American Idol - Top 10

Here we are again - another week of American Idol (even though it's a day late because of another speech by President Obama). This week on Idol, we are celebrating 50 years of Motown. A few of the major Idol blogs are dissing this week's theme because it's been overdone throughout the eight seasons of the show. But the Motown franchise is celebrating a major milestone this year, so props to Idol for giving us this week. Hey, any little bit of positive coverage for Detroit, the auto industry, and Michigan as a whole is welcomed. And hopefully we'll get a little bit more of positive coverage when the NCAA men's basketball Final Four moves into Detroit next weekend. This week's Idol mentor is Smokey Robinson, one of Motown's biggest starts. I remember the last time I saw Smokey on TV, he freaked me out! I think it was during the Grammy's or something. But he looks and acted a lot better during his time with the Idols. Alright, it's time to get it on!

Matt Giraud - "Let's Get it On" : I really enjoyed how Matt started his performance out by playing on the piano and giving the song a different sound than what we're used to. It gave the song a totally new vibe for me and I thought it was really cool. There's no doubt he has a definite bluesy sound to him. I found it even more surprising when he got up from the piano and actually began performing in front of the audience! Now that was very risky and he showed off more personality that way. Overall, I thought he put his own spin on this classic song and the performance was well done. He showed that he, too, can be a performer on that stage.

Kris Allen - "How Sweet it Is" : Again, another performance where I enjoyed how it started. Kris starts it slow, nearly acapella except when he strums the guitar a bit. Then the uptempo portion of the song begins and he gets accompaniment from the band and overall, it's a very enjoyable performance by Kris. I love that he's been stepping it up week after week. He proved to us that he can sing a more upbeat song without having a ton of trouble and having it labeled as being karaoke. He doesn't seem as nervous as when he started singing live and he's really been showing a ton of personality with his performances the last two weeks.

Scott MacIntyre - "You Can't Hurry Love" : Scott decided to change things up a bit with the arrangement of the song. I really don't think it worked because it made the song sound more like it should've been performed at a mall. The arrangement was a bit too fast and I don't believe the piano-sound worked for this particular performance. Vocally, Scott did okay but not great as the performance certainly had its pitchy moments. It was a nice effort on his part, but it just fell flat. A different song probably would've suited Scott better.

Megan Joy - "For Once in My Life" : Again, Megan infuses her own uniqueness into this classic Stevie Wonder song but it doesn't work with the performance. I definitely think it was too fast of a song for her and that typical jazz sound that Megan uses seemed out of place this time around. Her unique sounds tends to work best when she slows it down, particularly with songs like "Walking After Midnight" which she sung last week. She had trouble hitting the right notes from time to time, especially the higher ones. Overall, it just wasn't a strong week for Megan.

Anoop Desai - "Ooh Baby Baby" : Vocally, Anoop did really well as I hardly noticed any off-pitch notes. However, I did find the performance to be rather boring. I listened to the original version with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and the tempo in that particular song seemed to be a tad bit faster. Anoop's song was just too slow and I found the chorus of all places lacking in energy. I realize that the song is a ballad and it's supposed to be sung slow, but the way Anoop performed it was rather tedious. I am hoping to see Anoop pick a song with more tempo next week but nothing as disastrous as "Beat It" was a few weeks back.

Michael Sarver - "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" : I almost think Michael would be better suited singing ballads more than uptempo songs because ballads tend to highlight his voice better. When he performs a song like "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," it sounds too clumsy and he really struggles keeping up. It seems like when he picks an uptempo song, it's not the right choice. Last week, his song during Grand Ole Opry week did not suit him as well as it should have. Overall, it was a weak performance that included odd phrasing and weird facial expressions. And he topped it off with a terrible second-to-last note.

Lil Rounds - "Heat Wave" : I was rather touched seeing Lil get so emotional being in Motown and talking about it with Smokey. Then, we quickly transition to the live performance where the band is blaring the very opening of the song and we are treated to this very uptempo song. It was kind of a shock to my system and I think the moment deserved a much slower song, for what it's worth. Vocally, I thought Lil did okay, but nothing spectacular as she seemed to struggle more with the lower notes in the song. She definitely had a fun time on stage but I think she really could've had an epic week if she went with a ballad.

Adam Lambert - "Tracks of My Tears" : Adam definitely had a moment with this song and it's going to be remembered as one of the best of this season, at least. I loved seeing this side of Adam; very heart-felt, with a softer tone. If you can believe it, he showed a more vulnerable side and it was such a smart thing to do. I really liked the whole vibe of the song; more of an acoustic sound with more woodwind instruments added once we got to the chorus. The overall arrangement of the song was well planned out and it proved to be the best performance of the night.

Danny Gokey - "Get Ready" : I think Danny needs to take a page from Adam's book and know when to reign it in from time to time. We haven't seen a truly heart-felt performance from Danny in awhile and I am finding him to be rather stale in this performance. You know, I was really liking Danny from the beginning but he needs to start showing me something different because the same routine week in and week out is getting old fast. I did find his "choreography" with the background singers to be nicely spontaneous, but overall I wasn't all that impressed with the performance and it definitely lacked a spark.

Allison Iraheta - "PaPa Was a Rolling Stone" : Wow, Allison totally blew it out of the box tonight. I am so happy to see this because she's been one of my favorites since the beginning and she definitely needs more support from the fans especially after winding up in the bottom three last week. She had lots of energy and certainly showed off a more funky side. There's no question she can belt it out. I do believe she needs to enunciate some of the words in her performances a little bit more - but even that can be hard to do when singing these kinds of songs. This was definitely one of Allison's more memorable performances to date.

So, with the recaps out of the way, I bet you're wondering how I ranked this week's performances. Well, here ya go!

1.) Adam Lambert
2.) Allison Iraheta
3.) Matt Giraud (actual bottom three - 3/26/09)
4.) Kris Allen
5.) Anoop Desai
6.) Danny Gokey
7.) Lil Rounds
8.) Megan Joy
9.) Scott MacIntyre (actual bottom three - 3/26/09)
10.) Michael Sarver (actual eliminee - 3/26/09)

So no surprise who I think will be sent home. Michael basically just picked the wrong song that was way too big for him. Something much slower that allowed him to hit the big notes would've suited him just fine. Yet, you have to make sure not to sound too old fashioned either. It's tricky trying to please the judges all of the time. If not Michael, then Megan or Scott are deserving to be sent home. Scott really needs to pick his game up, otherwise he won't survive another week. Megan just needs to pick the right songs that will fit her jazzy sound and she'll last at least until the top eight.

With another week of Idol in the books, it's time to prepare for the top nine. Next week's theme is "top downloaded songs," or something along those lines. Yes! A contemporary week during the top ten - something last season definitely lacked. Be sure to stop in next week and read the performance recaps from the top nine singers during American Idol's eighth season. See you then!