Haley exits 'Idol' but vows, 'See ya later'
In the end, it had to be the fall.
Haley Reinhart's stumble could have garnered her the sympathy vote launching her into the “American Idol” finale. Instead it was her literal downfall.
When host Ryan Seacrest dimmed the lights and announced the results on Thursday, Haley was left out. That leaves two country singers, Lauren Alaina, of Rossville, Ga., and Scotty McCreery, of Garner, N.C., battling it out for the “Idol” crown next week.
No one appeared more shocked than Reinhart. For a second, it seemed she didn't fully grasp what just happened. Then she fixed her hair and faced the cameras.
“I rocked it out,” said the Wheeling resident before her final song. “I had a blast and this is only the beginning.”
Up until Thursday, Reinhart, 20, was the season's comeback kid. She was among the bottom three vote-getters four times in the past few months, which happened to Alaina only once and never to McCreery. Some weeks the judges criticized Reinhart's singing and song choice, while giving the other contestants nothing but praise. It enraged bloggers and “Idol” critics, and often made Reinhart mad enough to blow everyone away her next time up. The storyline continued on Wednesday when Reinhart tumbled up some stairs only to pop back up, but still it interrupted one of the night's great performances.
And people were watching. About 95 million Idol votes were cast this week, 15 million more than for last year's final three, and the third-highest in “Idol” history.
On Thursday, viewers saw footage of the hometown visits, which included McCreery jumping on his old bed and Alaina comforting tornado victims. For Reinhart, there were lots of shots of Wheeling High School and a close-up of Wheeling Village President Judy Abruscato proclaiming May 14 as “Haley Rainhart Day,” as a nod to last Saturday's dreary weather. In between stops, Reinhart urged her mountain of a security guard not to cry — but eventually they both did.
The party ended at Arlington Park, where almost 30,000 people attended Reinhart's miniconcert featuring a Reinhart family rendition of “Sweet Home Chicago.” Her dad, Harry, played guitar, Haley's mom, Patti, took on the tambourine and sister Angie played bass.
“It was the best gig of our lives,” said Harry Reinhart at a Wheeling village board meeting on Monday. “I wish we could've done two or three more songs.”
Now instead of a viewing party next week, Wheeling officials simply congratulated Reinhart on a great “Idol” ride.
“We have all enjoyed getting to know Haley better these past weeks, and although we are obviously disappointed with tonight's results, I am confident that this will come to be seen as only a temporary setback in her soon-to-be-flourishing career,” Abruscato said on Thursday night. “For the village of Wheeling, Haley Reinhart will always be our American Idol.”
Following “Idol” tradition, Reinhart closed Thursday's show, refusing to be cowed. She went out big, with a blistering rendition of Elton John's “Bennie and the Jets,” which, in an earlier show, provided of her “moments” of the season. She growled at just the right parts and wove through the crowd like they came only to watch her perform. After the song, she wrapped her arms around her dad, who had joined his daughter onstage the night before for a scorching performance of Led Zeppelin's “What is and What Should Never Be.”
“Yeah baby, you'll be seeing me,” Reinhart told the camera before the credits rolled. “This ain't the end of this shindig. See ya later.”
She's right — she'll be back up on the “Idol” stage Wednesday as part of the show's two-hour finale.