Haley Reinhart sat in for an interview and performed House of the Rising Sun on Live with Regis and Kelly.

Sigh… if she’d only lasted one more week and cracked the finale. As I mentioned before, I haven’t been this enamored by an Idol contestant in the longest time. In fact, her studio recording of Bennie and the Jets is now in my overall top tracks on Last.Fm. That’s quite notable considering that: 1) almost all of the songs in the chart have not changed since I signed up in 2006; and 2) it’s been only two months since I started listening to Haley Reinhart in general and this song in particular.

Now I’ve been a fan of hers since I heard her sing God Bless the Child in Hollywood week but I loved her even more after Bennie and the Jets. And just when I thought her best was behind her, she outdid herself with House of the Rising Sun, which I thought was the performance of the season, bar none.