'American Idol': Top 12 Tackled Songs from the Year They Were Born with Casey Abrams Taking on Nirvana

Finally we get the first live broadcast of Season 10 on "American Idol" that featured Steven Tyler, instead of Ryan Seacrest, talking about the recent tragedy in Japan. Each of the judges then took turns talking about the iTunes downloads of the recorded songs with proceeds going to the Red Cross for relief efforts. It was quite a somber moment to open the show, but one that needed to be said.

Once again the theme this week was each finalist taking a song from the year they were born. This has been done a number of times in previous seasons. It is always a delight to see these contestants as newborns and toddlers. Before they came onstage there was a nice video package with the parents talking about their child's love and influences of music. Some of them showed very interesting home videos.

The range of years of their births stemmed from 1984 to 1995. One finalist even pushed the envelope to perform a song on Idol never done before by a '90s grunge band. There were some highs and lows on the show due to some contestants fighting the flu, which I can empathize. However, I am highlighting my favorites and not so favorite performances of the Top 12.

The Better Performances

James Durbin - His pre-performance video was quite interesting to say the least. We saw a lot of adorable video footage of James as a youngster. He had a beautiful singing voice even at such a tender age. The funniest part was his mother talking about his dolls, then it cutaway to showing James in his crib while putting a big doll next to him. I always enjoy Durbin coming out on stage, because he's always entertaining. You never know what he is up to.

He took on Bon Jovi's "I'll Be There for You" from 1989, the year of his birth. It wasn't his absolute best, but what I liked about it was his working the crowd and not missing a single beat. He's a complete natural up there. The repartee between Durbin and Tyler was great. He said he didn't choose an Aerosmith song, because he is saving it for the finale and they shook on it.

Pia Toscano - You literally have to give her props (I'm starting to sound like Randy Jackson) for singing songs from the big three divas: Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston and getting rave reviews on "American Idol." As luck would have it Whitney Houston had a hit during the year she was born. Toscano's rendition of "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" was powerful and impressive as always. She is the epitome of consistency. I liked that Pia turned the tempo up. It would be nice to see her work the stage and enjoy herself while performing like James Durbin and Casey Abrams.

Casey Abrams - Like Randy Jackson said he liked his fearlessness and putting "art over commerce." Casey is by far the most aggressive and artistic finalist ever on the show. During the Simon Cowell era Casey would not have made it through the audition stages. Thankfully Idol realized its "Lawrence Welk" days were making the show the butt of all jokes on TV.

Coincidentally Nirvana had a big hit, more like its anthem, when Abrams was born. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the first time it was performed on the show, though it has been covered by other artists since. Former 1950s teen idol Paul Anka actually covered the Nirvana song in a jazz arrangement.

Some are extremely polarized by Casey's rendition, though I liked he played the bass (another first on Idol) while performing it. Jennifer Lopez felt it was too "screamy screechy." If Casey had toned it down he would then be accused of trying to be like Cobain. Personally, I liked the intensity he brought to the song.

The Underwhelmed

Paul McDonald - It was apparent he was suffering from a head cold. His performance was lacking any real excitement. He basically showed up and did his thing. Paul's song was Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues." At the end you could tell he was giving up and a sense of relief all at the same time. However, his shining white teeth will keep him in the competition for a while. Who can resist that?

Thia Megia - Her videos of when she performed as a child were far more entertaining than Thia's rendition of the Vanessa Williams hit "Colors of the Wind" from the animated Disney film "Pocohantas." At least she seemed to know who Vanessa Williams is. Even though she has a lovely voice it is going on three ballads in a row now. If I need a sleeping aid I'll be sure to play her Idol performances.

Haley Reinhart - I almost forgot about her. She has the weirdest singing style I've ever seen on the show. One thing I'm surprised hasn't been pointed out is she talks too much during the judges feedback. It isn't very endearing. What a mess her red lipstick made on her face afterwards. From Alicia Keys to LeAnn Rimes to Whitney Houston's "I'm Your Baby Tonight" song shows an odd range of choices.

Who Goes and Who Stays?

Who cares? More than likely Thia Megia, Haley Reinhart and Karen Rodriguez will probably be in the bottom three with Haley going home. She did not bring anything unique or entertaining to her performance, which made it completely forgettable. The results show is going to feature Season 9 winner, Lee Dewyze, and the Black Eyed Peas. Will the judges use their save? Stay tuned and find out Thursday night (March 17).

SOURCES:

American Idol - Official Site for Videos, Photos and Community, American Idol.com

MTV News, "'American Idol' Recap: Pia, Naima and Scotty Ask A Lot of Questions", MTV.com

Paul Anka - Smells Like Teen Spirit, YouTube