#97 Haley Reinhart

Next on my American Idol finalist countdown is my number 97 favorite American Idol finalist Haley Reinhart. She finished in third place on American Idol season 10. She is currently signed to Interscope Records.

Haley Reinhart was born to Patti Miller-Reinhart and Harry Reinhart in Wheeling, Illinois, on September 9, 1990. Both of her parents are musicians. She started singing at the age of 8, and she performed with her parents' band, called Midnight, which covers rock songs from the 1960s and 1970s. She attended Mark Twain Elementary School, O.W. Holmes Middle School, and Wheeling High School. After graduating from high school in 2009, Reinhart attended Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, in 2009 and 2010, where she studied music. She performed at the 2009 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland with her high school's jazz band and at Harper College with the college's Jazz Ensemble and the Jazz Lab. Her younger sister is named Angela.

Reinhart originally auditioned for American Idol season 9 in Chicago, Illinois, but she did not advance to the Hollywood Round. However, with the song "Oh! Darling" by The Beatles, she returned for American Idol season 10 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and this time she advanced to the Hollywood Round.

In the second Hollywood Round, her groupmates included fellow finalist Paul McDonald, whom I have ranked at number 105 on my American Idol finalist chart. Later in the third Hollywood Round, she performed "God Bless the Child" by Billie Holiday, impressing the judges. In the Vegas Round, she performed The Beatles' song "The Long and Winding Road" with fellow finalists Naima Adedapo and my season 10 favorite Jacob Lusk, who also performed "God Bless the Child" in the same round as Reinhart, impressing the judges more strongly than Reinhart did. During the Sing for Your Life Round, she performed "Baby It's You" by The Shirelles. During semifinal sudden death week, she performed "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys and was voted into the top 13, but I think Ta-Tynisa Wilson should have been voted through instead.

Reinhart received notable musician and celebrity support from British rocker and songwriter Robert Plant, pop star Lady Gaga, British songwriter Jimmy Page, American Idol season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert, actor Tom Hanks, American Idol season 6 finalists Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle, American Idol season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson, American Idol season 8 winner Kris Allen, and talk show host and former American Idol judge Ellen DeGeneres and others who picked Reinhart as their season 10 favorite. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page contacted Idol producers and offered Reinhart the opportunity to sing a Led Zeppelin song for top 3 week.

She is the only contestant from season 10 that has over one million views on four of her Youtube performance videos: her renditions of "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele, "Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John, and "I (Who Have Nothing)" by Ben E. King. Every video reached the million views in less than a month. Her version of "Rolling in the Deep" reached over 2.3 million views before it was taken down, and her version of "The House of the Rising Sun" received one million views as of July 13, 2011.

She's also the only contestant this season that received 3 standing ovations from the judges, 3 weeks in a row, after performing The Animals' version of the folk song "The House of the Rising Sun", "I (Who Have Nothing)" by Ben E. King, and "What Is and What Should Never Be" by Led Zeppelin. Her duet of "Moanin" with fellow finalist Casey Abrams also received standing ovation from the judges, and was considered one of the best duets, and performances, of the season. She was eliminated at third place, leaving a finale between Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina. After her stint on American Idol, on June 2, 2011, Reinhart was interviewed on Live With Regis and Kelly. She performed "House of The Rising Sun" on the show.

Reinhart is currently being managed by Red Light Management, alongside fellow season 10 finalists Pia Toscano and James Durbin. She participated in the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011 alongside the rest of the top 11. On July 26, 2011, it was confirmed that Reinhart was signed to Interscope Records. Reinhart will release her debut album through Interscope Records. Reinhart stated that "she will not work on her album until after the Idols Live Tour 2011 is finished, this way, she can truly focus on her material and make the album her best work possible."

On August 16, 2011, Reinhart was an artist featured in the Huffington Post's article entitled "15 New, Young Artists On The Rise".

Next up on my American Idol finalist countdown is my number 96 American Idol finalist. She is the daughter of a Hispanic father and a Caucasian mother. She lost to Fantasia Barrino in the finale of American Idol season 3 by a 2% margin. She was a junior at Shiloh High School in Snellville, Georgia. She was known for her ability to perform songs with ease at such a young age. On September 12, 2011 it was announced that she will join the cast of the popular CBS soap The Young and The Restless.