Intro

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From your first performance to your last, you're simply the best! Thanks for all the great memories, Haley.

Peace & Love,
Your adoring fans

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Number 6: Beeyuuutiful!


Aphrodite called.  She wants her beauty back.

At no. 6 is Haley's rendition of 'Beautiful' from the Carole King song book.  The '70's was a bright and shining era for folk music and singer-songwriters like Carole King, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Jim Croce, Joan Baez, Don McLean and the Carpenters.  Haley said it best: Carole King is a mastermind of songwriting.  Her 1971 release 'Tapestry' is a perfect collection of songs (with no less than four #1 hits) and stands as one of the greatest pop albums of all time.  Before the current crop of piano-playing songstresses such as Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Norah Jones, Regina Spektor and Sara Bareilles, Carole was 'king.'

Not only is Haley a supremely gifted singer and performer, she also has a great ear for interpreting and arranging music.  Although 'Beautiful' wasn't one of the top hits on 'Tapestry,' Haley chose it for its unabashed optimism and because it sounds Beatle-lesque to her.  With a bit of sound advice from Jimmy Iovine, who told her to put a little more kick into 'get up!' as if she's telling a boyfriend or future husband to get off the couch, Haley updated this easy listening classic for the modern audience by upping the tempo of the chorus, making it upbeat with more zest, more zing and more zip (the three z's).  Quite simply, this is a beautiful interpretation of a beautiful song by an extremely beautiful and talented singer, and watching this performance brightens up my day and puts a big smile on my face every time.

Steven said she's every bit as beautiful as this song and that he 'saw God' (so did I!) and JLo acknowledged that she has one of the most beautiful voices in the competition, but Randy said something about not liking the beginning which didn't make a lot of sense.  Whatever!  We have now reached the halfway point of my countdown to no. 1.  The Top 5 Countdown will resume on Wednesday, September 14, but stay tuned next week for my special 'Happy Birthday edition' post in celebration of Haley's upcoming 21st birthday on September 9.  It will go up on Wednesday September 7 so I hope to see you back soon!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Number 7: Piece of My Heart


"Go ahead.  Take another piece of my heart.  I dare you."

Rolling in at no. 7 on my Top 10 list is Haley's tribute to the great Janis Joplin on Rock & Roll Hall of Fame week.  Ever since Haley's Joplin-esque growl was inadvertently unleashed upon an unsuspecting world during her Hollywood Round 3 solo performance, Randy's been pestering her for some Joplin and Haley finally decided to shut him up on Top 9 week.  'Piece of My Heart' was Janis Joplin's biggest hit during her 3-year stint with the psychedelic rock group 'Big Brother and the Holding Company,' peaking at no. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968.

In deference to the '60's great, Haley maintained the style and arrangement of Joplin's version of this song (it was originally written for and sung by Aretha Franklin's sister Erma).  Preserving the nihilistic, angry and defiant tone of the song, Haley channeled that Joplin vibe perfectly.  It was as if Janis Joplin's spirit and essence reached across the gulf of time and touched Haley, imbuing her performance with a soulful and from-the-heart authenticity that is rarely seen in an artist as young as she.  Of course, Haley is no stranger when it comes to singing songs from her parents' generation (I mean c'mon, she sang Jefferson Airplane's 'White Rabbit' at a yacht club once for chrissakes), but that doesn't make it any less remarkable.

Well, well, well big surprise!  Randy loved it.  As a matter of fact, all three judges did.  Haley picked a great song and did it justice, showing the world that she has 'just the right amount of throwback.'  And somewhere up in Rock & Roll Heaven, Janis Joplin smiled down on Haley Reinhart. 

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Number 8: Call Me


Call you? Thought you'd never ask...

Ringing in at  #8 is 'Call Me' from the movie 'American Gigolo.'  When our girl picked this 1980 chart-topper by Debbie Harry as her choice for 'songs of the movies' week, I thought: “Yeah baby!”  I don't know about you, but I just love the glitzy style and flashy excess of the '80's.  Not only did Michael Jackson reign supreme and ‘Hair Metal’ was all the rage (RIP Jani Lane, 'Cherry Pie' was fun listening to), the decade featured some of the best female rockers and girl bands like Heart, The Pretenders, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Patty Smyth & Scandal, Pat Benatar, The Bangles, The Go-Go’s and, of course, Blondie.  Like Madonna's 'Into the Groove' and Olivia Newton-John's 'Physical,' the riff-heavy ‘Call Me’ had clinched its place as one of the greatest nightclub dance hits of the decade.

Dressed to kill in a retro-stylish 'stained glass window' mini-dress and high 'electric' boots (sorry, but I just can't refrain from BATJ references if my life depended on it), Haley gave one of her most entertaining performances in this cover.  As another '80's pop icon, Cyndi Lauper, reminded us in one of her greatest hits, 'girls just wanna have fun.'  And it sure looks like Haley had a blast in this performance grooving with the guitarist, strutting around the stage, doing that sexy hair toss (twice, for effect), and just rocking out a great Blondie classic.  It's also evident that her confidence and swagger have improved by leaps and bounds since Top 24 week (see last week's entry on 'Fallin'), when JLo noted that she was tentative in her stage movements from thinking too hard about where she needed to go next and that she should just try to ‘feel it.'

I am totally at a loss as to how Haley ended up in the Bottom 3 after this performance.  This cover is better than any in recent memory by Fergie, Gwen Stefani or Shirley Manson and really showed her fun-loving and spontaneous side.  For two blissful minutes, Haley took me back to an era I will always fondly remember.  That's it for now.  Have a great week and I'll see you all back next Wednesday for No. 7 in the countdown.  Seacrest, out! 

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Number 9: Fallin'


I would fall in, but definitely not out of love with this.

Slotting in at #9 on my Top 10 list is her underrated cover of Alicia Keys' 'Fallin'' during Top 24 week.  This performance was crucial to her because not one, but 11 of the 24 finalists won't be returning the next week, but Haley was determined to advance and once again proved to everyone what a true survivor she is.  More than anything this performance showed us that Haley's got soul as well as heart.

Even before she hit the first notes, with her head bowed low and eyes closed in intense concentration, I couldn't help but notice how smoking hot this girl is.  Dressed in a tight black mini-dress displaying a killer pair of legs and looking drop-dead gorgeous, this had to be Haley's sexiest performance next to HOTRS.  Proving that she doesn't just get by on looks alone, she then delivered an exquisite, soulful and pitch-perfect rendition of 'Fallin'' with a sultriness that the original version lacked.  Haley held me in rapture from the very beginning to the end of this performance.  By God, just listen to her pitch control when she stretched that 'in' in: "I keep on fallin' innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn and out of love..." at the start.  I absolutely love this performance and I don't exactly consider myself a fan of R&B.

Though Steven and JLo (she was nicer back then) gave her props, Randy tried his best Simon imitation by calling this a 'karaoke' performance.  Randy, you suck.  The only thing 'karaoke' this night is your sorry-ass attempt to sound like Simon Cowell.  Seeya all back next week for no. 8.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Number 10: Blue


"Why can't you be blue over me?"  But we are, Haley, we are.

Starting off at Number 10 in my promised 'Casey Kasem' Top 10 countdown to number one of Haley's Idol performances is this country gem she sang during Top 13 week (Your Personal Idol week).  Her cover of this LeAnn Rimes song (on which Steven did his homework and pointed out that it was originally written for Patsy Cline) is sweet as sweet can be and it meant a lot to Haley as LeAnn inspired her when she was young and 'Blue' was the very first song she performed publicly at a tattoo convention at the age of 10, when she discovered that she could yodel!  So cute.

Wearing a stunning blue evening gown, Haley looked absolutely ravishing during this performance.  Though she sang it beautifully in her melancholic, lilting voice and cast us all under her spell, Randy wasn't impressed and criticized her afterward for 'going all over the place' and not finding her niche.  I guess "The Dawg" loved how Scotty and Lauren sang country tunes every week and didn't dare to try anything different.  Apparently he didn't realize or care that at this point of the competition Haley was showcasing her versatility and eclectic musical influences.

As this will be a regular feature for the next two-and-a-half months or so, come back every Wednesday for the next installment of my countdown to Number 1.  Anyone care to guess the order of my list?  Until next time, Haley fanatics, and 'keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.'

Monday, August 1, 2011

Got Haley?

If you, like me, need to get your daily doctor recommended dose of Haley Reinhart, there is certainly no shortage of videos on YouTube to satisfy your fix.  However, my "one-stop shop" whenever I feel the urge is and has always been repad's 'true HD Haley Reinhart' video library.  From 'Fallin' to the 'Bennie and the Jets' exit song, repad's captured Haley in all her hi-def glory.  He even created three 'samplers' which documented her journey through Idol.

Sure, you can watch all the inferior Haley videos saturating YouTube including those with over one million views over and over like a drone just to pad the view counts, as if you're trying to make up to her for not texting faster than the teenyboppers who made Scotty the season 10 winner and Lauren the runner-up.  Or you can just treat yourself to repad's HD Haley Reinhart performances after a long hard day and enjoy the best video quality and sound you'll find anywhere.

You can find repad's Haley videos by typing 'true HD Haley Reinhart' followed by the name of the performance on YouTube, or simply go to repad's channel by clicking on the link below to access the Haley performance you need:


Later this week, I will start a regular weekly series featuring some of my favorite Haley Idol performances with links to repad's videos that I hope you will enjoy.  Until next time, Haley fanatics.


'60's flower child Haley