by Gina Scarpa

 

American Idol is back, with a special Wednesday night performance episode.  The show was bumped last night, due to President Obama’s press conference.  The Top 10 will perform Motown songs, arguably some of the best music of all time.  Whether or not they’ll be able to do the songs, the original artists, and the genre justice remains to be seen.  Fortunately, they’ll have legendary performer Smokey Robinson on hand as their mentor this week.  Without further ado, let’s get to their performances.

 

Matt Giraud - "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye

Matt starts things off at the piano tonight, for his rendition of the classic knockin’ boots song, but quickly gets up to take the stage all by his little self.  While there’s no denying he can sing, I’m fairly certain I’ve liked past performances by Matt better than tonight’s.  Still, the guy’s got talent to boot, he’s easy on the eyes, and he made the judges happy.  He’s not goin’ anywhere.

 

Kris Allen - "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" by Marvin Gaye

I’m such a fan of the James Taylor version and had no idea this was actually a Motown song.  I guess you learn something new every day.  Thanks, Idol.  I have to admit that, in the beginning, I had no idea how Kris Allen made it into the Top 13 initially but he keeps growing on me.  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that he’s adorable and charming as hell.  It won’t go down as the best performance of the night by any means but solid enough.  In the very near future, Kris is going to have to try to break away from the middle of the pack if he wants to survive in this competition.

 

Scott MacIntyre - “You Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes

Okay, so the guy can play piano but that’s about where I stop liking him.  I know I’m probably going to hell for this but there is just not one single interesting thing about Scott.  I get that some people out there like him but for the life of me, especially considering some of the other people in the competition, I can’t imagine why.  If he survives this week after that strange performance, I’ll certainly be shocked.  Based on what the judges had to say, it seems Randy and Simon feel the same way.

 

Megan Corkrey - "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder

Here’s the good news for Scott.  Megan is probably going to go home before him so he’ll get another week to sing with his piano for America.  Megan’s awkward, screechy performance will most likely go down as one of the worst for the season.  I actually have faith that Megan could be an  artist but she shouldn’t have chosen American Idol as her avenue to gain recognition.  She’s never going to sing Motown, Country, or anything of the sort.  I believe tomorrow night is the last time we’ll be seeing her.

 

Anoop Desai - "Ooh Baby Baby" by Smokey Robinson

Anoop can definitely sing and he chose a super difficult song tonight.  Let me pay Anoop a compliment: he’s a really smart competitor.  He knew that, early on, he was in trouble so he began listening to what the judges said and applying it week after week.  He must be slightly confused, though, after getting his feedback tonight.  Two weeks ago, the judges wanted him to show a more serious side and really show off vocally.  Now, they're telling him to go back to his fun, silly side.  Which side will help him advance in the competition?  I'm not sure I have the answer.

 

Michael Sarver - "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by The Temptations

 

Oh Michael, I really was pulling for you since very early on in the competition.  He just cannot manage to impress me (or the judges) since making Top 13.  He picked a great song tonight and put it in a key that any average singer could pull off, failing to show any vocal prowess whatsoever.  I know he's sick but I don't have to forgive everything about that performance and neither do the judges.  Simon harshly tells him that he couldn't wait for the song to end and that there's no way he's winning this competition.  Though it's true, it wasn't exactly called for either.  Regardless of whether or not Simon was out of line, Michael is headed out the door but he has a little competition for being the next one booted out.   

 

Lil Rounds - "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave" by Martha and the Vandellas

 

I'd like to thank Lil for reminding me just how much I love this song.  I headed right to ITunes and downloaded the original song after seeing her performance.  Lil found herself in a little bit of trouble after last week's out of place country performance.  She's back in her element tonight and it woudl seem that the judges would be back in her corner.  Unfortunately, that's not the case.  Lil fails to impress the judges for the second week in a row. 

 

Adam Lambert - "The Tracks Of My Tears" by The Miracles

 

Well, this was quite a different look tonight for Mr. Lambert, wasn't it?  With a ton of gel in his hair, and a snazzy suit, a subdued Adam takes the stage to let his vocals do all the talking.  I think I prefer Adam The Showman but there's no denying that this was a great performance that impressed the judges, the audience, and Smokey himself.  Week after week, I'm always impressed with Adam's talent but I'm starting to tire of his lack of personality.  He never seems enthused by the positive feedback he receives and maybe I'd like to see a bit more humility and excitement from him...

 

Danny Gokey - "Get Ready" by The Temptations

 

... which brings me to why I love Danny so much.  Not only is Danny super talented, he's super likeable.  Though Motown is certainly not his thing (based mostly on the fact that the guy should never dance) he still sounds fabulous on "Get Ready".  No matter what happens in this competition, Danny should be given a recording contract at the end of this.  He will, of course and if he's smart the way Daughty was, we should see some longevity from him when this is all over.

 

Allison Iraheta - "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" by The Temptations

 

It's hard to know where Allison will place on Idol this season.  I am definitely surprised that she has already had an appearance in the bottom and I'm not even a fan of hers.  However, the girl can really sing and she picked a great song to show that off to America tonight.  The way things are looking, she's probably the strongest female left in the competition and with several people turning in sub par performances tonight, she'll hopefully avoid the bottom for many weeks to come.

 

Bottom 3 Predictions: Scott MacIntyre, Megan Corkrey*, Michael Sarver

* elimination prediction

 

American Idol will air its results show tomorrow night at 8pm ET on FOX.

 

(Image courtesy of FOX)

 

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