The Finale

This was a rather disappointing show, but maybe that's because the 2 finalists are very predictable in their styles. I have been saying for the whole contest that Lauren Alaina was pushing her voice and could do some serious damage and that's exactly what happened during the rehearsal for the show, she blew out a vocal cord. And to make matters worse, the doctor gave her medicine (probably steroids) so she could sing through it, which could make the damage worse. She should have complete vocal rest for a few weeks after that kind of an injury. I guess she couldn't have dropped out at this point because there would have been no final show and what would the sponsors do, sue her? Probably. Well, she made it through and I hope it's worth it for her. To strain such a young voice is so dangerous; it could ruin her voice for the rest of her life. I hope not. Lauren's vocals were quite soft and there was much reverb on her voice so it would appear louder and the background singers were very loud up in the mix, so it gave the impression she was singing powerfully. But she was being very cautious and I could hear there wasn't much voice there at all. She did push her voice on the bridge of Maybe It was Memphis and it sounded very hoarse. Well, hopefully, now she can rest it for awhile, although if she wins, she probably has to go on every talk show and sing. Maybe she won't be allowed to sing if someone is managing her career right. So if I had to choose who should win of the 2, I'd say Lauren because she is a little more interesting. But I think Scotty has his country schtick and he does it well and consistently, so maybe he will win. We'll see.
I just want to thank the Poughkeepsie Journal for another year of publishing my American Idol blogging. It's been fun sharing my thoughts with you all. Thanks for all of your comments. And keep on singing. If you need vocal coaching, you can contact me at www.vickierussell.com. And I'll be playing in the Hudson Valley Area this summer. You can get on my e-mail newsletter through my website as well. I'll be performing at the Rosendale Street Festival and at various other local venues. Hope to see you there.

Who do you think will win tonight?

Here's my take on the songs:


Scotty McReery
Pick of the Season: Gone
He did put everything he had into that song. Best performance of the night.
Idol's Idol picks: Yes Or No
Boring, edited version of the song. Didn't do anything for me.
Idol's Hits-I Love You This Big
What a lousy song for his hit song. It's so contrived and boring. the range of the song was so small and he couldn't really do much with it. He did the best he could.

Lauren Alaina
Pick of the Season: Flat on the Floor
That was a lot of background singing, I could really hear how easy she was taking it-she couldn't push her voice at all.
Idol picks: Maybe It Was Memphis
She sang it well, she's definitely holding back, and the background singers were up really loud.
Idol Hits:Like My Mother Does
She sang that beautifully, but again, quite a contrived song. It was sweet at the end when Lauren was crying because her mother was so emotional.