Wasn't the working directly with Jimmy and his producers new to Idol this year? Haley has benefited from that.
I was reviewing old reviews by the Houston Chronicle writer that declared "American Idols Live concert showcases the power of the voice as Haley Reinhart steals the show." Someone accused her of being biased and she said look at my earlier reviews. I did. She was not a fan of Haley's early on. She was generally critical and ranked her in the also-rans. But when she reviewed Haley's performance of
Beautiful she had this to say:
Quote:Haley's light bulb moment when Jimmy Iovine explained the significance of emphasizing “get” in the song (which she did) caused me to have my own light bulb moment: Haley’s worked harder to master her performances than perhaps anyone left in the competition.
I don’t always agree with her vocal choices, and I still think she could’ve killed this competition had she taken another year to go through vocal training, but I have to give her credit for commitment to her craft. Her rendition of “Beautiful” wasn’t perfect, but it was punctuated by bravado and conviction, and I respect that she holds nothing back.
You remember what Jimmy said early in the show about hard work? Hopefully she earned his respect as well. An AI vocal coach also said at some point that it bothered Jimmy that people didn't appreciate what a good singer Haley was. Hopefully
hard work + talent + plus Jimmy's backing will result in a Haley debut album she can be proud of that is commercially successful.
Jimmy chose
Rhiannon for Haley to sing and pushed her to do
You and I so I think that might hint at the direction he has in mind.
