American Idol: Season 15 - Top 3 Perform

Hello American Idol friends!  We're back for our final non-finale week of recapping!  Next week we're getting "treated" (there is a time when I'd say tortured, but it's the last week!) with 3 episodes starting on Tuesday with a retrospective.  Wednesday will be the performances of the final 2 (and I'd assume the elimination of the 3rd).  Then Thursday the all out 2 hour bash of a series finale with tons of cameos of Idol's past.  Should be a good time!  But, we have things to do this week before we get there.  And as per usual, my schedule is hectic so I'll be bringing my thoughts to you in real time!  Here we go:

Recap

Performance 1 - Hometown Songs

1. MacKenzie Bourg -  "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen - Ahhh memories of Jason Castro!  Perfect song for MacKenzie though.  He did his thing with it.  Like really really good.  I don't really remember Castro's version except that the song saw a huge sales spike after he sang it.  But MacKenzie was amazing!  It'll be a shame if he goes home based on my prediction.  
2. Dalton Rapattoni - "Calling You" by Blue October - Good performance as always.  Vocal still week.  I know I've heard that song before, but forget if he did the same type of version or mixed it up.  Keith said he "daltonized it" I guess he mixed it up! 
3. Trent Harmon - "Tennessee Whiskey" by Chris Stapleton (and many others) - When Chris had his big coming out party at the CMA Awards last November, I became a quick fan.  And Chris Stapleton's version of Tennessee Whisky is fabulous.  Trent is pretty much covering it as Chris did, but he still sounds amazing on it.  Hysterical that his family surprised him out there.  
4. La'Porsha Renae - "Glory" by Common and John Legend - She's still a front runner if she makes it out of any surprise eliminations this week.  Great performance. 

Performance 2 - Scott B's song choices

1. Dalton - "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen - Okay, so before he started I said, "he's going to do this slow and use his puppy dog eyes."  He did for the first half, then he punked out!  It was pretty good actually.  Still not the greatest vocal, but he certainly commands that stage.  Pretty funny that JLo said she would've been his Courteney Cox.   The judges speak to the way he interpret the lyrics.  It's a really fair point to bring up.  It definitely keeps him relevant in the competition. 
2. La'Porsha - "Stay With Me" by Lorraine Ellison - There's just not much to say about her performances without repeating myself.  The only thing that has be thinking she may NOT win is because the other 2 are showing growth in the competition, but she's kind of already there.  I didn't pick up on her not feeling the lyrics too much.  
3. Trent - "Drink You Away" by Justin Timberlake - Justin really won me over at the CMAs last November when he sang this song with Chris Stapleton.  No, seriously.  Timberlake and Chris performed both of Trent's performances tonight back to back at the CMAs.  Surely, they did that intentionally, right??  Nice family song about drinking your ex lover away.  He still rocked it out though and man his voice is crazy good! 

MVP of the night - the guy in Keith Urban's band playing the iPads,

Performance 3 - Judges' Choices

1. Dalton - "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears - It was okay.  Probably his weakest performance of the night.  And it's performances like this that make me think it's really a 2 person fight at this point.  If it wasn't for his popularity...I'd say this is definitely for his week.  I agree with JLo and Keith that the key was too low.   
2. La'Porsha - "Hello" by Adele - I don't know. Something seemed a bit off about that one too.  It was fine, but I think I prefer Adele's rendition!  Her commentary about the difference between this song and "Stay With Me" was a nice and humorous touch for her though.  Doesn't hurt that she had her baby during that whole performance.  Maybe the 3rd cutest child in the world.  (I live with the other 2 obviously!)  
3. Trent - "Waiting Game" by Parson James - Had chills on those high notes! This guy is on a roll the past couple weeks.  He's peaking at the right time. 

Eliminations

Top 4 Elimination

My Bottom 2 (elimination pick in bold): MacKenzie, La'Porsha

Actual Bottom 2: Mackenzie, La'Porsha

Eliminated - MacKenzie Bourg - It was a process of elimination thing.  It was MacKenzie's time but at least he went out with a great performance in round 1!  Farewell MacKenzie! 

Top 3 Elimination Pick:

Dalton Rapattoni - I like the guy, and I'm sure he has a lot of supporters.  This competition is pretty tight between these 3 I have to imagine.  But with La'Porsha's front runner status and the amazing run Trent has been on I just can't see the final 2 going any other way.  Well, I can see it, but I don't think it's going to happen.  We shall see! 

Whew, the tears almost caught up with me with all of this "last time on this stage" business they were discussing tonight.  They move to the big theater next week for the finale, so things are getting real folks.  The end is near!  By Idol blogging days are FINALLY almost over after 11 years of trying to quit!  Even though I've longed for this day, I knew it would be bittersweet.  Well, I'll save my goodbyes for next week.  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week!