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Hello American Idol fans – my name is Aly and I'll be your guest blogger today. Since Dani was traveling last night, I volunteered to fill in for her with last night’s Idol review. I have some pretty big shoes to fill, so I hope I don’t let her (or you!) down.
The night starts off with the big introduction of the judges as they come out from behind the big doors. I’m a little confused why they keep making this such a big deal – I mean, do we really need such a fancy intro? And what is up with Paula’s dress tonight? All she needs is a swan head to complete her Bjork look. And here comes Ryan Seacrest – down the stairs. I wonder why he gets to come down the stairs and not from behind the closed doors? Ryan tells us it’s Motown night!
Once the judges settle in their chairs, Ryan asks them about Alexis going home last week and if it was uncomfortable for them. They each take turns saying yes, and when he gets to Paula, they start complementing each other and saying how good they look. It turns into some weird flirting, and now I’m feeling uncomfortable.
Next we get a nice package on Motown and its beginnings - I’m guessing this is a way to fill the time gap left by Alexis’ departure last week. The idols all get to go Detroit to Motown Records, and get a tour by Berry Gordy, founder, and Smokey Robinson, who I must say is aging really, really well. The kids all head back to LA and the Idol mansion, along with Smokey, and we are treated to them all standing around the piano singing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Seriously? How many times have we heard THAT on this show??
We’re back in the studio now, we learn that Smokey has written over 4000 songs (VERY impressive), and it’s time to start the competition.
Matt Giraud
The 23-year-old dueling piano player from Kalamazoo, MI
Sings “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye
Matt starts off at the piano – doing his thing – and it’s clear how comfortable he is. He’s hitting all the notes – even the high ones – and sounds great. The band comes in on the song and he gets up and starts working the crowd. Very smooth. He looks great, sounds great, and has been growing on me over the last couple weeks – I think he’s having a good night. He seems just as comfortable not being behind his piano and the crowd loves him – which is clear by their standing ovation when he’s done.
Randy goes first and say that he set the tone for the night, that he’s come up so far and is challenging for the top spot.
Kara says she thinks there are a lot of girls out there saying “yeah, let’s get it on.” She thinks he’s coming out of his shell and likes it, and that he had a solid performance.
Paula thinks he has a sexy, cool vibe, and that it was tasteful, classy, spot-on – it’s like wearing a great pair of worn-in jeans. I’m not sure that's a great comparison, but hey, it’s Paula.
Simon says it was a brilliant choice, except the “corny middle part” – I’m guessing that’s when he was trying to work the crowd and judges. He also says that Matt is doing exactly what he should be doing and is a front-runner now.
Kris Allen
23-year-old from Conway, Arkansas
Sings “How Sweet It Is” by Marvin Gaye
Kris is back with his guitar – and seems to be making fewer “John Mayer” faces – the ones Dani loves so much. ;) He gives a decent performance – not overwhelming, but good. Not much to say here – he pretty much does his thing with his guitar. Paula is up and dancing (big surprise).
Kara says that she loves that he didn’t do James Taylor or Marvin Gaye, that he did Kris and that he made his mark on it. She thinks he did everything right and that this is the Kris from Hollywood that they all loved.
Paula thinks he picked the right song, and that the note he hit at the end “technically speaking was a high A or something like that.” (something like that?? Really? Does anyone care?) She says he’s brilliant and that he’s growing every week.
Simon tells him he’s having a good competition and that it was smart to do his own version. But he needs to start believing in himself, that he doesn’t have the swagger that some of the others have. He points out that the way he is standing on stage, he could be at a bus stop. (hmmm….I never knew there was a specific way one should stand while waiting for the bus. Good to know)
Randy says he was consistent and that he hit his stride. “It’s all good, baby.”
Scott MacIntyre
23-year-old from Scottsdale, AZ
Sings “Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes.
OMG – he’s wearing pink pants. Seriously? Are his stylists punking him? I’m already worried for him. He starts out slow….but then moves into a weird honky-tonk piano thing. The three back-up singers are standing around the piano. Another so-so performance. It’s not much different than any of his other performances. His vocals are just ok – not great. I’m pretty much over him – I find him boring – I can’t even imagine sitting through an entire concert of his.
Paula says that he pleased her and Simon by bringing something different with the singers surrounding him at the piano (in my book, that doesn’t really equal “different”, but we all know Paula’s not quite right). She thinks he brought a whole new life to the performance.
Simon starts with “Oh dear.” He points out that there’s a line in the song that says “how much more can we take”….I’m with Simon on this one. I can’t take much more either. He says it wasn’t a great performance, didn’t like the the honkey tonk piano (hey – didn’t I already say that?). Simon says it was completely the wrong song and was cheap and that he’s choosing the wrong song every week. I agree – and I think Scott’s headed for the bottom 3 this week.
Randy agrees with Simon and thinks it sounded like a hotel performance. He says he’s a better singer than that and it was very average.
Kara disagrees and thinks he brought “tempo” tonight (huh??), but that he took liberties with the melody and he should have nailed it. He had good ideas but the execution was not perfect.
After the critiques, Scott tells us he had a different song picked (“Reach Out and Touch), but then changed at the last minute. Simon said that was a much better choice. Then we have an awkward moment (like that never happens during Idol) where Paula reaches under the desk and pulls out crayons and coloring books for Simon and calls him a 6-year-old. Really? He’s the 6-year-old?
Scott wraps it up by telling us we should at least vote for the pink pants. I don’t even know how to respond to that.
Megan Joy Corkrey
23-year-old single mom from Sandy, UT
Sings “For Once in My Life” by Stevie Wonder
She comes out in a tiny little party dress – I think it’s kind of a weird look – it’s almost as if someone shrunk a prom dress. And she’s wearing flats. But hey, maybe it’s what all the kids are wearing these days.
She starts in and already has flat notes. She’s still doing her weird little dance that she does, and this is turning into a not very good performance. She’s trying to work it and gets closer to the crowd. But she’s all over the place – can’t hit the notes or get the pitch right. I think we have our next contestant to be hitting the bottom 3.
Randy says he has mad love for her and loves the outfit, but the song was a trainwreck for him. It was bizarre and too fast and didn’t fit with her jazzy thing. He didn’t feel it.
Kara agrees with Randy, thinks she was all over the place and that she didn’t dominate the song, but the song dominated her. She had bad notes and rhythms.
Paula says her stunning beauty takes her breath away and the camera loves her (you know you are in trouble when she starts out with that!). But she agrees the song wasn’t right, it was too low in the beginning and too high at the end, and was confusing (actually, I think Paula is the confusing one, but whatever).
Simon starts with “oh dear” again. That’s definitely a bad sign. He says the good news is she looks good, the bad news is the song was horrible and that whoever is advising her needs to be fired. She’s getting terrible advice, it was an atrocious song, horrible arrangement, vocals were all over the place, and he thinks she’s in trouble. Ouch! But I totally agree.
Anoop Desai
23-year-old from Chapel Hill, NC
Sings “Ooh Baby Baby” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
He comes out and looks a little more dressed up than usual – and by that I mean he’s wearing a tie. It’s a decent vocal, but really boring to watch. I know the fans seem to love Anoop, and he does have a good voice, but this song makes me want to go to sleep. He had some flat notes at the end, but mostly sounded ok. There’s nothing about this that is making me want to pick up the phone and vote for him.
Kara says it’s one of the most beautiful songs written, but one of the hardest to sing. She thinks that overall he did a pretty good job and that he can sing, and that we’ve seen in the last two weeks what he can do.
Paula says it must be tough to sing in front of legends. She thinks he has a new-found confidence, but that he needs more confidence. His phrasing, delivery, falsetto were spot-on and sweet and tender.
Simon thinks he had a great vocal but that he looked like he was half-asleep (wait – doesn’t he mean the audience was half-asleep?) and sounded like someone singing in a musical. But he’s had 2 good weeks in a row now.
Randy says that this week is “serious Anoop-dog”, but that he wants him to turn it up next week. He thought it was nice to hear him croon and swoon, but thought it was a little pitchy hear and there.
Michael Sarver
27-year-old from Jasper, TX
Sings “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” by the Temptations
In his opening bit with Smokey, Michael says he picked this song because he wants to “take it to church” and have fun with it. He comes out and does his thing – he looks good, but he’s having some pitch problems. He tries for a high note and misses. This is just another “ok” performance for me but he’s not blowing me away. And I definitely don’t feel like I’m at church.
Paula thinks it was a tough performance and that it felt old Las Vegas and loungy the way he was working the microphone. He needs to be dominating the song, but he didn’t reach all the notes.
Simon says he couldn’t wait for it to end and that he has no chance of winning with that. It wasn’t good enough.
Randy says the song is unbelievable, but it was too big for him and that he’s not an R&B guy. He made it a little too corny and tried to do too much.
Kara thinks it’s not about singing at this point in the competition (it’s not? isn’t this a singing competition?) but about artistry – they are looking for an artist. She wants to know who he is as an artist, what can he do that’s different that makes them think “that’s hot.”
Lil Rounds
24-year-old from Memphis
Sings “Heat Wave” by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
Wow – Lil got some hair!! She looks great – completely different look for her, but completely appropriate for Motown week. I’m digging her dress too. She does her typical great performance, although I don’t think it’s her best performance. It seems a little too close to the original. I wish she would have done something a little different. But she can sing, so she’s not going anywhere for a while.
Randy says she has mad crazy vocals, but didn’t think it was the right song and it sounded rushed. I think the judges are sounding rushed – they must have spent too much time on the other contestants and are having to cut comments short to end the show on time.
Kara says she looks great, and that this should have been her week, but it wasn’t the right song. It needed more, and she felt she was actually screaming in parts.
Paula disagrees completely (of course she does) and thinks she looks like a throwback to classic Motown mixed with couture chic. It felt fresh and she owned it. Sorry Paula – I don’t agree. Nothing fresh about the same as the original sound.
Simon says it was an authentic tribute but would not have chosen it. He thinks the song didn’t give her a “moment”. He says she is one of the best singers and that he’s dying for her to blow everyone away.
Adam Lambert
27-year-old from Hollywood, CA
Sings “Track of My Tears” by Smokey Robinson
Wait….where is he? Is that a young Bobby Darin? Elvis? Nope – it’s a very cleaned up Adam looking very “matinee idolish”. He’s totally changed his look for this week, in a suit with slicked back hair, doing the song sitting with a small band around him. He starts out great, as usual, and the camera loves him. His falsetto is beautiful and he completely nails the song. I love me some Adam!
Kara gives him a standing ovation and calls it one of the best performances of the night.
Paula says he’s completely in his own league and has an element of surprise. It’s an extension of who he is as an artist.
Simon disagrees with Kara and says it is the BEST performance of the night and that he has emerged as a star.
Randy says that from day 1 he knew Adam had a range and that can do anything – he isn’t just an indie rocker. He can straighten up and that was unbelievably hot.
Danny Gokey
28-year-old from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (yay Wisconsin!)
Sings “Get Ready” by the Temptations
I can tell it’s already going to be better than last week. I think this is a good song choice for him – great fit for his voice. And, just as I was wishing he would work the stage a little more, he did a little dancing with the back-up singers. While I don’t think it’s an awesome performance, I think it’s strong and that he’s got nothing to be worried about.
Paula tries out her rhyming skills and calls him “undeniable, identifiable, and always reliable” (has she been drinking again?) and that he gives a first class performance every week.
Simon says we know you are a good singer but that was clumsy and amateurish.
Randy says it reminds him of the great Levi Stubbs. He (Danny) has a dope voice and that it wasn’t his best, but he loved the energy and the feeling.
Kara says she loves his personality tonight, that it was good, not great, but she is still a huge Danny fan.
Allison Iraheta
16-year-old from LA
Sings “Papa was a Rolling Stone” by The Undisputed Truth
I’m not loving her outfit, but at least it’s young. Her vocal is outstanding – great, great, great song choice for her. I know she loves doing the rock stuff, but I think this genre is made for her with her sultry voice. Wow – I can’t believe she is only 16 – she is working the stage like a pro. Big note at the end, and she nails it! I think it’s the best performance of the night.
Randy says she’s one of the “dopest” (is that even a word?) singers, and that she may only be 16 but that was blazing hot.
Kara says “Oh my god – you’re 16 years old and in the bottom 3 last week?” She thinks she was amazing and sings like she’s been singing for 400 years. That’s a long time to be singing. I’d think she’d look a lot more tired if that were true.
Paula and Simon have been goofing off and somehow she’s ended up with a pen moustache drawn on her. Wow – very professional. It’s really hard to take her seriously. Her and Simon have some more staged fun/bickering. They are getting even more weird, if that’s possible.
Paula says (while hiding her pen moustache) she looks fantastic and kept her rocker edge. Thinks it was amazing.
Simon says she is a survivor – she picked a terrible song last week, a difficult song this week, and it was one of her best performances.
And that’s it. All in all, I thought it was a pretty boring night, with just a couple stand-out performances by Allison (my favorite) and Adam. I liked Matt quite a bit, but everyone else seemed a little boring to me. My prediction for the bottom three is Megan, Scott, and Michael. While I think Megan should be the one to go home, I think it’s Michael’s week to go as he doesn’t seem to have much of a following.
