March 30, 2011: Axe Must Fall on 2 'American Idol' Contestants on 3/31 After Casey Abrams' Save

Fox, Tuesday, March 30, 2011, 8 PM (ET) After last week's "save" of Casey Abrams on "American Idol," two performers are going to have to be cut this week on Wednesday night, March 31, 2011. Based on tonight's performances, who should they be?

I'll give you my picks for the performers who really weren't quite on their game tonight, and then we'll talk: worst of the night, for me, were Stefano Langone, Paul McDonald and Thia Magia.

I can hear the audience groaning right now that they "like" Paul. I also "like" Paul. But if you talk about Paul's singing this night, it was almost not singing. Last note died aborning. His pitch was not perfect and, aside from his demonstrated ease in front of an audience, it was not Paul's finest hour. Some might criticize Naima's reggae-influenced version of "I'm Still Standing" (two judges did) but I think the song sums up the girl, as did Steven Tyler in his remarks.

To concentrate on the pluses (not the minuses) who did the best jobs tonight?

For me, I really enjoyed James Durbin's over-the-top set-your-piano on fire rendition of "Saturday Night Is for Fighting" and,--- although I'm getting tired of non-stop ballads,--- Pia Tuscano was her usual great self. (Sadly, she promises "Mountain High, River Deep' if she remains on the show, and that is hardly "up tempo."). Steven Tyler said, "You nailed it. That's just about as good as it gets" and he was right.

All other performers this night struck me as contestants who should be "safe" and I'd particularly like to praise Haley Reinhart for her bluesy rendition of "Bennie and the Jets." Her bluesy grown and perched-upon-the-piano entrance was great. As Randy said, "Amazing song. Best performance of the night right there." Steven Tyler declared, "You sing sexy." J-Lo said, "It all came together. Amazing." I just hope that it isn't too late for Haley, as she has fought to remain out of the bottom three for the past few weeks.

The "really should be safe" group, for me, includes James Durbin, Jacob Lusk, Scotty McReery, Pia Toscano and Lauren Alaina, plus Casey Abrams (who was almost out of there last week). I'm not feeling totally comfortable that Casey can win America's hearts (and votes) as he has the judges', but I hope to see him live to fight another day, and, for that matter, I'd like to continue to see Paul McDonald out there smiling, but, hopefully, actually singing a note when he performs. (At the end, he had faded away to nothing.)

While Randy said that Stefano had done "a very nice job" and Steven Tyler said, "You nailed it. I thought it was really good," I had another "meh" moment. I'd be kicking Stefano and Thia off, were I the judges.

Why Thia?

Thia sang a very respectable version of "Daniel" which J-Lo called "very beautiful" and Randy said was "very safe." That's the key point: Thia keeps playing it very safe. She is very young and it sometimes shows.Randy has called other performances by Thia "sleepy" (read boring), and that was on a night when she wore a gorgeous and stately gold floor-length gown and looked much more mature than usual. I liked Thia's performance, but it wasn't as good as some of the others.

Scotty McReery is also young (19, I believe), but, as the judges noted, "You have seasoned so fast on this show." Scotty can turn any song into a country song, and does so each week. Motown? Listen to Scotty make it country. I doubt if anyone had ever heard of an Elton John song entitled "Country Comfort," but Scotty found it and performed it well. His tip of the hat to Grandma is lovable and, as Jennifer Lopez said, "You have amazing instincts. It was a good performance." Better than some other weeks for Scotty, for sure.

Jacob Lusk poured emotion into "Sorry Has to Be the Saddest Word" while surrounded by a sea of dry ice foam and, Steven Tyler said, "Once again, you slayed me." Jennifer Lopez credited "an amazing arrangement" by Tricky Stewart and Randy praised Jacob's restraint. As Jennifer pointed out what makes Jacob a contender, "That last note: you don't see that every day." I like Jacob, and I see a bright future for him on Broadway.

However, the intense drama from Jacob is as unremitting as the incessant string of ballads from Pia. And, I fear, as the reggae-influenced songs from Naima. I applaud the versatility of a Casey, who can do "Smells Like Teen Spirit" one day and be the incarnation of Joe Cocker the next.

Casey's song on Tuesday's show was "Your Song" and Steven Tyler praised him for being "different every time," which is what I would like to praise, as well. Randy called this night's performance, so nice, so tender. Well done" and said, last week's save of Casey was "one of the greatest saves we've ever had on this show."

Arguably it was THE greatest save in Idol history and one of "American Idol's" most dramatic programs, and I've been watching since the "save" appeared. Michael Lynche was the save on April 7 of last year: no comparison.

Stay tuned to tomorrow night's show to see which 2 contestants are eliminated.