Haley Reinhart Is 'The Bomb,' Randy Jackson Says, Downplaying Feud

On last week's "American Idol," the near-constant chucking of Haley Reinhart beneath the bus finally reached its zenith, when, after criticism of her performance of Michael Jackson's "Earth Song," Reinhart finally snapped, getting sassy with judge Randy Jackson.

The whole thing boiled over backstage, too, Reinhart revealed to E! Online. "Yeah, I'm mad ... Everybody else gets good feedback, and they really let me have it," she said. "They don't feel bad for me. Never have, never will."

And while all that acrimony was certainly great for the blogs, it also raised a rather interesting question: Do the "Idol" judges — or, more specifically, Jackson and Jennifer Lopez — have it out for her?

Given the amount of praise they've heaped on her fellow contestants (even when they blew notes or twitched around the stage), while continuing to criticize Reinhart for everything from her song choice to her onstage mannerisms, it's certainly something to ponder. So, when he stopped by to chat with MTV News earlier this week, we decided to ask Jackson point-blank if he has a problem with Reinhart. His equally matter-of-fact response: no way.

"Haley is the bomb. We love her," he said. "What's funny [is] people say, 'Well, you know, 'Idol' judges are all too nice.' It's really not true. So when I — because I've been dubbed as 'the bad guy' this season — when I didn't like the first song she sang last week, people were all over me and J.Lo, like, 'What? You guys are wrong!' It's hard to have an opinion in this world. I don't mind getting booed; I just want a reaction."

While he downplayed the idea of any lingering bad blood between he and Reinhart, Jackson wasn't about to apologize for his criticisms of her, either. And, he argues, if anything, his comments helped save her last week.

"Look, I'm gonna call it as I see it," he explained. "The first song was the wrong song for her. I love Haley; she's so talented, people love her, obviously, because she's in the top three, [but] us bickering and fighting over her last week, it actually saved her ... because people said 'Well, that girl — wait a minute!' It made people pay attention to her."

To that end, he said he'll continue to criticize Reinhart — and any of the remaining top three — because it will only help them develop as artists. If there's anything Reinhart needs, he said, it's development. Though, as their spat last week proved, he certainly loves her fire.

"Scotty [McCreery], he's a throwback country guy; I know who he is. Lauren [Alaina] ... she's a pop-country girl. ... I just don't know what kind of artist Haley is going to be," he said. "She consistently does songs that are just not quite her. She can sing anything, she's so talented, so charismatic, and what I love about her is that she's so passionate. She's got real fire and passion in there."

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