"Don't Waste the Pretty" is the third single by

Allison Iraheta Allison Iraheta (; born April 27, 1992) is an American singing, singer who was the fourth place finalist on the American Idol (season 8), eighth season of ''American Idol''. Prior to ''Idol'', Iraheta won the Telemundo competition ''Quinceañera: ...

of her debut album '' Just Like You''. It was written by Michael Dennis Smith,

Stefanie Ridel Stefanie Jill Ridel (born May 17, 1973) is an American singer and actress. She was a member of the girl group Wild Orchid, and was a co-host of the television show '' Great Pretenders''. Early life Stefanie Jill Ridel was born in Hollywood, Ca ...

, Miriam Nervo and Olivia Nervo and was produced by

Howard Benson Howard Michael Benson (born July 20, 1956) is an American record producer from Havertown, Pennsylvania. He has been nominated for two Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2007 and 2008, among two wins and 16 total nominati ...

. The single version of the song, featuring

Orianthi Orianthi Penny Panagaris (born 22 January 1985), known mononymously as Orianthi, is an Australian guitarist, singer and songwriter. Her 2009 debut single " According to You" peaked at No. 3 in Japan, No. 8 in Australia and No. 17 in the US; her ...

on guitar, made its online debut on EW.com and Zap2it.com on June 2, 2010 and was released digitally on June 8, 2010. It was released to radio stations on June 22, 2010.

Promotion

Iraheta performed the original version of "Don't Waste the Pretty" on ''

Lopez Tonight ''Lopez Tonight'' is an American late-night television talk show that was hosted by the comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican-American to host a late-ni ...

'' on Wednesday, May 26, 2010, and the acoustic version of the song on Z100 New York on June 22, 2010.http://www.z100.com/pages/chat/?uri=channels/379041 She performed the track with

and

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after ...

on the Glam Nation Tour in 2010. Iraheta and Orianthi performed the song on the Thursday, July 29, 2010 results episode of ''So You Think You Can Dance''.

Reception

Reception of the new version of "Don't Waste the Pretty" has been mainly positive. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

s Michael Slezak concluded that "Don't Waste the Pretty" finds Iraheta "at her gravelly, soulful best, paired with a killer hook and an empowering message that certainly can’t hurt a generation of kids who’ll be spending their summers singing along to “Can’t Be Tamed” and “Rude Boy.” ''Billboard'' writes that "'Don't Waste the Pretty' deserves to become for Iraheta what "Whataya Want From Me" was for Adam Lambert—a breakthrough record for an 'Idol' alum with outsize talent."

AOL Radio AOL Radio was an online radio streaming service available exclusively in the United States. Originally powered by XM Satellite Radio and later CBS Radio and Slacker, the platform offered users access to more than 200 free digital stations. H ...

writer Matthew Wilkening writes that "Orianthi's soloing adds dramatic tension to the country-tinged, mid-tempo pop song as Iraheta advises a friend not to take verbal abuse from her partner" Rodney Ho from the ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'' calls Iraheta "a really talented singer" and hopes "that radio embraces this song, which is pretty catchy," adding that "top 40 program directors should give it a spin."

Zap2it Zap2it was a website and digital media company that provided television program listings information for areas of the United States and Canada. Founded in 2000 by Tribune Media Services, the site has been owned by Nexstar Media Group since 201 ...

Blogger Andrea Reiher praised the new version of the song, writing "We already loved this song, but it's even better with Orianthi's sick guitar licks in the accompaniment."

Music video

There is no official music video for "Don't Waste the Pretty". However, Jive did release a video titled "The Journey to Don't Waste the Pretty". This video is backstage footage of Iraheta, her band, and Orianthi. It is intercut with scenes of Iraheta performing the song on stage at different gigs (which is in sync with the track).

Sales

Other versions

The original version of "Don't Waste the Pretty" appears on Iraheta's debut album ''Just Like You'' as the fourth track and does not feature Orianthi. Iraheta has also performed the song acoustically on ''Entertainment Weeklys online show ''Realite'',

Yahoo! Music Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008. Pro ...

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

and Z100 New York. She released the acoustic version of the song for download on June 8, 2010.

References

{{authority control Allison Iraheta songs Orianthi songs 2010 singles Songs written by Olivia Nervo Songs written by Miriam Nervo Songs written by Stefanie Ridel Song recordings produced by Howard Benson 2010 songs Jive Records singles 19 Recordings singles American pop punk songs American pop rock songs