Final 10: Motown

Ooo, baby, baby…what a night last night with the soulful sounds of Motown. Overall, it was a good show. Some people are stepping up their game at just the right time while others continue to vanish into the realm of forgettable. So, “Get Ready” to discuss…

Matt Giraud – Yikes, the first spot of the night is usually never a good spot to have cause you get lost by viewers with short term memory. However, bravo! I doubt he will be forgotten this week. This kid is bringing his “A” game every week and showing why he absolutely deserves to be in the competition. I have no doubt he will prove to be another example of why the Wild Card round is vital! His rendition of “Let’s Get It On” was impeccable. He chose a song that could have been a cheese-fest nightmare and turned it out making it current and believable. Loved it!

Kris Allen – Broken record time…but I am just amazed that this kid came from nowhere and is doing so well. Once again he brought a solid performance. Loved the last, money note he hit. His charm with the ladies apparently got him here, but his talent is keeping him here. Nice.

Scott MacIntyre – Ugh. Can we put him AND US out of our misery already? His vocals are the weakest out of the bunch and he is boring. Whoever dressed him this week should be shot too. I’m so over the Scott saga! He looked and sounded totally unsure of himself and the song and he was all over the place. He is a great piano player though, he should stick with that. Singing, he should leave alone.

Megan Joy – I love this girl. She is unique, original, charming, beautiful and sweet. I have been saying all along what Smokey said last night, she is the most unique contestant AI has ever had on the show. If nothing else, she is polarizing; I think people either hate her or love her. However, this week she slipped up in her song choice, an area I usually find her to be very strong in. It just wasn’t the right song for her and it showed tonight. She obviously has a decent fan base though, which surprises me since she was not voted into the Finals by America. I had predicted she would be bottom 3 last week, but some people out there love her obviously because she was not in the bottom at all. Tonight, however, could be her night.

Anoop Desai – Finally the kid realizes what his strengths are. I am so glad to see Anoop out of that “funky song” phase. I think when he got put through in the Wild Card round after doing “My Prerogative” he thought that type of music should be his “gimmick”. Thank God he realizes that is not true and he needs to stick with R&B; THAT is his gimmick! He has strong vocals and he definitely showed it tonight. He sounded great and his vocals were right on. One piece of advice would be for him to support his falsetto note a little more so they have a little more power. Otherwise, great job from AnoopDogg!

Michael Sarver – Here is the deal with poor Michael…he has lost his charm. Yes, he has a nice voice and I TOTALLY agree with Randy that he does have some R&B chops but he is NOT an R&B singer, no matter how many runs he tries to squeeze into a song. I hear Michael as a more “Rascal Flatts” type artist…pop-country with some soul. He overdid it tonight and even he knew it. I just think he lost that likeability factor that was his niche that got him to where he is. He just fell flat again for me. Still a nice voice though, just not amazing. I agree with Simon too, Michael is just a participant in this competition, he will not win it. Honestly, I think that statement is true for everyone this year. I think everyone is competing for runner-up to Danny Gokey this season. However, I think only a select few even have a shot at that!

Lil Rounds – I’m sorry but I am awarding Lil the “Most Overrated” award. I do not think she is nearly as amazing as the judges proclaim her to be, or that she obviously believes she is. Lil is a lil’ jaded. There was no depth or range to her vocals again this week and she looked a HOT MESS! Her wig/weave/whatever was terrible and she was wearing Tina Turner’s dress. What, what?!? Anyway, I love my black girl singers, but Lil is not cutting it in my opinion. She’s like a lack luster copy of Fantasia without the edge. However, she is SO pimped by the judges and being the only representative of a certain demographic as the only black contestant will help her to stick around for a while.

Adam Lambert – “180” award is immediately given to Elvis…I mean Adam. Last week he was over the top with his rendition of “Ring of Fire” and this week we get reserved and subdued acoustic. Aside from his insane vocal ability, I like Adam because he keeps it interesting. Did anyone expect this from him this week? NO, and that is what makes him a star. One of the best of the night…period. P.S. – Kara is not good with numbers. She actually had 8 words for Adam as opposed to the 6 she proclaimed. LOL

Danny Gokey – Ok, his stage presence was a little awkward this week. It was like he did not know if he wanted to be in the front or the back of the stage. The little dance routine with the backup singers was fun though. Was this his best performance, no. Did he make a big mistake by disregarding the advise that Smokey gave him that we all saw take place on his video? Yes, and it could make him look arrogant to some people. Plus, I was also a little disappointed with his song choice. I think there were better Motown songs out there for him. This was also supported by the fact that he did not get the “pimp spot” this week and secure the last spot of the night which I was almost certain would go to him or Lil. Aside from that, his vocals are incredible and unique but, he cannot afford to slack or coast, because that is the moment someone else will come up and take the crown from him. This week he was outshined by some other performers and we just cannot be having that!

Allison Iraheta – And the pimp spot goes to Allison this week and it did not take long to see why. I was nervous when I heard she was doing this song, because I loved David Hernandez’s performance of this song last season, but she made it her own and knocked it out of the park. I loved Allison this week because she showed range. It was not all screams and screeches; it was restrained in the start and more soulful throughout the rest. She showed she actually has some impressive vocals, especially for 16 (which I am still waiting to find out she lied about her age…lol). Allison is another unique contestant in this season’s lot and that helps her tremendously. Looks like a Bottom 3 visit gave her the kick in the butt she needed to step it up.

So with an overall good night, who gets left behind? I believe the Bottom 3 will be Michael, Megan and Scott. To me, Scott should go home, but I highly doubt that will happen just yet. Based on Michael’s appearance in the Bottom 2 last week and the obligatory mentioning of his being sick this week, his fans should be energized to vote their butts off to save him, however I think Megan and Scott’s fan base’s are a little stronger and I am going to again predict Michael will be going home this week. But you never know, we will find out soon enough!