American Idol–Top 11 (MoTown week!)

(Oh my goodness, y’all I wrote this on Wednesday night and somehow didn’t post it. What kind of a blogger AM I?! If you can forgive me, I’ll post this right now. I’ll have the results from this week up really soon. Sorry!)

Can y’all handle it? All Motown, all night.

 

Good luck to the kids, and let’s get this party started!

 

1. Casey Abrams (Heard it Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye) – Oh, this boy just makes me smile. I can’t help it. I wish he’d practice with a mirror, though – he’s putting off a pretty psycho vibe tonight. His voice, though, is just gold. I can’t get over it! There hasn’t been someone who’s made me this happy since Melinda Doolittle. (Oh, how I miss that girl on this show!) That’s all I can say. His vocals are PERFECT, and his face while he’s singing is just plain scary. Boy ought to smile a bit more, is all I’m saying.

Steven – You are the perfect entertainer! Perfect pitch and perfect mix of CRAZY out of control ego.

Jennifer – There’s nobody like you out there right now. You can carve out a niche for yourself and be amazing.

Randy – You are definitely a true original. You can only do YOU…and that You is great!

 

2. Thia Meghia (Heat Wave, Martha and the Vandellas) – Oh, Thia. Girl…you’re doing great tonight. I just hope it’s not too little too late. She looks comfortable on that stage, and a ballad this is NOT. It was pretty good!!

Jennifer – It was great to see you let loose like that! Now I need you to dig a little deeper. Part of the performance is acting. I know you don’t have the life experience, but you’ve got to act it.

Randy – The reason you’re here is because we knew you had it in you. It’s about taking chances, and you can really sing, but I’m happy to see you take some chances tonight.

Steven – I’m good with it. Great.

 

3. Jacob Lusk (You’re all I Need, Marvin Gaye) – Guys, I’m torn here. Jacob can sing. There is no question about that. Problem is, I don’t usually like it when he does. To be cliché, he moves…like a girl. It totally throws me off. It’s distracting. That said, he nailed this song tonight. So, good job Jacob. Again, he’s another contestant that should take some videos of himself and STUDY. Stage presence is a little awkward for him.

Randy – Do you know what was wrong with that performance? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

Steven – You held it back, you milked it, you DID it.

Jennifer – You made us BEG for those notes. You moved us. Great job.

 

4. Lauren Alaina (You Keep Me Hanging On, Diana Ross) – Love this. Love her dress, love the song for her, love her attitude. There’s just enough twang to still be Alaina, and enough soul to do Diana proud. This is great!

Steven – I don’t think you listen to anybody about anything…and I like that about you. That was beautiful.

Jennifer – You look amazing tonight. You know what I loved about this performance? You threw your head and your neck into it…so much attitude! Great job.

Randy – You have got your swagger on high. You are READY!

 

5. Stefano Langone (Hello, Lionel Richie) – Something’s off about this for me. His accent is really coming out…which confuses me, because I never noticed it before. Also, the song seems about a third too high for his voice. Hrm. Still, a good heartfelt performance.

Jennifer – You can sing like crazy, and we know that. We want you to CONNECT to the audience. I don’t want the intensity to come from you wanting to do WELL. I want it to come from your heart BREAKING.

Randy – The only thing you’re missing is that connection. You can SOAR. You have to be perfect emotionally AND vocally. You sounded good, but there was no real connection.

Steven – I agree with the other judges.

 

6. Haley Reinhart (You Really Got a Hold On Me, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles) – Not doing it for me. Sorry. (Man, I feel like I’m totally harsh tonight. Sorry! Just calling it how I see it.) Nothing about Haley seems current to me. From her wardrobe to her song style. My advice? Head to Tennessee and seek your fortune.

Randy – It started rough, but by the middle of the song that Haley that we love came ROARING back!

Steven – Beautiful! Touched my heart. You don’t look a day over fabulous.

Jennifer – You have the same effortless control in your voice as Steven here. I think you may have the most soulful voice of anybody in the competition.

 

7. Scotty McCreery (For Once in My Life, Stevie Wonder) – Ok, they hyped this up as Scotty LEAVING his comfort zone. Haha. That was funny guys. He’s still smack in his comfort zone. Only difference is, he’s countrifying a Stevie Wonder song. Sounds like country to me, and it sounds pretty good. *grin* It’s not very exciting…but Lo Gung says it’s “very smart. Totally country, no Motown in there!”

Steven – You took a big chance in doing that. Great job! And when you go down to those low notes, you tweak everybody.

Jennifer – You really made it your own. It wasn’t your strongest performance, but you always get me with those low notes.

Randy – I was smiling the whole time because you are taking chances. You are the young lady killer!

 

8. Pia Toscano (All in Love is Fair, Stevie Wonder) – This girl gives me chills, every time. I’ve never heard this song before, but I’m liking it. And you know who Pia reminds me of? Celine. She could go that direction. She’s got such a huge, great voice, it is going to need Celine-style songs to really shine.

Jennifer – So, again, you kill us with one of your killer ballads. Amazing vocals, feeling, look – CHECK. You could have a career like Celine (see! haha). Celine gets on that stage and she OWNS that stage. We’ve seen you three times stand and do a ballad and knock us over. You’re going to have to do a two hour concert someday – own that stage!

Randy – What I love is that you think of the note and hit it dead on. You incorporated more falsetto in the beginning. One criticism – give me a mid or up tempo song! No more ballads. You can’t live by ballads alone.

Steven – Right now you are the closest star in this American Idol universe. You are all that, you will be all that. If stepping out and putting your sneakers on and kicking some butt is what you need to do, according to them, then I know you will do it.

 

9. Paul McDonald (The Tracks of My Tears, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles) – Paul has such a unique sound, and it’s one that I love. I’m sorry that he’s got his guitar this week…because it means he can’t dance! This isn’t my favorite performance, but he definitely made it his own.

Randy – I like that you’re not really dancing all around. You definitely got a distinctive kind of voice, and I was really worried at the beginning…but when you sang tender at the very end…oh my GOODNESS dude. Bring more of that out!

Steven – Your voice is different and beautiful.

Jennifer – You’re the most seasoned performer we’ve got. But it’s true – you’re kind of the complete package. All you need is a good producer, and there you go!

 

10. Naima Adedapo (Dancing in the Streets, Martha and the Vandellas) – I am totally rooting for her right now. According to her intro video, she’s going to bust into African dance any moment. And that is going to be tough. So far so good..this is just pure fun! Alright, she hauled in the drummers, she busted her moves, and she nailed it. A little pitchy right in the middle, but she was getting ready to bust a move, so we can forgive that.

Steven – You came up with the drums, the dance…once again we see the whole package. Beautiful!

Jennifer – You’re an exciting performer. I love watching you, and it was my first little goose bumps of the night! You’re my mover and my shaker.

Randy – I’ve been a little rough on you the past couple of weeks, but finally tonight ALL of Naima showed up. Everything worked out. Everything was very smart tonight.

(Oh my stinkin’ funny…Nigel Lithgow is in the audience. He’s a judge on So You Think You Can Dance, my other favorite alternate reality.)

11. James Durbin (Livin’ For the City, Stevie Wonder) – James is working the crowd, and is absolutely loving it. Even dancing a little bit! He’s reminding me a little bit of Adam Lambert tonight, but more unpredictable. Great high notes…just gorgeous. Boy can rock.

Jennifer – You are serious business up there! It’s an incredible thing to watch, honestly. You leave me speechless, and that’s not easy to do. Honestly!

Randy – When it started, it was a little rough for me, but when you started hitting the high notes, you got your stride, and I loved the note you ended on.

Steven – I think sometimes it takes a little bit of crazy to make a difference in this world, and that’s what you’re all about. You nailed it.

 

Kids, that’s a wrap. Who are you voting for tonight? My favorites of the night are Pia, Casey, Thia, Lauren and Paul.  (What??! Everyone did great tonight.)

 

Picks to go home? Stefano or Hayley.

 

Tonight was FIERCE competition. Good luck to all the contestants.