out there I would love to collaborate with. I adore Corinne Bailey Rae. I adore Esperanza Spalding. Janelle Monae -- those three women, I believe, are very unique and powerful in their own ways. I hope to do something just as cool.

Is there one moment you'd most want people to remember from the show?

I picked Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets" last night because I felt that was a big turning point. I had good performances leading up to that; starting with "You Really Got Me," they started seeing, "Oh, this is what you want to do." With "Bennie and the Jets," I had a whole vision of how I wanted it to pan out. It was my arrangement, how I wanted it to start off jazzy and slower, then rock out by the end of it. I planned that whole thing on the piano and it worked out very well, so I guess I would say that performance.

Did the rumors about you and Casey Abrams dating help or hurt in any way? Was it a distraction?

Y'know, not really, and we didn't really give into them at all. We never said yes or no. We laughed about it. That's probably the better thing to do. Obviously we have a really, really strong relationship - maybe not dating, but just the musicality between us and everything else has been just wonderful. We got so many questions about it. Either way, it's not going to hurt anybody. We had a lot of fun with it. We played the game. It was fun.

What qualities about Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery make them the American Idol?

As far as the viewers of the show, this is perfect for them. We have a very young audience out there, and they're both so darn cute and they've got that Country calling. This is a Country year, and I'm excited to see what happens. I definitely see young America being very captivated by these two.

So go out on a limb and predict who's going to win.

Naaaaah, you know I can't do that. It's a close one, and it's so close 'cause they're in such a close lane together as far as Country guys. So it's anybody's game, man.

Source:billboard.com

American Idol's Haley Reinhart Gives a Hauntingly Beautiful Performance of “Rhiannon”

Haley Reinhart, American Idol Season 10's frisky and feisty fighter gives a hauntingly beautiful performance of “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac as her second song, producer Jimmy Iovine's choice, during the Final 3 Showdown.

"Haley says she’s got to remember the words to “Rhiannon”. It’s an abstract song, but she loves it. Jimmy says from the minute he met her, he thought she should sing a Stevie Nicks song. Haley loves Stevie Nicks. Her mom is a fan. Jimmy says the important thing is to grab the end so we can hear every color she has. The song begins slow with a piano. Haley’s unusual tone is perfect, haunting. The song speeds up, the band comes in, the wind machine starts blowing, and Haley seems a little preoccupied with remembering the words – keeping her from going full out at the end like Jimmy suggested.

Randy Jackson: Why were you looking up like “thank God I got through that.” I think you did a good job with it. Your pitch was perfect. More of a somber mood for me. Steven, do guys have wind machines? Positively, says Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Steven: You sang that song so beautifully.

Jlo: It was a beautiful moment. It looked beautiful on camera. I thought you were going to take it a little further at the end, but it was a nice contrast to what you did first."
source:mjs

Audition


Performance


Judging

American Idol's Haley Reinhart Sings “What is and What Should Never Be” on the Final 3 Showdown

American Idol Season 10's Fearless Haley Reinhart 'gets the Led out' with “What is and What Should Never Be” by Led Zeppelin as her 'Personal Choice' song on the Final 3 Showdown. Tonight the Idols will sing three songs each, and the guest celebrity mentor is Beyonce. Beyonce says this Led Zeppelin song shows Haley's "guts, strength and fearlessness. She’s a risk taker for not picking a Pop song or something everyone knows. She has conviction. It makes you believe in what she believes in. Which is a huge part of being a Super Star. I think Haley is a Rock Star. Haley has a presence." Beyonce loves the warmth and natural raspiness in Haley's voice. Haley says she’s "grown up around Classic Rock, and my parents are in a band together." Haley's dad is going to join her onstage, playing guitar!

Haley looks fantastic! She starts the song at the top of the stairs and struts down, showing all her confidence. Haley growls and wails, and shows off her whole range. She takes command of the stage and has the audience on it's feet. Haley is definitely a Rock Star tonight! Haley takes a spill on the stairs, and gets up without missing a beat...a consummate professional! She ends the song with a bang...glorious, luminous vocals. The strongest performance so far. The audience goes wild, and Randy Jackson and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler are on their feet. Huge standing ovation. Round One HALEY REINHART!!! No one is going to remember the first two performances after Haley slayed it like that. Haley has had her moment!

Randy yells, "This is what it’s all about! I love the fact that this girl is slaying it. You’re fearless. This is like crazy vocals. Got your father on stage. One of your best performances EVER! CRAZY CRAZY! HALEY’S IN IT TO WIN IT!" Steven Tyler asks, "Did you fall for me? It's not about how many times you fall, but how many times you get up. That was superb. That was just so so good." Randy said, "I thought the fall was planned!"

Jlo praised, "Everybody's fallen onstage. You gotta keep going. That’s a sign of a professional. That's the sign of someone who knows what they're doing. These people deserve more than that, and you gave it to them. It was a really tough song, you sang it reallly, really great. It was a good good round for you."

Host Ryan Seacrest has a chat with the judges ~ It's unanimous! Rund One goes to Haley Reinhart!

Pre-Performance Video with Beyonce


Performance


Judging

American Idol's Haley Reinhart Sings Michael Jackson's “Earth Song” on the Top 4 Show

American Idol Season 10's feisty Haley Reinhart performs “Earth Song” by Michael Jackson on the Top 4 Show. Tonight's celebrity guest-mentor is Lady Gaga, and the first theme is "Songs That Inspire". Haley picked an amazingly inspiring song! "Earth Song" is the third single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. It is a ballad that incorporates elements of blues, gospel and opera. Jackson had a long-standing history of releasing socially conscious material such as "We Are the World", "Man in the Mirror" and "Heal the World". However, "Earth Song" was the first that overtly dealt with the environment and animal welfare. The video centered around the destruction and rebirth of Earth and went on to receive a Grammy nomination in 1997. In the United Kingdom, it remains Jackson's best-selling single. Jackson went on to receive recognition from various animal and environmental organizations.

Haley looks gorgeous sitting on the stage. You can feel the emotions emanating from her! Haley puts her all into the song, though I'm not sure if it was the best choice to showcase her huge vocals. Also, at this stage of the competition, it is better to choose a song everyone knows, and since "Earth Song" was never released as a single in the United States, not many people are going to be aware of it. It seems to me that Haley received a longer and louder ovation than James Durbin did, though all three judges looked pissed.

Jennifer Lopez said, "Here's what I loved about that...You were supposed to pick a song that inspired you, and I really felt that it did inspire you. I could feel your feeling in the song. Here's the thing with where we're at in the competition now. James comes out and he sets the bar. You’ve got to choose the hit records, that everyone's going to respond to. That song has a beautiful message, no doubt, but I want you to be thinking about what everybody else is doing. That's part of competing."

Randy Jackson goes straight for the jugular, no soft-coating at the beginning of his critique like JLo, "Where we are in the competition is...Who wants to win this? Who's going to take it home? These are the things I didn't like about what you did: It confused me with who you are as an artist, because the song doesn't really suit you or fit you. To sing that song at the end, it felt to me like you were screaming, you were at the top of your range. To sing that song at the end, like the great Michael Jackson did, you'd have to have notes at least a fifth of an octave above that to really go there, with those R&B chops. It's just not your vibe." "That's not the top of my range," Haley argued. "But, you didn't go there. The song needed you to deliver it. This was Michael Jackson's pinnacle. You needed to be singing runs at the end. I felt like you were just screaming at the end, the same note over and over."

Haley begins arguing with Randy, "Oh, I didn't even know I shoulda changed that. I thought it was beautiful the way it was." Steven Tyler breaks in, trying to defend Haley, "Don't listen to them." But Randy has a hard-on to smash Haley into the dust, adding, "My opinion is, I didn't like it. I thought you were screaming. I thought it was a bad song choice." A clearly hurt and pissed off Haley loses her cool and shows her young age, saying, "I heard it. I know what you have to say."

Steven Tyler, who's loved Haley since day one tries to shut her up before she offends the audience by being too snotty, says, "What do you get from that? They’re both wrong. That song showed me that you can. It wasn't a hit song, but you sang it. You nailed it. The upper register, you nailed it. You nailed it with feeling. You pushed it over the top. The audience heard it and America heard it. Don't believe them."





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