Haley Reinhart leaves American Idol with a bang

Haley is joined by her father Harry Reinhart during "What Is and What Should Never Be."

With season 10 contestants cheering for her, Haley lets loose on her farewell performance of "Bennie and the Jets" on last Thursday's results show.

Wheeling's Haley Reinhart, a top 3 contestant on American Idol, was sent home last week. Haley brought a mix of jazz, soul, and rock to her songs, and had some of my favorite moments of the season, including "Bennie and the Jets," her duet on "Moanin'" with Casey Abrams, "You and I," "House of the Rising Sun," "I Who Have Nothing" and "What Is and What Should Never Be." Fans of Haley (and I'm one of them) hoped she would continue her rise from underdog to the next American Idol, but the vote for teenage country singers Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina pushed them through to this week's finale.

I thought Haley got better with each week's performances. She owns the stage and has an amazing range. Plus she makes interesting song choices and is not afraid to take risks. After she was eliminated from the competition on Thursday's show she ripped into "Bennie and the Jets" for her farewell performance, ending up in the audience next to the rest of the top 13.

Here's how Haley did the previous two weeks:

Wednesday, May 18: Top Three perform three songs each
The first round of songs where those chosen by the contestants. Haley sang "What Is and What Should Never Be" by Led Zeppelin. According to AI vocal coach Debra Byrd, Haley is only the second contestant since Adam Lambert in season 8 to be cleared to sing a Zeppelin song. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant gave permission for her to perform the song after they received a clip of her singing. Haley's performance of "What Is and What Should Never Be" was my favorite performance of the night and one of Haley's best. Her father Harry Reinhart joined her on stage on electric guitar. Haley had fun with the song and didn't let a fall on the stairs get to her. I love how she started the song very tender, as if she were caressing the notes, and then brought out the rock side to her voice.

The Reinharts rock out.

Haley gives the performance of the season, makes Top 4 on American Idol

Entertainment Weekly has already added Haley Reinhart's performance of "House of the Rising Sun" to their 30 All-Time Best Performances on American Idol.

Last Wednesday's episode of American Idol featured the theme "Now and Then," which had the Top 5 singing a current hit and then a song from the past. Sheryl Crow acted as guest mentor for the singers while Jimmy Iovine appeared to have a strong influence in their song choices. For Wheeling native Haley Reinhart's current song, Iovine picked the unreleased "You and I" by Lady Gaga, which she's performed on her Monster Ball Tour and is on her upcoming album Born This Way. Haley was unsure about singing a lesser known song but decided to take the risk after speaking to Lady Gaga herself, who gave Haley her blessing. "You and I" was a great fit for Haley's bluesy growl and I thought she sang it like it was her song. Iovine noted that on this performance Haley "shows you where she could go" in the music industry, and I agree. Judges Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson were not supportive of the decision to sing an unknown song. But in my opinion, just because songs are released and available to listeners, that doesn't mean everyone knows the words and connects with them. I wasn't familiar with "Gone," performed by Scotty McCreery, and to be honest I did not know several of the metal songs tackled by James throughout the season. I love when a contestant sings a more obscure song and makes me say, "Where has that song been hiding?" Judge Steven Tyler shared this same sentiment, calling the ability to make an unknown song work on stage "a beautiful thing."

Haley's "in it to win it."

For her second song Haley sang "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals. Sheryl Crow suggested Haley start the song a cappella, which I thought was great advice. Intimate moments with just the singer and her voice on stage are moments I wait for each season on Idol. Haley's interpretation of the song made me feel I was hearing the lyrics for the first time, and hands down, her performance is now my favorite from any singer this season. She took her time with the opening of the song, lingering on the notes and holding the audience's attention in the palm of her hand. When the band joined her, she moved around the stage with confidence and belted out notes while not over-singing. She ended the performance with her fist up into the air, as if saying, "Take that!" back to the judges or any naysayers.


On both her performances last week Haley proved she is a star and willing to take risks. Thinking back to her earlier performances of "Fallin" and "I'm Your Baby Tonight," you can tell how much Haley has matured on stage. Tonight the Top 4 will sing songs from the Lieber and Stoller songbook and they will be mentored by Lady Gaga. The Top 3 contestants will be revealed on Thursday's results show. If Haley makes the Top 3, Wheeling will throw her a hometown welcome and celebration concert just like Mount Prospect held last year for eventual winner Lee DeWyze. According to the Daily Herald article "Wheeling ready to host new 'Idol' party," the events will take place this Saturday, with a parade ending at Wheeling Village Hall and a concert at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights. I know I will be voting for Haley tonight!

Haley Reinhart on American Idol: Will a Chicago native win American Idol two years in a row?

Haley Reinhart, of Wheeling, has made it to the top 5 on this season of American Idol, and is one of only two females remaining in the competition. Haley has arguably been this season's underdog, both because of the audience preferring to vote male contestants through while ignoring awesome female singers (Pia Toscano!) and because it seems judges Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, and Randy Jackson are often harsher on her than the other contestants, whose flat or off-key notes they ignore.

During the first few weeks of competition Haley received criticism for "not knowing who she is an artist," as she tackled songs by Alicia Keys, LeAnn Rimes, and Whitney Houston, singing them with her distinctive growl. I'm not sure what the judges expect on a show that has the contestants participating in theme weeks. I love the fact that Haley is versatile enough to sing R&B, soul, country, jazz, and rock. I think she brought those diverse influences to her performance of "Benny and the Jets" during Elton John week, which is one of my favorites from any singer this season. She started the song slow with only piano accompaniment and once she hit the chorus let loose with some very rockin' riffs.

"Moanin'": Scat-Off between Haley and Casey! (Haley won.)

Apart from her singing, I admire Haley's fighting attitude on AI. When Haley was the only contestant to receive negative comments during Songs from the Movies week for her performance of Blondie's "Call Me," she came back the next night for the results show and not only redeemed herself but blew everyone away on the duet "Moanin'" with fellow contestant Casey Abrams. During that performance you could hear the softer jazzy side of her voice; she sounded like she stepped straight out of a 1940s jazz club or something. And, of course, her scatting was fun and just seemed effortless for her. Another highlight, even though she may have struggled with a few notes, was her cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" for Songs of the 21st Century week. She definitely had guts to cover such a current song, and even though it's impossible to outsing Adele, I again enjoyed the jazzy throwback sound to Haley's voice, and thought she would sound great on the radio singing songs in that same style.

I think Haley deserves to make it to the Top 3, but that may be difficult with the large followings for contestants Scotty McCreery, James Durbin, and Lauren Alaina. Right now I think both Scotty and James are locks for two of the spots, which leaves the third spot to either Haley, Lauren, or Jacob Lusk, who I am guessing is the next to go. With Mount Prospect native Lee DeWyze winning AI last year, I think it would be amazing for another Chicago-area native to win the show this year. Go Haley!