Reinhart faces a tough road on 'Idol'

The question is, did Haley Reinhart deliver the magic?

She took on Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" on Wednesday's "American Idol" and the judges liked it. But they didn't love it, so she's got a good chance of ending up in the bottom three again tonight.

"She has to deliver magic when she hits the stage," mentor Jimmy Iovine said during Reinhart's rehearsal. When she doesn't, voters reject her, he said.

Reinhart has some cards stacked against her. She was slotted in the forgettable third spot on Wednesday and took the stage immediately after James Durbin, who blew the judges away with his version of "Uprising" by Muse.

Later in the show, a teary Jacob Lusk dedicated his Luther Vandross song to his deceased father. Casey kissed Jennifer Lopez on the cheek and Steven Tyler cursed.

And somewhere in all that Reinhart took the stage.

Tyler said she started off slow but finished strong. Randy Jackson said she was off pitch in a few places but liked the direction Reinhart is headed.

"It takes a lot of guts to take on a record everyone knows so well," Jennifer Lopez said. "There were moments you brought Haley into it. I thought you really shined."

Reinhart - only one of two females left on the show - has a tough road ahead on "Idol" simply because of her gender. Pia Toscano, the show's front-runner, was booted a few weeks ago, and many believe it's because "Idol" voters simply don't back females.

"Idol" executive producer Ken Warwick acknowledged the problem in a conference call on Wednesday.

He said he knows "young girls and mums" are loading up votes in favor of the boys this year and that things might change next year.

The introduction of Internet balloting is one of the factors that has tilted the voting toward girls voting for boys, Warwick said. Limiting the number of times a viewer can vote is one of a few things he expects will be discussed. Giving the judges a say in the final outcome is another.

None of that will affect Haley's run. The changes will affect next year's "Idol" batch, Warwick said.

"We'll be discussing how we can keep it fair," he said.

Toscano, who Warwick called "incredible," will be singing on "Dancing With the Stars" next week.

"Why shouldn't she?," Warwick said. "It doesn't affect us. She's out of the competition."

One of the seven "Idol" contestants will be voted off the show tonight.