American Idol Review: Haley Brings the House Down

Harper College student and Wheeling native Haley Reinhart returned to the American Idol stage Wednesday along with the other four remaining contestants.

Idol contestants sang two songs – one current and one classic.

Reinhart's second song, "The House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals was called the performance of the night by judge Randy Jackson.

"Every week somebody's been come out slaying it like they really want to win this," Jackson said. "The award tonight for the best performance of the night goes to Haley."

Reinhart, 20, has been in the bottom three at least four times, the most of the five remaining contestants. Last week, the results were presented in "random" order and the bottom three were not revealed.

Earlier in the night Reinhart sang an unreleased song by Lady Gaga called "You and I" at the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, a music executive who counsels contestants on the show.

"Even though it was a cool idea to do an unreleased Lady Gaga track, I'm just not sure that was the best advice Jimmy gave you," said judge Jennifer Lopez, adding that it was important at this point in the competition to sing songs the audience could connect with.

"It's so risky to come out and do something that no one's familiar with," Jackson said.

You can vote for Reinhart online here or by dialing 1-866-436-5705 or 1-866-436-5710. Find out the results and who is eliminated Thursday on Fox at 7 p.m.

The judges loved James Durbin's performance of "Closer to the Edge" by 30 Seconds to Mars. However, one of the highlights of the night was Durbin's emotional rendition of "Without You" by Harry Nilsson.

"This competition is yours to lose," Jackson proclaimed.

The judges also had glowing reactions for both of Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery's performances.

Jacob Lusk garnered some criticism with his first performance – "No Air," a duet by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown.

"I don't think that's the direction for you, I don't think anybody on this stage should be singing duet songs and trying to sing both parts," Jackson said. "It kind of made the whole thing corny for me."