Pia Toscano gets a standing O with a Pretenders tune

Pia Toscano gets tonight’s pimp spot for her version of The Pretenders’ I’ll Stand by You (also covered by Carrie Underwood). Chrissie Hynde’s songs are a lot tougher to sing than they seem, because Chrissie’s phrasing is so off the beat that most other singers sound stilted when they try them.

Pia straightens the song out a little bit but not too much. She also nails the modulation into the last chorus effortlessly, and then she goes for a couple of big ol’ glory notes. It’s a classic old-school Idol performance.

“This is our first standing O of the new season, Idol 10,” Randy notes. “You just put yourself in the top with those amazing performances.”

“After Monday and Tuesday, even a week says WTF,” Steven tells her, cannily avoiding the bleep.

“You were saving that for when it counts,” Jennifer says with a chuckle. “It was out of this world.”

source:content.usatoday.com