Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Top 10 get things "Smokey" on Motown Week of American Idol! Who will be sent home?

Hello American Idol Fanatics! Welcome to the annual tradition known as American Idol's Motown Week. Sometimes it sizzles, sometimes it falls flat. For the most part, the American Idol Season 8 crew were pretty darn good. What songs were sung on American Idol tonight? Well, you're going to have to keep reading to find out! Whether you were choked up at Lil realizing the importance of the sacred grounds she was standing on (eye roll folks..one big eye roll!), flabbergasted at Paula Abdul's version of the Bjork Swan Grammy Gear or her ambiguous "under the table"/"under the skirt" antics, there was something for everyone on the show! Personally, I am just waiting for Ryan Seacrest to fall down those stairs!

So Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson showed the folks (sans Michael Sarver) around Detroit Rock City (or just Hitsville!), and Smokey joined our top 10 finalists in Hollywood for some hardcore mentoring. Danny Danny Danny, be careful what you say on the cameras!

Time to go to work America. Here are the performances, critiques and my bottom 3/elimination picks for the American Idol Top 10 - Motown Week!

  1. Matt Giraud - "Let's Get it On" by Marvin Gaye - Really nothing to say except WOW! Matt is improving each week. I was glad he was able to phase off of the Piano for some face time with the crowd this week. Although, the dancing? He may have been better off without that! But that voice? Those piano skills! I would agree with Simon Cowell that the man is not a dark horse, but a strong contender for the crown. In fact, by the end of this post I will state 4 contestants who have a legitimate shot at the title at this point. Everyone else should go home! Oh and Matty? There is nothing wrong with baggy pants! Maybe you should look into some!
  2. Kris Allen - "How Sweet It Is" by Marvin Gaye - Smokey Robinson was floored by Kris's skills with the guitar and singing when they did their acoustic practice. I guess he didn't think about the fact that Kris's Guitar playing would be drowned out by the rest of the band on performance night! Because come on! That guitar is there for show and to make Kris feel comfortable on stage. Was the thing even plugged in? Yikes. That being said, Kris did sing the song very well. He is not one of my favorite contestants this year and I don't think he has a legitimate shot at winning, but compared to some others that need to start packing their bags, he is doing okay. The high note at the end of the performance was quite nice. And anyone that can get Paula Abdul to bring out the "INFECTIOUS PERSONALITY" comment we know and love so much, well then it's worth keeping him around another week!
  3. Scott MacIntyre - "You Can't Hurry Love" by Diana Ross and the Supremes - Anyone going to get offended if I call Scott "The Pink Pants'er"? I mean come on, at least he made fun of himself! But those pants, yikes! The boys had some pants issues this week. So we found out Scott is single and waiting. You heard him ladies! Anyway, I hate to say this stuff about Scott, but eh...it really was cheesy! Simon stole my line (I can prove it! It was in my notes I promise!). And I really can't tell the difference between this song and the songs the last couple of weeks. It seems like Scott only has one bag of tricks. He's really good at it, but any way you slice it...it isn't going to win him American Idol. The problem this week is, I think the act is starting to wear on America. Hey, if I am running out of things to say about him, we know we're getting close!
  4. Megan Joy - "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder - Well, Megan kept her name the same for 2 weeks straight. She also kept that disease on her arm fully displayed! I was half expecting someone to come out and bring her a piƱa colada during that performance. This contestant and her popularity with the voters just befuddles me. Her voice is ridiculous sounding, the tattoo kills any type of attractiveness that she might have had and the nervous tick dancing that she does? It is the trifecta that causes train wrecks people! And if that didn't do it, the off-pitch high note must have drew people away from their quick draw dialing hands! The Corkster needs to go home!
  5. Anoop Desai - "Ooh Baby Baby" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - First thing I thought when Anoop decided to do the song? Great tune, but 2 slow songs in a row for Anoop? Not the best of ideas. He still sang it great though. I, like Simon, was getting kinda bored out there. And maybe it WAS because it seemed like Anoop wasn't into it himself. Anoop needs to get back into his fast paced, crowd pumping antics. But now that he's shown everyone he can sing, he needs to bring that skill into the fold. We'll see if he can do it! But, Anoop is not one of my 4 potential winners!
  6. Michael Sarver - "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by Temptations - So Sarver was still fighting the bug going around the American Idol mansion this past week. He didn't make the trip to Detroit to see "Lil's Awakening." Smokey gave Michael some solid advice on how to sing the Temptations' classic tune. Personally, I thought Michael did a decent job with it. He sold it to me on the begging. He does have some cheese built into all of his performance mannerisms. But I can't help but love that song! Simon nailed it though. Michael is not going to win this competition. Simon went further saying how he needed to diversify a bit. But come on, I think we have seen all that Michael can bring to the table. Is this the end of the road for him? Well, I'm just not sure yet!
  7. Lil Rounds - "Heat Wave" made famous by Martha and the Vandellas - Ahhh Lil. Here we go again. You would have thought that this would be Lil's week to shine, wouldn't you? I think she was still a little shaken up from her trip to Detroit, realizing that SHE should have been around in the 60's to create these timeless classics. Anyway, she tried to recreate the scene again on the American Idol stage and it turned into a screaming match. Who could sing louder? Her or the backup singers? I even caught a bit of a Lakithsha-esque slip of the lisp from Lil. She had a heat wave "burnin inthide!!!" I know I know, I promised to get away from my speech impediment knocks. But come on, how hard is it to put your teeth together and HISS out your S's????!!!! (Allison, I'm talking to you too!) I really thought the judges were going to praise the performance anyway, even though I heard a bunch of "off-pitch" notes when she went to the high ones. Surprisingly only Paula Abdul was brainwashed by the Lil. Everyone else thought Lil picked the wrong song. And when Simon mentioned "Heard it Through the Grapevine" would have been a better song to try out, I could kinda see what he meant. There isn't much vocally you can do with that song. But come on, Lil isn't going home yet. We all know that! So it's best just to move on!
  8. Adam Lambert - "Tracks of my Tears" by Smokey Robinson - Well, I have been hard on Adam the past couple weeks. I think it's because I knew that he had better performances in him. But I don't think I expected anything like he did with his reinvention of "Tracks of my Tears." What a wonderful song and amazingly sung by Adam. No crazy screeching. Still using his falsetto voice though to nail some crazy notes beautifully. I liked the toned down, acoustic Adam. We even saw the return of the Box Drum! And, I think the Elvis comparisons have gone a little bit to Adam's head. How about the hairdo??? The dude looked like the second coming! If it wasn't for that high pitch singing voice though! With a performance like that, definitely a contender to win this year. Except Kara? "One of the Best Performances of the Night" = 8 words, not 6!
  9. Danny Gokey - "Get Ready" by Smokey Robinson - Well, call this ingenious editing on the Idol producers' part. It was fortunate that the show was running out of time, because the judges didn't get a chance to criticize Danny for ignoring Smokey's advice. But hey, it got a good laugh out of me. Danny kept saying in the pre-performance clip how he was going to listen to Smokey and sing the background vocal part of the song, and once we cut to the live performance? He's got those crazy background singers there! Maybe Danny got overruled by the band? Maybe he made the call himself? Either way, he is the one that ended up looking bad! I am sure Ryan will have a "very special interview" with Danny during the results show. Outside of that, tough following Adam's performance but he still did a good job. Danny is an entertainer and he did just that. Maybe the twirling of the arms choreographed with the background singers was a bit much, but it was fun! He still is a contender to win the whole thing, and that makes 3!
  10. Allison Iraheta - "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" by the Temptations - Seriously? This girl is 16? I still am befuddled. Normally, I cannot support them. But this girl knows her music. And if she doesn't, she is playing it off really well! I mean....WOA! I haven't been a fan of Kara's critiques since we've gone live, but she was onto something when she suggested that Allison is channeling this energy from the beyond! Her voice is fantastic, her stage presence is amazing, her emotionally charged performances are inspiring especially for her age. There's not much else I can say except, yep...she's having problems with her S's too! I think it is my biggest pet peeve on this show. I just can't get past anyone that does it. Again, though, I'm going to say it's her braces! Allison is another one to watch out for. Yeah, she was bottom 3 last week, but I think she is going to skyrocket after this performance.

Okay, so we've done our performance review, time to figure out who is going home.

Definitely Safe: Danny, Adam, Allison, Matt
Most Likely Safe: Kris, Lil, Anoop
In Dangerous Territory: Michael, Megan, Scott

Bottom 3 Picks: Michael Sarver, Megan Joy, Scott MacIntyre Bonus Bottom 3 Pick: Lil Rounds
Elimination Pick: Megan Joy - Yep, it's just because I can't stand you Megan!

Really, I think it's a toss-up between those 3. After a pseudo favorite like Alexis is sent packing the week before, things tend to level out in the voting process. So I think we will lose one of the dead weighters this week. Because I picked Megan, I'm sure it will be one of the other 2. But, when there is someone I feel has no business being there, I get stuck in a rut and want to pick them every week! So there you have it America!

Okay, Results Show will bring back Smokey Robinson for a duet with Josh Stone (interesting...), American Idol season 2 winner Ruben Studdard will rejoin us for a performance, and Stevie Wonder will be there for a Medley of Motown! Doesn't sound like there is much room for a Group performance by our top 10! Oh, I'm sure they will make time. My guess? "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." Come on, we already saw them practicing it!

Okay kids, that's all I have. Hope you enjoyed my ramblings as always and I'll see you after the results!

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love it when you talk about Megan, because you sum up my feelings about her perfectly. Unfortunately, I think she'll be back next week. I predict Scott's going home this time.

Adam really is in a different league than the rest of them. His performance this week was the best of the season so far (in my opinion).

Is it safe to say Lil is the weakest token diva ever on this show?

Mike V. said...

It's not hard to sum up Megan! She is just a disaster. But I'm glad you enjoy it! lol Yeah, it very well could be Scott. I really think it's a toss-up between those 3. Dial Idol is picking sarver...so between the 3 of us, we have it covered! lol

Agree on Adam's performance being the best of the season. No doubt.

Ahhh Token Diva, not a bad way to sum her up! lol I still like POWER VOCALISTS! lol And totally agree, she had been a bunch of talk, but as finally found her place as a 2nd fiddle to the better singers this year!