Lauren Alaina and Haley Reinhart on American Idol

Throughout Season 10 of American Idol, I strongly campaigned for a female winner. I was disappointed when the girls were picked off one by one in the earlier stages of the competition, but nothing enraged me more than when Pia Toscano was eliminated in NINTH PLACE.

Despite the horror of the beginning weeks, there were two female contestants who managed to captivate Idol fans and stick around until the final three - Lauren Alaina and Haley Reinhart. Recently, the ladies were invited back to the Idol stage to sing their original music during the Season 11 results shows. Their dynamic performances of the sassy "Georgia Peaches" and the sultry "Free" proves that FEMALE is the right choice!

Rock And Roll Allows A Kid To Dream

As you know (or will come to know) from reading my blog, I absolutely adore American Idol. My love for the biggest singing competition on Earth began in Season 7, when I was introduced to seven amazing people who changed my life. There is something special about listening to these aspiring musicians' touching stories, hearing their unique voices, and seeing their dreams of performing under the spotlight come true. I'll forever be grateful to this show for introducing me to some of America's most promising talents.

Season 10 ranks up high beside Season 8 (with all due respect to Season 9 - we just didn't get along well) as my third favourite season. 2012 is going to be a big year for the most recent Idol graduates, with Interscope beauties Pia Toscano and Haley Reinhart set to release their debut albums in the Spring. January has already been blossoming with these new videos from my other three favourites from Season 10:




Lauren Alaina - Georgia Peaches
The Country princess kicks the new year off by revealing her fun, flirty side in this music video for her second single, the catchy and sassy "Georgia Peaches". Alaina and her posse (who just so happen to be her real-life best friends!) crash a Southern retro diner for a spontaneous dance party. Who wouldn't enjoy that?



Tim Halperin - You Da One (Rihanna Cover)
One of my favourite semi-finalists (he shares that honour with Season 9's Katelyn Epperly) has a penchant for taking songs from popular pop stars (see his cover for Miley's Party in the USA) and giving them his own singer-songwriter spin. This time around, he turns Rihanna's "You Da One" into a smooth, romantic jam.




Casey Abrams - Signed
 The ever-so-quirky Casey Abrams has a tendency of doing things differently and dramatically, from his selection of songs on Idol (who else would dare to cover 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and 'Nature Boy'?) to his shocking elimination and subsequent save during Top 11. After a whirlwind of a journey on Idol, Casey fans can rest easy knowing that their jazzman has signed by Concord Records, as he sings about in this cute and clever announcement video!


Additional Note: This blog entry's title is a lyric from the song "America" by Ryan Star. Star, who was a contestant on Rock Star and has ties to American Idol Season 7 winner, David Cook (he opened for Cook on his Declaration Tour in 2009), recently released The America EP, which can be downloaded for free HERE.

American Idol's Haley Reinhart Signs with Interscope Records/19 Recordings

American Idol's Haley Reinhart has signed a recording contract! Reinhart joins fellow Idol Pia Toscano on Interscope Records and is the fourth consecutive member of Season 10's diverse Top 11 finalists to secure a deal with 19 Recordings. Winner Scotty McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina are signed with country label Mercury Nashville.

The spirited and sultry songstress finished in third place, wow-ing American Idol audiences with her creative, daring and standing ovation-worthy renditions of Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets", The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun" and Adele's "Rolling in the Deep". Each week, Reinhart showcased her talents in a vast range of genres, including jazz, blues, rock'n' roll, R&B, pop and country. There's no doubt that her debut album will reflect her eclectic and electric musical stylings!

View the official press release from Interscope Records below:

Santa Monica, CA, July 26, 2011 — Interscope Records is pleased to announce that it has signed Season 10 American Idol contestant, Haley Reinhart to a recording contract. Haley is currently on the road with the mega-popular “American Idol Live!” tour, which kicked off July 6th in Salt Lake City, UT, and continues through the summer before concluding on September 10th in Rochester, NY.

“I’ve always dreamed of getting this kind of recognition,” Reinhart says. “I am very thankful to 19 and Interscope for giving me this opportunity to create my own music.”

Twenty year old Wheeling, Illinois native Haley Reinhart auditioned for American Idol in Wisconsin and made it all the way through to third place, finishing behind Lauren Alaina and winner, Scotty McCreery. The sultry singer received an outpour of support after her elimination from notable musicians and celebrities like Lady Gaga, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Adam Lambert, Tom Hanks and tons more, who all picked her as their favorite. In fact, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page reached out to American Idol producers to allow Haley to perform a Led Zeppelin number on the show.

Haley is the only contestant from Season 10 that reached over a million views on three of her performance videos on YouTube. Her version of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” garnered a staggering 2.3 million views in less than a week, followed by Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets” and Ben E. King’s “I (Who Have Nothing)”. Haley also got to showcase her unique, jazzy voice on an adorable duet with music legend, Tony Bennett, as the two performed “Steppin’ Out with My Baby” on the American Idol finale.