American Idol 8.3 - The Top 10 sing Motown

So sad... while I wasn't that surprised to see Alexis go home last week based on her performance, I think this competition will miss her. I liked her and I don't think she ever quite showed her full potential.

Incidentally, this is the first blog post I'm typing up on my brand-spanking-new HP Pavilion dv7 laptop. If anyone cares. I likes it.

Now, back to the topic at hand...

This week is Motown week on Idol. With Smokey Robinson acting as the guest vocal coach this could be one of the most fun shows of the season. There's certainly a lot of great songs for the idol hopefuls to choose from.

Matt Giraud
Let's Get it On
I've made no secret that Matt is not my favorite singer this year. That said, he is doing a very respectable job with this song. I like that he started at the piano and then got up and used the stage too. He did have a few pitchy moments when popping into falsetto, but overall I didn't find him that annoying... which is high praise of someone who, for reasons I can't explain, just puts my teeth on edge.

Kris Allen
How Sweet It Is
Kris is another one that I don't particularly care for. Unfortunately for him, tonight's performance didn't come across as well as Matt's. There's something irritating and smug about his singing tonight. The judges are fawning all over him, but if that was a record tomorrow, I wouldn't be buying it. Meh. Plus it was a terrible arrangement (bop choo wah).

Scott MacIntyre
You Can't Hurry Love
Ooh... a genuinely different sound and feel of a true classic. Hmmm... I liked the slower start more than I like the up-tempo stuff. He had some awkward pitches in that. His voice is nicer on the slower stuff - he's a little nasal on the faster part. I think Simon might have been a little harsh, but I think he might be right about this performance not exactly being relevant.

Megan Joy
For Once In My Life
Smokey is right about the Jazz/Cabaret sound that Megan has. He gets her. I get her. But she didn't quite nail the song tonight. It was good. It was what we have come to expect from Megan. But her pitch is weird tonight - not exactly bad, but she sounds unsupported in a bunch of places. I think the weird, throaty singing might be coming back to bite her - she may actually be damaging her voice. I'm worried about Megan this week.

Anoop Desai
Ohh, Baby Baby
OK. I'm impressed. Anoop didn't really do much that's unique with this song, but he sounds a lot like Smokey. This is hands-down his best performance of the season so far. And he is now validated in this competition as a legitimate crooner. Well done.

Michael Sarver
Ain't Too Proud to Beg
I want to be very clear about what I'm about to say. Michael needs to GO HOME!!! That was really terrible. I hated everything about it. His pitch was all over the place. He sounded something like a bad Elvis impersonator trying to sing while snockered. Very much not a good performance from a merely mediocre singer. P'tui.

Lil Rounds
Heat Wave
Lil is adorable tonight. She put on some hair and a fringe-covered flapper dress and stepped into a role. I'm not sure she is knocking this one out of the park though. Here's the problem for someone like Lil - she is a good singer. But this song makes me think she just doesn't have the natural support, depth and overall chops to ever really be a great singer. She did OK, but she oversang throughout and I'm just not blown away.

Adam Lambert
Tracks of My Tears
Wow. As much as I really hated Adam last week, I really like him this week. This is a great arrangement. And he has now proved that he's not just a stage creature - he's actually a really excellent vocalist. I'm impressed. Apropos of nothing, Andrew said he looks like k.d. Lang.

Danny Gokey
Get Ready
I like Danny. Unfortunately, tonight I just liked him. I don't think he had as strong a performance tonight as he could have. It wasn't bad. But it was only good - not fantastic.

Allison Iraheta
Papa Was a Rolling Stone
I continue to be impressed by Allison. She has such an interesting voice, and she knows how to use it. Unbelievable what she can do at only 16. She could potentially run away with this whole competition.

This was an overall good night. I think this may be the best total group of contestants of any season so far. But somebody's still gotta go home. Here's my bottom 3 for this week...

Michael Sarver - he's out of his depth in this competition.
Megan Joy - I like her, but tonight was not great and I don't think people "get" her.
Scott MacIntyre - He is a great pianist. He's not connecting with his music.

I think Megan might have sung her swan song.