American Idol 8 Motown Week – Recap

It was Motown Week on American Idol and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.  Honestly, in the past there have been some real disasters in the past with this genre but it was pretty good.

Matt Giraud kicked off the night with his rendition of “Let’s Get it On” and, I thought it was pretty good, but I did think there were some flaws.  Still, I love Matt’s voice but I just don’t find him all that exciting.  The judges really liked his performance, though.

Kris Allen followed with a quirky, adorable version of “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” as he accompanied himself on the guitar.  Kris is kind of like a dark horse for me.  I really didn’t pay too much attention to him before but these past couple weeks he’s really shown what a great singer and artist he is. 

Scott MacIntyre sat behind the piano and, I’m sorry folks, I did not like this very much at all.  I like Scott and respect him as an artist but I have felt that, in the past, the judges have been a little lenient on him and I don’t agree with that.  This week, Simon voiced what I was thinking and Randy and Kara kind of agreed.

Megan Joy sang “For Once In My Life” and it looked like she had a reasonably good time but she also sounded lost and overwhelmed.  I didn’t like it very much (I didn’t like her outfit either) and the judges weren’t too impressed either.  I think she’s really in danger this week.

Anoop Desai surprised me yet again by singing “Ooh Baby, Baby.”  For much of the competition, he’s picked uptempo, less serious songs but for the past two weeks, he’s cranked out the ballads and done very well with them.  Randy challenged him to bring some of the fun back while keeping the strong vocals and I hope he does.

Michael Sarver sang “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” and he said that he originally planned to sing it a certain way but mentor, Smokey Robinson, told him he needed to put more aggression and desperation into the performance and it looked like he tried – and failed.  Michael’s been sick this past week too, which is unfortunate, so I hope he doesn’t go home.

Lil Rounds sang “Heatwave” and I just didn’t like her song choice.  As Simon pointed out, she could have sung something like “Heard It Through the Grapevine” and it would have been amazing!  I just felt like it sounded like she was yelling towards the end. 

Adam Lambert shocked me yet again but, this week, he toned down him image.  There was no makeup, no spiky hair and no nail polish (he kept the earrings) and his voice was so soft and tender as he sang “Tracks of My Tears.”  I liked him for the first time last week and this showed me a whole side of him that I didn’t know existed.

Danny Gokey gave a very energetic performance with “Get Ready” and I really liked it.  Simon didn’t like it (Kara and Randy weren’t jumping out of their seats either) but Paula loved it.  I thought he did a good job.

Allison Iraheta ended the night with her rendition of “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” and it was really good.  I didn’t go as crazy for it as the judges did but considering the fact that this girl is only 16 years old, it very well done. 

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