[IMG:L]Below are my assessments of Wednesday night’s Motown-themed (and Smokey Robinson-mentored) performances on American Idol, followed by a sure-to-be-dead-wrong prediction of Thursday night’s bottom three and elimination.
Matt Giraud: “Let’s Get It On”
It was evident just from the rehearsal tape that “Let’s Get It On” was a perfect song choice for Giraud, and he further proved it with a flawless performance. He finally ventured away from the piano (very wise move) and showed that he doesn’t just have the musical chops but also the star quality — and, yes, soul. Simon even used the word “cool” to describe the performance!
Grade: A
Kris Allen: “How Sweet It Is”
Same old story for the female-fan favorite: The vocals weren’t out-of-this-world, but he knows how to loosen up the proceedings. Allen put his own easygoing spin on the Marvin Gaye tune, and the result was pleasant enough. That extremely marked-up jacket, on the other hand? Not so much.
Grade: B
Scott MacIntyre: “You Can’t Hurry Love”
Just when I was getting ready to once again bash him and call for his elimination … he reinforces it! Scott finally sped it up, but the vocals were all over the place and the cheese factor was still present. There’s no denying MacIntyre’s talent (especially at the piano) and inspirational story, but it might be time for him to go. For what it’s worth, this was still probably his best performance to date.
Grade: C+
Megan Joy: “For Once in My Life”
Simon was right last week: She should always be sick! This song was simply way too big and loud for Megan, whose calling card is soft jazz — and even that is sometimes a stretch for her fragile vocals. She butchered parts of the song and, even worse, strolled down to the judges’ table to flaunt her non-moves. A surprisingly solid performance saved her last week; will her absurd hotness suffice this week?
Grade: C-
Anoop Desai: “Ooo Baby Baby”
Once again, Anoop shocks us with his soulfulness and impressive vocals. That said, the notes weren’t perfect, and the performance was damn near snooze-inducing. He needs to find a way to inject his personality into the performances, because that’s a big reason he’s made it this far. Enough with the soft side, Anoop!
Grade: B-
Michael Sarver: “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”
Great song choice, horrrrrrible performance. Sarver’s irritating affectations came to a peak on Wednesday night, from the futile attempts at hitting the high notes to the futile attempts at slapping hands with audience members. The performance was the very definition of shouty — mistakenly thinking he could expand his vocal range by merely singing louder. Sarver’s probably the safest bet to go home Thursday night, and it seemed like he knew it.
Grade: D-
Lil Rounds: “Heatwave”
Her rendition of “Heatwave” got the crowd going — and woke us all up from the last few performances! — but Lil is capable of much better vocally. After Randy gave his usual “It just wasn’t the right song choice for me for you” assessment, he made the rare good point: It was rushed. Luckily, she’ll have plenty of opportunities to right her wrong.
Grade: B-
Adam Lambert: “Tracks of My Tears”
Ah, the weekly jolt of caffeine — only this week Lambert went decaf! There was no telling what direction he would go with the Motown theme, but Lambert slowed things down and, more surprisingly, kept it slow. He showed that he could control his theatrical urges in favor of a “Who knew?” tender voice that was both amazing and restrained. An impressive performance and quite the reaffirmation of his abilities.
Grade: A
Danny Gokey: “Get Ready”
Of all the contestants, Gokey seemed best suited for the soulfulness of Motown week, and he couldn’t have picked a better song to illustrate that. Even so, his “Get Ready” didn’t turn out as great as (I’d) anticipated, especially in the case of the few liberties he took with the original song’s melody. Nonetheless, his decent performance still beats most contestants.
Grade: B
Allison Iraheta: “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”
The fact that the 16-year-old singing prodigy was in last week’s bottom three was almost as appalling as Alexis Grace’s elimination, but there’s no way that should happen this week — not after Wednesday’s performance. Wow, what a voice. “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” served as a showcase for Iraheta’s ridiculous full-spectrum range, and was by far the best show-closer of the season (in case that counts for anything). Here’s hoping the judges still have their “save” available when Iraheta gets prematurely eliminated down the road!
Grade: A
PREDICTIONS
Bottom Three: Megan Joy, Michael Sarver and Scott MacIntyre
Eliminated: Michael Sarver
LAST WEEK’S RECAP: Country Night!
