American Idol 10 (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The tenth season of American Idol premiered on January 19, 2011 and concluded on May 25, 2011, on Fox. The show underwent a number of changes from season nine, including the reduction of the judging panel to its original number of just three judges (two of whom are new), a returning executive producer, a new music director as well as multiple format changes. Beginning this season, Idol was also moved from Tuesdays and Wednesdays to Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Nigel Lythgoe returned to the senior production team as executive producer for the series. American singer Steven Tyler and American singer-actress Jennifer Lopez joined the judging panel as replacements for Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres, and Kara DioGuardi who all left at the end of season nine. Ray Chew replaced Rickey Minor as the show's musical director and leader of the Idols live band.

Interscope Records, which is part of Universal Music Group, replaced Sony Music Entertainment as Idols official partner record label. Interscope's Chairman Jimmy Iovine, a songwriter and producer, was made in-house mentor to work with the contestants on a weekly basis. He is supported by associated producers: Rodney Jerkins, Alex da Kid, Tricky Stewart, Don Was, will.i.am, and Timbaland who all help contestants tailor their song choices to their chosen genre of performance, as well as work in producing arrangements for the contestants and offering original material to be performed.

This is the first season in which 15-year-olds could audition. Other changes include online voting, extra rounds such as the Las Vegas and a final solo round, and a return of the judges' wild card choice. More contestants made it to Hollywood in season 10 than in previous seasons. This is also the first season where 11 contestants went on tour instead of 10.

On May 25, 2011, after 122.4 million votes were cast for the finale (and nearly 750 million votes for the seasonal total), Scotty McCreery was crowned the winner of the tenth season of American Idol, making him the youngest male winner at 17 years and 7 months old, and the second youngest winner ever behind season 6 winner Jordin Sparks, who was 17 years and 5 months old when she won in 2007.

Eight contestants from this season were signed to record labels. The signed artists are Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart, James Durbin, Casey Abrams, Stefano Langone, Pia Toscano, and Naima Adedapo.

Changes

Simon Cowell, who had been a judge since the first episode of the first season, announced on January 11, 2010 that he would not be returning as a judge for this season in order to focus on launching the American version of his hit British singing competition The X Factor. Ellen DeGeneres officially announced her departure on July 29, 2010, after judging for only one season, because she felt the show was not the "right fit" for her. Kara DioGuardi then announced on September 3, 2010, that she would also not return this season. On September 22, 2010, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler would join the judging panel.

There were a number of other major changes in season ten, from the judges to the format of the show itself. Nigel Lythgoe returned as the executive producer, and Ray Chew has been hired as the show's new musical director, replacing Rickey Minor, who left the show along with vocal coach Dorian Holley to become the musical director of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Peisha McPhee, mother of season 5's runner-up Katharine McPhee, joined as one of the vocal coaches. In this season, online voting was also offered for the first time for fans with Facebook accounts; up to 50 votes may be cast.

Season 10 also saw a return to the process of singers singing 2 songs each on performance nights starting earlier in the season, and 3 songs each starting on Top 3 night.

New rounds

Extra rounds were added in the Hollywood phase of the competition which would narrow the contestants down to sixty potential finalists. Those who made the final sixty were then taken to Las Vegas in an extra round where they were asked to sing songs from The Beatles, and then a further solo round in Los Angeles. It was originally planned that 20 contestants would be left by the end of the Hollywood rounds, however, 24 contestants were chosen instead for the semifinal, and they would perform in two groups of twelve in a semi-final sudden death round where ten finalists " five girls and five boys " would be voted in by the viewers. The judges were given three wild card picks, making a total of thirteen finalists.

Nigel Lythgoe had previously suggested significant format changes that would replace the following semifinal, with contestants having "to make the best music video, to promote themselves, and to work with a band and dancers for an awards show-style performance." However, the plans were shelved. Despite previous reports that Idol producers had axed the weekly music theme, the themes remained.

Partnership with Universal Music

At the end of season nine, Sony Music Entertainment's affiliation to Idol also ended. The partnership was superseded by a new deal with Universal Music Group, meaning that the winner would now be signed to Interscope Records. Interscope's sister labels, A&M Records and Geffen Records, would also be involved in promoting and distributing the albums of the show's finalists. Chairman of the Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group, Jimmy Iovine, worked directly with contestants this season as the in-house mentor. Additionally, a team of Universal Music-associated producers and songwriters, such as Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Timbaland and Alex da Kid, also worked alongside the contestants to help them take on original arrangement and material. Some suggested changes, such as allowing the finalists to release music while the season is still in progress rather than waiting to record an album, were not implemented, although music were released somewhat earlier than previous seasons.

Regional auditions

The judges were Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, and Randy Jackson.

This is the first season in which the contestant age minimum was reduced to 15 years old. The maximum age however still remained 28.

Auditions were held in the following cities:

Episode air date	Audition city	First audition date	Audition venue	Callback audition date	Callback venue	Golden tickets
January 19, 2011	East Rutherford, New Jersey	August 3, 2010	Izod Center	September 28"30, 2010	Liberty House Restaurant	51
January 20, 2011	New Orleans, Louisiana	July 26, 2010	New Orleans Arena	October 17"18, 2010	Hilton Riverside Hotel	37
January 26, 2011	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	July 21, 2010	Bradley Center	October 2"3, 2010	Milwaukee Art Museum	53
January 27, 2011	Nashville, Tennessee	July 17, 2010	Bridgestone Arena	October 25"26, 2010	Ryman Auditorium	561
February 2, 2011	Austin, Texas	August 11, 2010	Frank Erwin Center	October 8"9, 2010	Barton Creek Resort & Spa	50
February 3, 2011	Los Angeles, California	September 22, 2010	The Forum	November 3"4, 2010	AT&T Center	301
February 9, 2011	San Francisco, California	August 19, 2010	AT&T Park	November 9"10, 2010	Westin St. Francis	471
Total Tickets to Hollywood						327

Note 1: Actual number not announced on the show but this number is based on the number of names listed on americanidol.com website and may not be the actual total.

In addition to the above cities, for the first time contestants were allowed to audition online via Myspace / Facebook / Twitter. To audition, they were required to upload a 40-second audition clip of them singing a pre-approved song. The internet auditioners, including Karen Rodriguez, were called back to Los Angeles to audition in front of the judges.

Hollywood week

The Hollywood week phase of the competition was held in the Pasadena Civic Center. There were a record-number 327 contestants in the first round, which lasted over two days, exceeding season 2's record of 234. The contestants emerged in groups of ten and each performed individually a cappella. After the whole group had finished their performances, those who failed were cut immediately. 168 advanced to the next round, where the contestants performed in groups; out of the 168, only 100 advanced to the next round. In the next round, the contestants performed solo, accompanied by a band or an instrument. The contestants were then separated into four rooms, with two of the four rooms containing eliminated contestants and the other two containing contestants who made it into the next round. Only 61 of the 100 remaining advanced.

This year, due to the large number of contestants, two more rounds were added. The 61 remaining contestants proceeded to Las Vegas where they performed songs from The Beatles as duos and trios in the Love theatre at The Mirage for this newly added 'Las Vegas' round. After that, 41 advanced to the final "Sing For Your Life" round back in Los Angeles. In that round, each contestant performed a song of their own choosing at Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose aircraft hangar. The Top 24 were then selected from the remaining 41 for the semifinals. This episode was notable for the emotional breakdown of judge Jennifer Lopez after telling contestant Chris Medina that he had been eliminated.

Semi-finalists

The twenty-four semi-finalists were revealed in two stages. The first five were revealed on February 23, 2011, and the remaining 19 were revealed on the following night's episode. The following are semi-finalists who failed to reach the finals.

Females Contestant Age at time of show Date of Birth Hometown Audition Location Kendra Chantelle 22 September 27, 1988 Loudon, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee Lauren Turner 24 May 8, 1986 Covington, Louisiana New Orleans, Louisiana Ta-Tynisa Wilson 20 June 19, 1990 Aurora, Illinois Milwaukee, Wisconsin Rachel Zevita 23 October 20, 1987 New York City Jersey City, New Jersey Julie Zorrilla 20 November 10, 1990 Bogotá, Colombia San Francisco, California

Males Contestant Age at time of show Date of Birth Hometown Audition Location Jovany Barreto 23 September 3, 1987 Harvey, Louisiana New Orleans, Louisiana Jordan Dorsey 21 April 23, 1989 Laplace, Louisiana New Orleans, Louisiana Clint Jun Gamboa 26 June 9, 1984 Long Beach, California San Francisco, California Tim Halperin 23 May 27, 1987 Fort Worth, Texas Los Angeles, California Brett Loewenstern 17 December 13, 1993 Boca Raton, Florida New Orleans, Louisiana Robbie Rosen 17 December 27, 1993 Merrick, New York Jersey City, New Jersey

Semi-finals

The semi-final round began on Tuesday, March 1, 2011. This year, the producers used a new format. Below are the two semi-final groups (males and females) with contestants listed in their performance order. The top five males and top five females, along with the three wild card choices by the judges, advanced to the finals. There were twenty-four semifinalists, twelve females and males. The males started the semifinal round, and the females continued on following night's episode, the contestants perform songs of their choice (there was no particular theme).

Males

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Clint Jun Gamboa	"Superstition" (Stevie Wonder)	Eliminated
2	Jovany Barreto	"I'll Be" (Edwin McCain)	Wild Card
3	Jordan Dorsey	"OMG" (Usher)	Eliminated
4	Tim Halperin	"Streetcorner Symphony" (Rob Thomas)	Eliminated
5	Brett Loewenstern	"Light My Fire" (The Doors)	Eliminated
6	James Durbin	"You've Got Another Thing Comin'" (Judas Priest)	Advanced
7	Robbie Rosen	"Angel" (Sarah McLachlan)	Wild Card
8	Scotty McCreery	"Letters from Home" (John Michael Montgomery)	Advanced
9	Stefano Langone	"Just the Way You Are" (Bruno Mars)	Wild Card
10	Paul McDonald	"Maggie May" (Rod Stewart)	Advanced
11	Jacob Lusk	"A House Is Not a Home" (Brook Benton)	Advanced
12	Casey Abrams	"I Put a Spell on You" (Screamin' Jay Hawkins)	Advanced

Females

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Ta-Tynisa Wilson	"Only Girl (In the World)" (Rihanna)	Eliminated
2	Naima Adedapo	"Summertime" (Abbie Mitchell)	Wild Card
3	Kendra Chantelle	"Impossible" (Christina Aguilera)	Wild Card
4	Rachel Zevita	"Criminal" (Fiona Apple)	Eliminated
5	Karen Rodriguez	"Hero" (Mariah Carey)	Advanced
6	Lauren Turner	"Seven Day Fool" (Etta James)	Eliminated
7	Ashthon Jones	"Love All Over Me" (Monica)	Wild Card
8	Julie Zorrilla	"Breakaway" (Kelly Clarkson)	Eliminated
9	Haley Reinhart	"Fallin'" (Alicia Keys)	Advanced
10	Thia Megia	"Out Here on My Own" (Irene Cara)	Advanced
11	Lauren Alaina	"Turn On the Radio" (Reba McEntire)	Advanced
12	Pia Toscano	"I'll Stand by You" (The Pretenders)	Advanced

Wild Card round

Following those ten singers advancing on Thursday, March 3, six of the remaining 14 semi-finalists were selected by the judges to compete in the Wild Card round. The Wild Card round immediately began, following the announcement of the ten finalists. Following another performance by each Wild Card contender, the judges then selected three contestants to advance to the final group of 13.

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Ashthon Jones	"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Jennifer Holliday)	Advanced
2	Stefano Langone	"I Need You Now" (Smokie Norful)	Advanced
3	Kendra Chantelle	"Georgia on My Mind" (Ray Charles)	Eliminated
4	Jovany Barreto	"Angel" (Jon Secada)	Eliminated
5	Naima Adedapo	"For All We Know" (Hal Kemp)	Advanced
6	Robbie Rosen	"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Elton John)	Eliminated

Finalists

• Scotty McCreery (born October 9, 1993) is from Garner, North Carolina and was 17 years old at the time of the show. He auditioned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Josh Turner's "Your Man" and Travis Tritt's "Put Some Drive In Your Country". He reprised "Your Man" in the Hollywood rounds but forgot the words to Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance". He also performed "Get Ready" with the group "The Guaps" and became involved in the drama when Clint Jun Gamboa ousted young Jacee Badeaux from their group. For his final solo he performed Josh Turner's "Long Black Train". McCreery was announced as the winner on May 25, 2011, and was signed to 19/Interscope/Mercury Nashville. His debut album, Clear as Day, was released on October 4, 2011.

• Lauren Alaina (born November 8, 1994) is from Rossville, Georgia and 16 years old at the time of the show. She auditioned in Nashville, Tennessee with Faith Hill's "Like We Never Loved At All" and Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" which she also reprised for the Hollywood rounds. She also performed "Unchained Melody" twice, once for the first solo in the Hollywoods round and again for the final solo. She also performed Soul Brothers Six's "Some Kind of Wonderful" in a girl group which was notable for getting Steven Tyler to sit on the chair while they performed around him. She performed "Hello, Goodbye" for the Las Vegas' Beatles round with Scotty McCreery and Denise Jackson. Alaina was announced as the runner-up on May 25, 2011. She was signed to 19/Interscope/Mercury Nashville, and her debut album, Wildflower, was released on October 11, 2011.

• Haley Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is from Wheeling, Illinois and 20 years old at the time of the show. She originally auditioned in Chicago in season 9 and did not advanced to the Hollywood round. She auditioned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with The Beatles' "Oh! Darling". She performed Corinne Bailey Rae's "Breathless" in the first solo round. In the group round she forgot her words of the song but still made it through, and in the Hollywood rounds she performed Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child". In the Las Vegas group round, she performed The Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road" with Naima Adedapo and Jacob Lusk. For her final solo she performed The Shirelles' song "Baby It's You". Reinhart was eliminated on May 19, 2011 and came in 3rd place. Reinhart was signed to Interscope after the show. Her first single, "Free", was released on March 20, 2012, and her debut album, Listen Up!, was released on May 22, 2012.

• James Durbin (born January 6, 1989) is from Santa Cruz, California and 22 years old at the time of the show. He originally auditioned in season 8 and was not selected. He auditioned in San Francisco, California with Muddy Waters's "You Shook Me" and Aerosmith's "Dream On". He performed The Beatles' "Oh! Darling" for his solo in the Hollywood round, Queen's "Somebody to Love" with the group "Deep Vees" in the group round and Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" for his final solo. He was the lead singer with a band The Hollywood Scars prior to Idol. He has Tourette and Asperger's syndrome. Durbin was eliminated on May 12, 2011 and came in 4th place. He was signed to Wind-up Records in with an album, Memories of a Beautiful Disaster released on November 21, 2011.

• Jacob Lusk (born June 23, 1987) is from Compton, California and 23 years old at the time of the show. He auditioned in Los Angeles, California. Randy Jackson considered his performance of Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" during the Hollywood rounds the best ever seen on Idol. He also performed The Temptations' "Get Ready" with Naima Adedapo in the group "Ebony, Ivory, and Every", and Leon Russell's "A Song for You" for his final solo. Lusk was eliminated on May 5, 2011 and came in 5th place.

• Casey Abrams (born February 12, 1991 in Austin, Texas) is from Idyllwild, California and 20 years old at the time of show. He auditioned in Austin, Texas with Ray Charles' "I Don't Need No Doctor". He impressed the judges with his performance of "Georgia on My Mind" in Hollywood week. He also performed Ella Fitzgerald's "Lullaby of Birdland", The Temptations' "Get Ready" with the group "Night Owls" in the Hollywood rounds, "A Hard Day's Night" with Chris Medina in the Las Vegas's Beatles round, and Kansas Joe McCoy's "Why Don't You Do Right?" for his final solo. He played the double bass and melodica on the show. He suffers from ulcerative colitis which resulted in him missing the Top 13 result show. He got the one judges' save of the season on the Top 11 show. Abrams was eliminated on April 28, 2011 and came in 6th place. Abrams was signed to Concord Music Group after the show.

• Stefano Langone (born February 27, 1989) is from Kent, Washington and 22 years old at the time of the show. He auditioned in San Francisco, California with Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". He performed Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke" in the Hollywood week, "Get Back" for the Las Vegas round with James Durbin, and his own composition "Come Home" for his final solo. He survived a near-fatal car accident in 2009 being hit by a drunk driver. Langone was chosen by the judges as one of the Wild Cards to join the Top 13 finalists. Langone was eliminated on April 21, 2011 and came in 7th place. Langone was signed to Hollywood Records after the show. He released his debut single "I'm on a Roll" featuring New Boyz and Rock Mafia on April 24, 2012.

• Paul McDonald (born August 29, 1984) is from Huntsville, Alabama and 26 years old at the time of the show. He auditioned in Nashville, Tennessee with Rod Stewart's "Maggie May". Prior to Idol, he was the lead singer of the band Hightide Blues formed in 2005 and renamed The Grand Magnolias in 2010. He performed Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" and his own composition "American Dreams" for his final solo. McDonald was eliminated on April 14, 2011 and came in 8th place.

• Pia Toscano (born October 14, 1988) is from Howard Beach, New York and 22 years old at the time of the show. She had auditioned for Idol four times before and made it through Hollywood in season 6 and did not continue further. She auditioned in Jersey City, New Jersey, and was a make-up artist. She sang the national anthem at a Mets game. Pia Toscano and Karen Rodriguez get together to duet The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" on Las Vegas, they also went to New York's LaGuardia Arts School together. She also performed Bruno Mars's "Grenade" for the group round in Hollywood and Alicia Keys's "Doesn't Mean Anything" for her final solo. Toscano was eliminated on April 7, 2011 and came in 9th place. Toscano was signed to Interscope after the show, releasing her debut single "This Time" on July 11, 2011. Pia has auditioned 5 times.

• Naima Adedapo (born October 5, 1984 in Maywood, Illinois) is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and 26 years old at the time of the show. She auditioned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Donny Hathaway's version of "For All We Know". She was doing janitorial duties at the Summerfest in Milwaukee before she auditioned on Idol. She performed Beatles' The Long and Winding Road together with Jacob Lusk and Haley Reinhart during the Las Vegas round, and Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On" for her final solo. Adedapo was chosen by the judges to join the competition during the Wild Card round. Adedapo was eliminated on March 31, 2011. She came in 10th or 11th place with Thia Megia.

• Thia Megia (born January 30, 1995) is from Mountain House, San Joaquin County, California and 16 years old at the time of the show. She auditioned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Adele's "Chasing Pavements" and she turned 16 at the time of the show. Before her stint on American Idol, she previously competed on season 4 of America's Got Talent, making it to the quarterfinals. She also participated in the YouTube edition of "We Are the World" along with 56 other YouTube artists, including American Idol season 11 runner-up Jessica Sanchez. She performed "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" in the Hollywood rounds, "Here Comes the Sun" for the Las Vegas round with Melinda Ademi, and Secret Garden's "You Raise Me Up" for her final solo. At 16 years and 1-month, she was the youngest contestant to reach the finals. Megia was eliminated on March 31, 2011. She came in a joint 10th/11thplace with Naima Adedapo, and was the first 11th placer to go on tour, without a withdrawal of another contestant.

• Karen Rodriguez (born March 22, 1989 in Miami, Florida) is from New York City and 21 years old at the time of show. She turned 22 years old soon after she got voted off. She was one of the Myspace auditioners and then auditioned in front of the judges in Los Angeles, California with Whitney Houston's "You Give Good Love". She performed Jennifer Lopez's "If You Had My Love", Bruno Mars's "Just the Way You Are" with Jovany Baretto in the group "Spanglish" for the Hollywood rounds, and Selena's "No me queda más" in the final round. She had previously appeared in the fifth season of a Puerto Rican talent show Objetivo Fama. Rodriguez was eliminated on March 17, 2011 and came in 12th place.

• Ashthon Jones (born February 27, 1986) is from Goodlettsville, Tennessee and 24 years old when she auditioned and turned 25 at the time of show. She auditioned in Nashville, Tennessee. She sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls, Blu Cantrell's Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) with the group "The Hits" in the Hollywood rounds and Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" for her final solo. Jones was chosen by the judges as one of the Wild Card finalists. Jones was eliminated on March 10, 2011 and came in 13th place.

Finals

This is the first season in which there are 12 weeks of the finals instead of 11 and the 2nd season to have 13 finalists, instead of 12 as in the previous seasons, with one of the 13 finalists eliminated each week. In Season 8 there were 13 finalists but 2 were eliminated in the first week, the final rounds thereby only lasted 11 weeks. This is the third season in which a Wild Card contestant, Ashthon Jones, was eliminated in the first round of the finals, with the other seasons being season three (Leah LaBelle), season eight (Jasmine Murray), and season eleven (Jeremy Rosado). The top 13 performance show was pre-recorded, but the subsequent performance shows of the finals were broadcast live. Season 7 winner David Cook recorded the Simple Minds song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" as the send-off song played when a contestant is eliminated.

Top 13 " Their Personal Idols

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Personal Idol	Result
1	Lauren Alaina	"Any Man of Mine" (Shania Twain)	Shania Twain	Safe
2	Casey Abrams	"With a Little Help from My Friends" (The Beatles)	Joe Cocker	Safe
3	Ashthon Jones	"When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (Diana Ross)	Diana Ross	Eliminated
4	Paul McDonald	"Come Pick Me Up" (Ryan Adams)	Ryan Adams	Safe
5	Pia Toscano	"All by Myself" (Eric Carmen)	Celine Dion	Safe
6	James Durbin	"Maybe I'm Amazed" (Paul McCartney)	Paul McCartney	Safe
7	Haley Reinhart	"Blue" (LeAnn Rimes)	LeAnn Rimes	Bottom 3
8	Jacob Lusk	"I Believe I Can Fly" (R. Kelly)	R. Kelly	Safe
9	Thia Megia	"Smile" (Charlie Chaplin)	Michael Jackson	Safe
10	Stefano Langone	"Lately" (Stevie Wonder)	Stevie Wonder	Safe
11	Karen Rodriguez	"I Could Fall in Love" (Selena)	Selena	Bottom 3
12	Scotty McCreery	"The River" (Garth Brooks)	Garth Brooks	Safe
13	Naima Adedapo	"Umbrella" (Rihanna)	Rihanna	Safe

• Group performance: "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" / "Rock with You" / "Black or White" / "Man in the Mirror" (Michael Jackson)

Top 12 " Year They Were Born

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Year	Result
1	Naima Adedapo	"What's Love Got to Do with It" (Tina Turner)	1984	Bottom 3
2	Paul McDonald	"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" (Elton John)	1984	Safe
3	Thia Megia	"Colors of the Wind" (Vanessa Williams)	1995	Safe
4	James Durbin	"I'll Be There for You" (Bon Jovi)	1989	Safe
5	Haley Reinhart	"I'm Your Baby Tonight" (Whitney Houston)	1990	Bottom 3
6	Stefano Langone	"If You Don't Know Me by Now" (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)	1989	Safe
7	Pia Toscano	"Where Do Broken Hearts Go" (Whitney Houston)	1988	Safe
8	Scotty McCreery	"Can I Trust You with My Heart" (Travis Tritt)	1993	Safe
9	Karen Rodriguez	"Love Will Lead You Back" (Taylor Dayne)	1989	Eliminated
10	Casey Abrams	"Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana)	1991	Safe
11	Lauren Alaina	"I'm the Only One" (Melissa Etheridge)	1994	Safe
12	Jacob Lusk	"Alone" (i-TEN)	1987	Safe

• Group performance: "Born to Be Wild" (Steppenwolf) / "Born This Way" (Lady Gaga)

Top 11 (first week) " Motown

Unmentioned mentor: Marc Anthony

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Casey Abrams	"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (Marvin Gaye)	Saved
2	Thia Megia	"(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" (Martha and the Vandellas)	Bottom 3
3	Jacob Lusk	"You're All I Need to Get By" (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)	Safe
4	Lauren Alaina	"You Keep Me Hangin' On" (The Supremes)	Safe
5	Stefano Langone	"Hello" (Lionel Richie)	Bottom 3
6	Haley Reinhart	"You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (The Miracles)	Safe
7	Scotty McCreery	"For Once in My Life" (Jean DuShon)	Safe
8	Pia Toscano	"All in Love Is Fair" (Stevie Wonder)	Safe
9	Paul McDonald	"The Tracks of My Tears" (The Miracles)	Safe
10	Naima Adedapo	"Dancing in the Street" (Martha and the Vandellas)	Safe
11	James Durbin	"Living for the City" (Stevie Wonder)	Safe

• Group performance: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)
• Stevie Wonder with group: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours", "Happy Birthday" (to Steven Tyler)

Top 11 (second week) " Elton John

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	Scotty McCreery	"Country Comfort"	Safe
2	Naima Adedapo	"I'm Still Standing"	Eliminated
3	Paul McDonald	"Rocket Man"	Bottom 3
4	Pia Toscano	"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"	Safe
5	Stefano Langone	"Tiny Dancer"	Safe
6	Lauren Alaina	"Candle in the Wind"	Safe
7	James Durbin	"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"	Safe
8	Thia Megia	"Daniel"	Eliminated
9	Casey Abrams	"Your Song"	Safe
10	Jacob Lusk	"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"	Safe
11	Haley Reinhart	"Bennie and the Jets"	Safe

Group performances:

• Lauren Alaina & Scotty McCreery: "I Told You So" (Randy Travis)
• Naima Adedapo & Jacob Lusk: "Solid" (Ashford & Simpson)
• Thia Megia, Haley Reinhart & Pia Toscano: "Teenage Dream" (Katy Perry)
• Casey Abrams, James Durbin, Stefano Langone & Paul McDonald: "Band on the Run" (Wings)

Top 9 " Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Mentors: will.i.am & Russell Brand

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Jacob Lusk	"Man in the Mirror" (Michael Jackson)	Bottom 3
2	Haley Reinhart	"Piece of My Heart" (Erma Franklin)	Safe
3	Casey Abrams	"Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" (Creedence Clearwater Revival)	Safe
4	Lauren Alaina	"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Aretha Franklin)	Safe
5	James Durbin	"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (The Beatles)	Safe
6	Scotty McCreery	"That's All Right" (Arthur Crudup)	Safe
7	Pia Toscano	"River Deep " Mountain High" (Ike & Tina Turner)	Eliminated
8	Stefano Langone	"When a Man Loves a Woman" (Percy Sledge)	Bottom 3
9	Paul McDonald	"Folsom Prison Blues" (Johnny Cash)	Safe

• Group performance: "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (Joan Jett) / "The Letter" (The Box Tops) / "Sweet Home Alabama" (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Top 8 " Songs from the Movies

Mentors: will.i.am & Rob Reiner

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Featured Movie	Result
1	Paul McDonald	"Old Time Rock and Roll" (Bob Seger)	Risky Business	Eliminated
2	Lauren Alaina	"The Climb" (Miley Cyrus)	Hannah Montana: The Movie	Safe
3	Stefano Langone	"End of the Road" (Boyz II Men)	Boomerang	Bottom 3
4	Scotty McCreery	"I Cross My Heart" (George Strait)	Pure Country	Safe
5	Casey Abrams	"Nature Boy" (Nat King Cole)	The Boy with Green Hair	Safe
6	Haley Reinhart	"Call Me" (Blondie)	American Gigolo	Bottom 3
7	Jacob Lusk	"Bridge over Troubled Water" (Simon & Garfunkel)	The Pursuit of Happyness	Safe
8	James Durbin	"Heavy Metal" (Sammy Hagar)	Heavy Metal	Safe

Group performances:

• Lauren Alaina & Scotty McCreery: "American Honey" (Lady Antebellum)
• Casey Abrams & Haley Reinhart: "Moanin'" (Bobby Timmons)
• James Durbin, Stefano Langone, Jacob Lusk & Paul McDonald: "The Sound of Silence" / "Mrs. Robinson" (Simon & Garfunkel)

Top 7 " Songs from the 21st century

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Scotty McCreery	"Swingin'" (John Anderson)	Safe
2	James Durbin	"Uprising" (Muse)	Safe
3	Haley Reinhart	"Rolling in the Deep" (Adele)	Bottom 3
4	Jacob Lusk	"Dance with My Father" (Luther Vandross)	Bottom 3
5	Casey Abrams	"Harder to Breathe" (Maroon 5)	Safe
6	Stefano Langone	"Closer" (Ne-Yo)	Eliminated
7	Lauren Alaina	"Born to Fly" (Sara Evans)	Safe

Group performance on performance night:

• Naima Adedapo, Ashthon Jones, Paul McDonald, Thia Megia, Karen Rodriguez & Pia Toscano: "So What" (Pink)

Group performances on results night:

• Lauren Alaina, Stefano Langone, Jacob Lusk & Haley Reinhart: "Hey Soul Sister" (Train)
• Casey Abrams, James Durbin & Scotty McCreery: "Viva la Vida" (Coldplay)

Top 6 " Carole King

Mentor: Babyface

Each contestant sang one solo and one duet with a fellow contestant.

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist when applicable)	Result
1	Jacob Lusk	"Oh No Not My Baby" (Maxine Brown)	Safe
2	Lauren Alaina	"Where You Lead"	Safe
3	Casey Abrams & Haley Reinhart	"I Feel the Earth Move"	N/A
4	Scotty McCreery	"You've Got a Friend"	Safe
5	James Durbin	"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (The Shirelles)	Safe
6	Lauren Alaina & Scotty McCreery	"Up on the Roof" (The Drifters)	N/A
7	Casey Abrams	"That Old Sweet Roll (Hi-De-Ho)" (The City)	Eliminated
8	Haley Reinhart	"Beautiful"	Safe
9	James Durbin & Jacob Lusk	"I'm into Something Good" (Earl-Jean)	N/A

• Group performance: "It Might As Well Rain Until September" (Carole King) / "Take Good Care of My Baby" (Bobby Vee) / "One Fine Day" (The Chiffons) / "Go Away Little Girl" (Steve Lawrence) / "It's Too Late" (Carole King)

On results night, no "bottom three" was announced. Ryan Seacrest stated early in the show that voting results would be announced in "random order". After Haley, James, and Lauren were announced as safe, Jacob, Casey, and Scotty were the last three remaining. Ryan then repeated "Tonight the results are in random order" before announcing that Casey was eliminated. Ryan later confirmed that Jacob and Scotty were not necessarily among the bottom three vote-getters that week. Ryan also revealed Top 5 results night that Scotty had never been in the bottom 2.

Top 5 " Songs from Now & Then

The Top 5 contenders covered two songs apiece: one current (new millennium) and one from the 1960s.

Mentor: Sheryl Crow

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	James Durbin	"Closer to the Edge" (30 Seconds to Mars)	Safe
2	Jacob Lusk	"No Air" (Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown)	Eliminated
3	Lauren Alaina	"Flat on the Floor" (Katrina Elam)	Bottom 2
4	Scotty McCreery	"Gone" (Montgomery Gentry)	Safe
5	Haley Reinhart	"You and I" (Lady Gaga)	Safe
6	James Durbin	"Without You" (Badfinger)	Safe
7	Jacob Lusk	"Love Hurts" (The Everly Brothers)	Eliminated
8	Lauren Alaina	"Unchained Melody" (Todd Duncan)	Bottom 2
9	Scotty McCreery	"Always on My Mind" (Brenda Lee)	Safe
10	Haley Reinhart	"The House of the Rising Sun" (Traditional)	Safe

• Group performance: "Happy Together" (The Turtles)

Top 4 " Songs That Inspire / Leiber & Stoller Songbook

Mentor: Lady Gaga

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	James Durbin	"Don't Stop Believin'" (Journey)	Eliminated
2	Haley Reinhart	"Earth Song" (Michael Jackson)	Safe
3	Scotty McCreery	"Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" (Alan Jackson)	Safe
4	Lauren Alaina	"Anyway" (Martina McBride)	Safe
5	Haley Reinhart	"I (Who Have Nothing)" (Ben E. King)	Safe
6	Scotty McCreery	"Young Blood" (The Coasters)	Safe
7	Lauren Alaina	"Trouble" (Elvis Presley)	Safe
8	James Durbin	"Love Potion No. 9" (The Clovers)	Eliminated

Group performances:

• James Durbin & Scotty McCreery: "Start a Band" (Brad Paisley & Keith Urban)
• Lauren Alaina & Haley Reinhart: "Gunpowder & Lead" (Miranda Lambert)

Top 3 " Contestant's Choice / Jimmy Iovine's Choice / Judges' Choice

Mentor: Beyoncé

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Chosen By	Result
1	Scotty McCreery	"Amazed" (Lonestar)	Self	Safe
2	Lauren Alaina	"Wild One" (Zaca Creek)	Self	Safe
3	Haley Reinhart	"What Is and What Should Never Be" (Led Zeppelin)	Self	Eliminated
4	Scotty McCreery	"Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not" (Thompson Square)	Iovine	Safe
5	Lauren Alaina	"If I Die Young" (The Band Perry)	Iovine	Safe
6	Haley Reinhart	"Rhiannon" (Fleetwood Mac)	Iovine	Eliminated
7	Scotty McCreery	"She Believes in Me" (Kenny Rogers)	Judges	Safe
8	Lauren Alaina	"I Hope You Dance" (Lee Ann Womack)	Judges	Safe
9	Haley Reinhart	"You Oughta Know" (Alanis Morissette)	Judges	Eliminated

Top 2 " Favorite Performance / Personal Idol's Choice / Winner's Single

Lauren Alaina damaged her vocal cords while rehearsing for the finale, but she was treated and cleared to continue in the competition.

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