AI Season 8: Top 10 perform Motown

Ryan welcomes everyone and thanks them per usual. It's a "special" Wednesday night Idol (because as much as I love our new president he had to go on TV again yesterday and outline his plan and priorities), and everyone is over the Flu B virus. Whatever. As long as we don't have to hear whining about illness. I just had a freaking baby and I'm here blogging. Suck it up people.

Ryan talked about last week's "shocking" elimination. Randy hated seeing Alexis go and Kara said Alexis was a good singer. I still haven't seen the value Kara adds to this season. We could be down to an hour show if not for her. Instead we are still at 2 hours for 10 contestants. Paula looks very nice and very sober. Could be a good evening. She wants the contestants to mix it up and surprise her. Simon wants each contestant to make the song contemporary.

Songs of Motown. God Bless Berry Gordy. Most of these contestants' parents weren't even alive when Motown was created, I'd bet.

They get to be mentored by Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson? WOW. These kids should be in awe. (Oh, I guess it's just Smokey -- still has to be the biggest mentor ever).

Matt starts and he's doing Let's Get it On by Marvin Gaye -- I bet he does well. Smokey has a very sentimental spot for Marvin's music -- who doesn't? As he starts all I can think of is Jack Black singing this (very, very well) in High Fidelity. Matt does well. Randy is stoked that it's Motown night (duh). He thinks Matt worked it out. Kara says something annoying and simply recaps what he did (you started on the piano then stood up -- no shit: we just saw it). Paula gives it a sexy cool vibe and used Kara's "riffing" word. Matt is like wearing an old pair of worn-out jeans. Simon really likes it and says that this is the music Matt should be doing and he is a front-runner.

Kris Allen picks "How Sweet It Is" and was nervous to perform in front of Smokey Robinson. He is wearing a USO type outfit and plays the guitar. Kara drooled over his performance but I wasn't blown away. Paula thinks Kris is coming into his own. Simon thinks Kris did his own version but doesn't believe in himself as much as many other contestants. Randy gave Kris props. Is there any question that the best looking guy in the competition is safe for another week? Didn't think so.

By the way, since I am in the hospital I am actually watching this show live. Jeesh, talk about a lot of filler! I miss my fast forward button, particularly when the contestants "go off script" and don't really know how to talk to Ryan.

Scott McIntyre decides to leverage his "crutch" and use the piano. He picks "Can't Hurry Love" by Diana Ross. Scott slows down the song to start and clearly does not have the range that Diana is renowned for. He's just not that good. I don't understand why he is still in this competition. Oh, right. He's blind. It's like America is overcompensating by voting him in every week. I kind of hope that the judges eviscerate him but I doubt that will happen. Paula starts and thinks he did a great job. Simon didn't think it was a good version of the song and the piano playing was "honkey". He continues harping Scott on his terrible song choice. Word. Randy thought it was a hotel performance. Kara liked that it was up tempo and wasn't sure about the liberties he took with the melody.

Paula tries to slam Simon by giving him gifts appropriate to a six year old. Does anyone else think they have a weird relationship that borders on sexual sometimes? They've come a long way since the first season.

Up next is Megan Joy tackling Stevie Wonder. Good thing he's blind and can't see her dance. Megan thinks "For Once In My Life" is a good "Megan" song. Smokey calls her different and refreshing. I don't know who is dressing this girl but a stylist, this person is not. She channels a little Brooke White by going barefoot. But even Brooke didn't walk barefoot through the audience. The crowd doesn't really seem into it and neither am I. Let's see what the judges think. Randy compliments Megan's outfit but thought the song was a train wreck. Kara agrees and thought she should have picked "My Guy" instead. Paula thinks Megan is stunning (I'm sure you were shocked she went there) but agrees that the song was not a good choice. Simon said, "Oh dear" and that it was horrible. Does this mean Megan won't live to see another week? Fingers crossed!

Anoop Dog is in the house and picks "Ooo Baby Baby." I'm glad he picked another ballad but I'm worried the song is a bit too slow and will come off as boring. He is also singing in a higher range than he normally does which sounds odd to me. Kara thought Anoop did a pretty good job and showed his range. Paula thought Anoop needed to show more confidence and he delivered a tender performance. Simon thought it was a great vocal but it was a little boring performance-wise. Randy wants to see more energy next week.

Michael Sarver decided he "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" and completely sucked. Ryan tried to make us feel bad for him because he was sick and didn't head out in the private jet to Detroit with the rest of the idols. Instead Smokey visited him in the mansion. The judges rightly told Michael that he was light years away from most of the other contestants. Michael attempted to use his "aw shucks" charm to stick around for another week. I'm not sure it's going to work.

Lil Rounds picked "Heat Wave" and cried about her situation compared to the downfall of Detroit. She was good but didn't blow me away like I expected her too. She also didn't really own the song - it sounded to similar to the original. Randy agreed with me, Kara gave way too much advice, Paula loved her and Simon said she didn't do herself any favors. But with the crappiness of a few of the other singers, she should be OK.

Adam Lambert selected Smokey's "Tracks of My Tears". I totally didn't recognize him when Ryan flashed to him before the break. He kind of looks a little bit like Mario Lopez with his clean cut look. I liked his version of the song and it was reminiscent of that song from the Neslon Twins in the 80s. Kara has six words: One (1) of (2) the (3) best (4) performances (5) of (6) the (7) night (8). God help me. Simon rightly called it The (1) best (2) performance (3) of (4) the (5) night (6). I'm still weirded out by his transformation to straight guy.

Danny Gokey sings "Get Ready" and does an energetic job. I am still not feeling that he has that great of a voice, he is just a good performer. Paula loved it, Simon called it clumsy and amateurish, Randy thinks Danny has a dope voice and Kara loved his personality. Considering he is the front runner is there any doubt he's sticking around for a while, regardless of the mixed reviews?

Allison gets the money spot. Is it bad that I totally forgot about her? She picked "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" which I think is a good choice for her voice. She did a great job but it wasn't particularly contemporary. The judges loved it and Simon called her a survivor?

So, who's out this week? I'm guessing Michael Sarver but it could be Scott or Megan too.

**A big thank you to DH for kicking off this recap while I was feeding the baby. Feel free to pass along kudos for still doing a recap 24 hours after having a baby :-) Now that's commitment!**