Idol Worship - The Top 10 Sing Motown

With a plethora of great songs from which to choose, it was time for our Idols to "get ready" and start "shopping around" for the perfect song to get the people "dancing in the street" as they peformed the songs that launched the careers of many superstars in the Motor City back in the 1960's.

To prepare for their performances, the Idols were whisked off to Detroit for a tour of Hitsville, U.S. A. and some special bonding time with Smokey Robinson and Motown founder, Berry Gordy. When they returned to the Left Coast, they were mentored by Mr. Smokey Robinson himself--a musicial genius who penned many hits for the Motown label.

• Kicking off Motown night was Michigan native, Matt Giraud, who selected the Marvin Gaye classic, "Let's Get it On". Smokey was impressed enough with Matt's interpretation, he predicted that Marvin would approve--if his father hadn't shot him some 25 year ago. Matt started the song in his usual spot behind the piano, but once he set the tone for the song, he was up working the crowd as he moved around the stage. The judges all gave him serious props for strong vocals and a great performance--even Simon who thought Matt's song selection was perfect and liked the performance with the exception of a few moves he made in front of the judges table. When is Simon going to figure out that he isn't judging "So You Think You Can Dance"?--another of my guilty pleasures, but that's for another time.
  
• Kris Allen stepped into his session with Smokey and announced that he was going to do the second Marvin Gaye song of the night. The song, "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)". Smokey was quite impressed with Kris' ability to play the guitar and sing at the same time--really Smokey? Haven't seen that before, huh? I guess they pulled a bit too tight the last time you had some work done--you know it's true. But enough about Smokey, I know you're dying to know how the boy from Arkansas did with the song from the Motor City. Well, it actually was pretty good--could this relatively unknown contestant be growing on me? As I noted in my blog yesterday, Kris could be ready to move into my Top 5. The judges seemed to really like it as well--Kara and Simon commented that he sang the song as Kris and not James Taylor or Marvin Gaye. Simon also advised Kris to add a dash of conceit to his act and to believe in himself a bit more.


• With two strong performances in the bag, could Scott MacIntyre keep things moving in a positive direction? Scott selected "You Can't Hurry Love" by Diana Ross and the Supremes (and covered by Phil Collins in the '80's). Once again, Smokey had no constructive feedback--makes you wonder why he's even there as a mentor. Back on the Idol stage, Scott took his familiar seat at the baby grand to play, sing, and win your votes. Scott updated the song to make it a little more contemporary, but I must admit I'm not a big fan of the song--and neither was Simon who called the piano playing "honkey tonk"...which probably would have been more appropriate last week. He went on (and on and on) to say song selection was poor--and Randy "the Dawg" agreed. But Kara rescued him a bit noting he brought a little tempo to his performance which made her happy. However she wasn't pleased with the liberties he took with the melody. After the judges comments, Scott said he was torn between two songs--this one and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" to which Simon said that would have been better. And then Paula went under the desk and pulled out crayons and coloring books for Simon--an event which Ryan had to verbally describe for the vision impaired Idol.


• Megan Joy decided to add her vocals to Stevie Wonders's "For Once in my Life". As with the previous three singers, Smokey had little to offer in the way of advice or constructive criticism--perhaps they will ask me to be a mentor next week ;) When it came time to hit the stage, we were greeted by Megan in a Hawaiian looking mini dress, flats, and some weird stuff in her hair--Randy liked the outfit, but called the performance a train wreck...stole the word right out of my keyboard. Before offering her criticism, Kara said Megan should have sang "My Guy" or something a little slower that would fit her voice better. Paula and Simon both liked Megan's look, but Simon hated the performance and told her she is likely in serious trouble with the voters.


• Trying to continue the magic that he created last week, Anoop "Dogg" Desai decided to go kiss-ass and chose the Smokey Robinson and the Miracle classic "Ooo, Baby Baby". After Anoop finished his performance, Kara continued the ass-kissing calling the song one of the best ever written and then she told Anoop he did a nice job with the song. Paula added her lips to the kiss-fest and then dropped all of the usual buzzwords--spot on, vibrato, pocket, etc. Simon liked the song selection, thought Anoop did a great job with the song, but commented on how Anoop appeared to be asleep while he was singing. Picking up on the lack of energy offered by Anooop, Randy encouraged Anoop to turn it up next week--provided he accumulates enough votes.


• After failing to impress during Country week, Michael Sarver had an opportunity to redeem himself and chose "Ain't to Proud to Beg" by the Temptations. Michael said he was going to "church it up"--whatever that means. Smokey, for the first time all evening, made a suggestion--he wanted Michael to punch tbe song up a bit. Watching Michael gyrate around the stage and shake hands with a few lucky and adoring fans, I found myself disappointed in the performance. And Paula saw it the same way--going so far as to call it "Las Vegas-y". Simon said he couldn't wait for the song to end--and told him he has no chance to win the contest if he is going to continue with these subpar performances. Randy and Kara finished him off saying the song wasn't right for him and he showed nothing about himself as an artist. I guess "churching it up" wasn't the right thing to do. Oops!
  
• Lil Rounds was next up and decided to take on Martha and the Vandellas' "Heatwave". If there is anyone who should kill it this week, it is Lil Rounds. So with expectations high, Lil took to the state in a fancy flapper-looking dress and hair extensions. Paula was up dancing with Lil within a few bars and the crowd was loving the performance. Randy didn't like it so much noting that the song has a few too many words for her big voice. Kara was equally disappointed because she felt Lil screamed the song. Paula heard something quite different saying she sang a classic song, but made it sound new--really, Paula? And what did the rest of us hear? Simon thought she could have had a moment with a different song (he suggested "Heard it Through the Grapevine"), but he didn't completely through her under the bus saying she still has one of the best voices in the Top 10.


• Adam Lambert decided to interpret another Smokey classic, "Tracks of my Tears". Smokey was quite happy with Adam's song choice as well as how he decided to sing it, but nothing could prepare us for what we were treated to when we got back to the Idol stage. With his jet-black hair slicked back in a mini-pompadour and dressed in a shiny, gray suit with a black open neck shirt, Adam looked nothing like the musical theatre performer he has been throughout the competition. He looked great and sounded awesome as he was flanked by an acoustic musical group. The audience, including Smokey and Berry Gordy, gave him a standing ovation--and Kara joined them on her feet. She called it one of the best performances of the night--I'd say it was THE best, so far. Paula ran on about how much she liked it. And Simon agreed with me that it was THE best performance--and then complemented Smokey on a great song. What was left for "The Dawg"? To call it "hot"!


• So how would Danny follow up such a strong performance? Well, to begin he selected "Get Ready" by the Temptations. And then he took to the stage, got everyone all revved up, and delivered a strong performance. He made a few goofy moves on stage including a classic Temptations step with the back-up singers, but moves aside, Danny nailed it. Simon thought it was clumsy and amateurish--what?! Randy, Paula, and Kara all thought it was good. And that's as much as we got because time was running out and we still had one more vocal to go.


• Seizing the honor of closing the show, Allison decided to sing "Papa Was a Rolling Stone". The song started off a bit rough for me, but when she hit the middle of the song, I thought she did a pretty good job. Randy called it a "blazing hot" performance, Kara gave her a standing O and thought the performance was "for God", Paula (who was sporting a black marker mustache courtesy of Simon) mumbled something though her fingers, and Simon gave Allison credit for coming back after a tough performance last week.

With all 10 performances complete it's time to predict who is in trouble and who's going home come tomorrow night. I predict sleepless nights for Megan Joy and Michael Sarver. It wouldn't surprise me to see either of them go home when the votes are counted, but if I was a betting man, I'd say it will be...Michael Sarver.

Tune in tomorrow night to see how the voting goes, watch a little Idol entertainment (Reuben Studdard, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Joss Stone are scheduled to appear), and see who is sent packing one week after joining the Idol Summer Tour.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don't have to...

Peace!