This week we’re being treated? to yet another MoTown week… we’ll see how this year’s class of contestants connect with and reinterpret songs from Hitsville USA… i anticipate a number of trainwrecks and a few decent performances… i’ll be particularly interested to see what Lil Rounds chooses and, of course, how Adam turns MoTown inside out with a squelching rock opera… off we go…
AND THEN THERE WERE TEN
now playing: Cruisin’ – Smokey Robinson
Matt Giraud 5 from the last spot to the first, Matt is getting all maroon 5-ish with the dirty classic, “Let’s Get It On” by Marvinn Gaye… starting off at the piano and a slightly different arrangement, it’s not too bad… wait, now that he’s away from the piano, it’s not working out well for him… he’s pitchy and totally out of breath… eh, it was alright, but he just doesn’t really have it for me… Randy says that he worked it out and he’s challenging for the top spot… Kara talks dirty to him and says that it was solid… Paula says he has a sexy, cool vibe… Simon says it was a brilliant song choice and that he is a frontrunner… i’m just scratching my head at all this love… (has taken it’s toll on me… )
Kris “With a K” Kris and Matt are kind of interchangeable for me and, go figure, they’re both singing Marvin Gaye songs… “How Sweet It Is“… Kris is apparently a fan of numbers… 6181980… 38397… oh, i guess that’s a uniform of some sort… anyway… he’s vocal is quite a bit better than Matt’s and he’s actually brought something new to the arrangement with the whole singer-songwriter vibe to it… it’s pretty nice… Kara says that he made his mark on that song… Paula says that she like him… Simon says he needs more swagger… Randy says it’s all good, baby…
“Mistah Scott-tare”… well, Scott’s gonna stick with the piano… and he’s gonna sing a girl song again… “You Can’t Hurry Love“… Scott may have two numbers listed at the end… one for voting and one for dating… blah… i do like how he plays the piano, but i do not like the slow pace of this song so far… okay, he’s picking it up a little bit… you know, i think i figured it out… his voice is just flat… there are absolutely NO DYNAMICS to it at all… it’s like a flatline on the equalizer… i think he messed up the lyrics there at the end, too… well, i didn’t like it… not exactly a trainwreck, but really nothing to write home about… maybe it’s bottom threesville this time… Paula says it had a whole new life… Simon says he couldn’t take much more… wrong song choice… Randy says that he agrees with Simon and that it was very average… Kara says he brought tempo, but he didn’t nail the melodies… arguments and discussions ensue… Paula gives Simon crayons and coloring books… odd… very odd…
Megan Joy “Lydia” singing “For Once in My Life” a Stevie Wonder… Smokey says that she’s “different”… Megan minus the flu kicks off with a a nice horn section, an interesting outfit… Simon has an odd look on his face… i really like the style of singing that she’s trying to pull off, but i think that the fact that it’s fake is really starting to show… and she’s unfortunately wearing a little thin on me… can we say trainwreck?… this one just didn’t work… Randy says… oh my goodness… trainwreck!… score!… Kara says bad song choice and it was all over the place… Paula says that she is stunningly beautiful and Simon says that doesn’t matter and Paula says that yes, she is stunning, but she didn’t sing it well… Simon says it was horrible…
Anoop-a-noop… finally someone is singing a Smokey Robinson song… Anoop has got guts… “ooh, Baby, Baby“… and it’s actually pretty good, that was a pretty rough note there early on, but he’s recovered well and he’s really got that falsetto working overtime… yeah, i liked it man… say what?… Kara says that very hard to do and he did it pretty well… Paula says that he needs more confidence, but he’s doing a good job… Simon says that it was a great vocal, but he needs to wake up… Randy says that he should turn it back up next week… i think he won the first half of the show…
now playing: What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
Mikey the Mechanic i think that the new Osbournes show looks like a plague on society… also, i can’t quite believe that there are seven guys left and only three gals… how did THAT happen?… anyway, Mikey is churching up “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg“… too bad that means that he’s been told all his life how good he is when really, he’s just okay… i think that he’s doing his part to even out the gender odds… yeah, he’s really churching it up all right… grunting, howling and kiching it into a whole new decade… ouch… toot! toot!… chugga chugga!… CRASH BAM POW!… Paula says, “oh, boy”… Las Vegas lounge act… Simon says he couldn’t wait for it to end… and on and on… (sorry, he started arguing and i just hit fast-forward… i can’t really stand that)…
Lil Rounds She’s gonna sing “Heat Wave“… Ryan is doing the crowd shot, which has become a staple apparently… oh no… that outfit isn’t right… and she’s not really connecting with the song as well as i had hoped… i mean, well, it’s okay and it’s pretty true to the original, but it’s just not near what i was anticipating… she’s safe and it was better than last week, but i’m a little disappointed… Randy says it wasn’t the right song choice because it didn’t showcase her vocal… Kara says, yeah, you look great, but this should’ve been her week and she didn’t nail it… and then she kind of repeats what i just typed… Paula disagrees completely… Simon says it was a nice tribute to MoTown, but it wasn’t the best song choice…
“Wicked” Adam now, let’s see if Adam lets me down, too… he’s singing a Smokey tune as well… “Tracks of My Tears“… YES!… okay, he’s unplugged and slicked out with a nice classy look… and the vocal is on point… my goodness… he’s miles ahead of everyone else… lightyears… man… i don’t even know what more to say… it’s spectacular… and it’s completely not what anyone probably expected… that was HOT, YO!… Smokey gave him the standing O… Kara says understates it by saying it was one of the best of the night… Paula says he’s in his own league and he’s “it”… Simon says it was “the” best of the night… original, excellent songwriting and relevant… Randy says he’s very happy that he proved how hot of an artist he is…
“Gokey Dokey” it must be pretty awkward for these song coaches… anyway… Gokey is singing “Get Ready“… and he’s packing the power vocals from the beginning this time… doesn’t want to be called boring again… he’s doing pretty well and that little dance number with the background singers will certainly draw some comments from Simon… it was good… Paula decides to be Dr. Seuss… Simon says it was clumsy… Randy says it had a great energy… Kara says he has a good, not great personality…
Allison “Red” why is Matthew Perry remaking 30 Going on 13? and how are they running so thin on time when there’s one less performer than last week? bad time management… anyway… Red is singing “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” which probably gets sung at least once each year… she’s placed here to boost her votes since she was in the bottom three last week and the judges, they love her… well, it’s pretty good, but i think there’s something about the vocal that disconnects her from the audience… she’s probably fine though… Randy says she’s dope and blazing hot… Kara tells us all to vote… Paula has a mustache… and thinks that Red is awesome… Simon says she’s a survivor and that she’s bounced back…
MY PICKS
Bottom Three: Michael, Megan, Scott
Going Home Sweet Home: Michael
peace… love… bdg…