Haley Reinhart had a tough time on American Idol Top 3 performance night. Saddled with the night's toughest songs and questionable arrangements, she nonetheless stole the show with what mentor Beyonce dubbed a "ballsy" move--to sing Led Zeppelin's "What Is and What Should Never Be." While Haley's performed Zeppelin before with her family band, the real motivator behind choosing the song was that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant offered their songs to her--after hearing her sing "The House of the Rising Sun." How can a gal say no to that?
Check out my full Top 3 performance night recap!
Of course, in true American-Idol-hates-Haley fashion, there was no mention of the band giving up their catalog to the young singer. If it had been James, you know they would have done a whole segment on it--James, who even got his Top 4 homecoming shown on performance night.
Haley started the Zeppelin tune at the top of the stairs, peeking out over swinging doors before stepping through them. The audience collectively held its breath as she sauntered down the infinite length of stairs, and exhaled a sigh of relief as she made it confidently and safely. Haley sang her heart out through the complicated shifts in the song's tone, and did a quick rocker turn around the judges' table--before falling back up the two stairs in front of them.
Haley's dad, who was playing guitar with her, shifted forward out of reflex, but kept playing. Haley got herself up, barely missing a beat, delivering the next line to the audience with a smile and earning a whoop from them and the judges. As you see above, she launched into her trademark one-arm "sing it!" wave, which doubled as an "I'm okay!" acknowledgment.
Haley looked amazing, jammed with her dad, and just had an amazing time up there. She did Zeppelin proud, and I hope they liked her version, because I thought it was a damn good tribute to their song and style. You can watch her entire performance here:
Check out my full review: "Ranking the American Idol Top 3: Who's 'In It To Win It'?"
PHOTOS: Haley Reinhart singing Led Zeppelin's "What Is and What Should Never Be," with her dad on guitar, American Idol Top 3 performance night. Screencaps c2011 FOX.
Hey Valerie! Are you still around? I was wondering whether you've started up another blog now?
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that you've been writing at Yahoo, how is that going?
Hello Emm!
ReplyDeleteHow are you? Yes, I'm still here! I am doing a lot of work for Yahoo now, in TV, movies and celebrity gossip--so it's gotten a little tougher to keep up with the blog here. It's on my to-do list to get a bit more of a regular schedule with posting here again, particularly when we get closer to the fall season.
I do also have another blog, but I'll use the contact form on your page to send you the link. I'm keeping it somewhat separate from this one, I think, for now. :)
Thanks so much for saying hi! I do still lurk on your blog when I get the chance. :)