American Idol Recap: Top 10 Edition

Theme: Motown, an American Idol tradition

"Touchdown!"
Really ecstatic

Matt Giraud "Let's Get It On" What made these three the best of the night was the fact that they took nearly "untouchable" songs and worked them to fit with their musical style. The best of these was Kalamazoo native (what what!) Matt Giraud's take on Marvin Gaye's overused "Let's Get It On." I was a bit scared when I heard his choice, but as soon as he started singing I knew I was in for something special.

Kris Allen "How Sweet It Is" Kris, once again, showed why he's amazing by taking another Marvin Gaye song and completely transforming it into the cool, laid back pop song he does so well. This guy is so ridiculously talented and deserves way more respect than Adam and Danny. On a side note, Kris, you can divorce your wife and marry me anytime. I will even be your mistress if that's the way you roll.

Allison Iraheta "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" Another worrisome song choice, but Allison, not surprisingly, nailed it. I thought it was amazing for two reasons: first, Allison's vocals were spot on. Secondly, she told a story with the song and, for the first time, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" made sense to me. Brilliant, bold move.

Paula Clap
Quite good

Adam Lambert "Track of My Tears" I know, I'm just as surprised as you. I didn't think it was as mindblowingly great as the judges seemed to think, but, for the most part, he avoided shrieking and pretentious wankery and actually sang the song. Now that I've complemented him, you know he's going to go back next week and do something shitty like "Ring of Fire" again. Sigh.

Dancing in My Seat
No one ever said it took much to get Paula on her feet

Lil Rounds "Heatwave" Mediocre. Where is this girl's mad skills that we've been hearing about (or, a better question is, when was this time where she "blew us all away" as Simon recollected)? I don't exactly think that someone practically shouting at us qualifies as any kind of talent.

Anoop "Oooh, Baby Baby" What the Christ where the judges smoking when they critiqued this one? This was BORING and it sounded way to high for Anoop. The falsettos where whiny and extremely thin. Bring me back "My Prerogative" era Anoop, please.

Megan Joy "For Once in My Life" After doing so amazing last week (well, by my estimation, anyways), this was a bit of a trainwreck, huh? Give her time, though, and I'm confident she'll finally learn to pick songs that match her extremely unique voice.

"Well, You Look Beautiful..."
It's never good when she starts with this

Danny Gokey "Get Ready" Goddamnit, why is this guy so popular? He does not even possess one-tenth the artistry of Matt, Kris or Allison (or even Adam this week), instead just blindly oversinging ever performance and yet the judges keep giving him a free pass. Gah, it drives me insane.

Michael Sarver "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" Instantly forgettable. It's to the point where I've just started blocking out his performances as soon as they are over. What the hell, America? This guy is better than Alexis Grace? I just don't understand it.

Scott McIntyre "You Can't Hurry Love" MAKE IT STOP! Oh my God, you guys, this was one of the most horrendous performances I've ever heard on American Idol (yes, it reaches Sanjaya levels of awfulness). I'm no expert on pitch or anything, but even I could tell it was all over the place and rarely sounded in tune. Plus, it sounded exactly like every other performance of his. Please America, do us a favor and get rid of this succubus now.

Who Should Go Home: Without a doubt, Scott McIntyre
Who Will Go Home: Hopefully, it's between Scott and Michael, but I have a horrible suspicion that Megan may end up there as well (do not let this happen!).