VIDEO: Haley Reinhart Falters, Then Rocks 'American Idol'

As things wind down on American Idol, they also heat up. There are only five remaining contestants vying for the spot of this season's Idol, and they're all bringing their A-game. Even Haley Reinhart, who started the finals on a relatively weak note, ending the night a star.

The singers had to deliver two numbers on Wednesday night — one contemporary song and one classic hit. Reinhart chose Lady Gaga's "You and I" for her first ditty, which got lukewarm reviews from the judges, who were concerned that the audience would have trouble relating to an unreleased track. Later on, however, Reinhart made a strong comeback with her cover of "House of the Rising Sun." Even Randy Jackson was brimming over. "You blossomed," he said of Reinhart's performance. Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler agreed. "I can really relate to that and that really sells a song," Tyler said. "You sold everybody tonight."

Not that the other contestants didn't also deliver sturdy performances. Lauren Alaina hit a home run covering Carrie Underwood's "Flat on the Floor," but went out on a weaker note when it came to classic "Unchained Melody." Scotty McCreery rocked the house so hard with Montgomery Gentry's "Gone" that Lopez said she "lost it there for a second, I was so excited."

There were a few near-misses, however. James Durbin laid in on thick by delivering tears while singing Nilsson's "Without You." Tyler was unimpressed, saying that the performance was "pitchy." Finally, Jason Lusk covered Nazareth's "Love Hurts," a performance which evoked a lukewarm "really good" comment from the famously effusive Lopez. Ouch. —KIMBERLY STEELE