American Idol Top 12: A Redux

So, we are starting another year of the Top 12 ... our Idols are singing the songbook of The Rolling Stones. The beginning of this year's Top 12 made me think of our original Top 10 from Season One . . . so, remembering Kelly, Justin, Nicki, Tamyra and the rest, I present the original American Idol... Ms. Clarkson ... singing "You're All I Need" from Motown Week. ENJOY!

The Top 10: J's Rankings

So, Motown turned out to be a much better night than I expected . . .

Here are my rankings . . .

1. Adam Lambert - The boy provided us with a Zack Efron laced IDOL MOMENT . . . we only get these moment every so often, and tonight was the night.

(HUGE MASSIVE SPACE)

2. Allison - She delivered with Papa Was A Rolling Stone. Allison brought it tonight, and benefitted from the pimp spot.

(Small Space)

3. The Gokey - Danny headlines the group of three that were better than the rest. His vocals were spot on, and I liked seeing him have fun with the back-up singers.

Tie 4. Kris and Matt - I couldn't decide between these two guys. Matt had the better performance, but Kris had the better vocals. Both of these boys were just wonderful tonight. I still think that at least one of them will be an Idol spoiler for the Top 4.

(HUGE SPACE)

6. Anoop - Good song choice for Anoop Dogg, but the vocals were just the tiniest bit off . . .

7. Lil Rounds - I had her ranked lower than 7th, but I moved her back up. I originally thought she was such a major disappointment because she should have had HER moment tonight, but just based on tonight's performances she was just a bit better than . . .

The bottom three

8. Michael Sarver - He did a decent job on this song . . . that btw I thought should have been sung by the Gokey.

9. Scott McIntyre - On the positive side, he did a MUCH better job this week than the first two. He had a better energy tonight. That being said, he is out of his league in this group of singers. He needs to go soon. . . .

10. Megan Joy - I hate putting her last because I like her, but she does not belong in this competition. Her Bjork inspired performances belong in a tiny little jazz club . . . not on the Idol stage.

J's bottom three: Michael, Scott, and Megan
America's bottom three: Michael, Scott, and Megan

Eliminated: Megan

The Top Ten: Adam Lambert . . . Nothing More to Say

Tonight, the music of motown, and THIS is American Idol.

I am VERY worried about this night because I think it should be great and therefore I feel like it could be a disaster . . . D. I. aster

What are they wearing . . . Kara looks good and Simon is Simon . . . but Randy and Paula have taken a trip to the land of bizarre.

Lets do a little chitty chat with the judges . . . and introduce OUR Top 10. Let's go to Detroit, and meet the Motown Folks . . . Oh Smokey Robinson . . . step away from the botox . . . step back, baby.

Smokey Robinson is their mentor for this week . . . and we get a preview of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" clearly the group number this week. . . . And here we go . . .

2. Kris A. - He's singin "How Sweet It Is" . . . Y'all know I HEART him . . . And Smokey HEARTED him :) I just love this boy's voice . . . so clear and clean, and I love that he brought in the guitar. Ok, I'll stop gushing. Kara loves that he did Kris. Paula thought he was great. Simon thinks he's having a good competition. Randy thinks he's hit his zone.

1. Matt G is first and he's singing "Let's Get It On" . . . this should be realllllllllllly good. I'm crossing my fingers for him. Strangely, this boy is starting to look like someone who could not just go far in this competition, but someone who could actually win. He's very, very good. I'm tickled for him. That was great. Randy loves him, dog. Kara thinks there are some girls (and boys :) that are going "Yeah". Paula thought he showed a sexy cool vibe. Simon thought it was a brilliant choice of song, and it was a cool performance.

3. Scott McIntyre - he's singing "You Can't Hurry Love" . . . I'm really not sure about this . . . Smokey thinks he brought it up to date . . . He's picked it up a bit this week . . . He's got a bit more energy . . . His vocals don't compare to Matt and Kris, but his piano skillz cannot be denied. Simply amazing. Paula thinks he brought something different by bringing the background vocalists up to the piano. Simon did not think it was a very good song choice and that it was a mess. Randy agrees with Simon and thinks he is a better singer than that. Kara thinks he brought tempo tonight, but wasn't crazy about the liberties he took with the melody.

4. Megan Joy - is singing "For Once In My Life". . . Smokey thinks she's "original" . . . Let's see how it goes . . . I think this girl has a great quirky voice, but it was very strange . . . very strange. Randy thought it was a train wreck. Kara thought it was the wrong song. Paula thinks she looks stunning, but it was not the right song for her and was confused. Simon thinks she looks good, but sang horrible. She's got some trouble comin her way . . .

5. Anoop Dogg - He's singing "Oh Baby Baby" - Anoop has chosen wisely here I think . . . the slow jam is his vibe. . . . um, maybe I was expecting too much . . . I thought it was good, but I didn't love it. Kara thought that overall it was hard to do and it was a pretty good job. Paula thinks he has a new found confidence, and that his phrasing and falsetto were sweet. Simon thought it was a great vocal, but thought he looked asleep. Randy thought it was the serious Anoop Dogg.

6. Michael Sarver is up next and he's singin "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" . . . Smokey told him to pound it a little more . . . He sounds a little mechanical through the first part of the song . . . like he's reading direction . . . 1. growl here, 2. riff here, 3. touch audience hands here. . . Paula thinks it was a tough performance. Simon couldn't wait for it to end. Randy thinks it is an unbelievable song and it was too big for him. Kara thinks it's not about singing but about artistry . . . er, um. . .

7. Lil Rounds - She's gonna sing "Heat Wave". . . I've gotta echo the words of Allison here . . . good song, but of all the songs she had to choose from . . . really? Why did she choose this song . . . I just don't get it. . . She looks great, and she sounds good, but . . . I'm not quite sure . . . she sounds slow or just a little behind the rhythm . . . I'm not sure. This is a performance she should have knocked out of the park, and she's just not. Randy liked the back end, but not the front end. Kara thinks she looks great, but stayed too true to what the song was. Paula disagrees she owned the song. Simon thinks she did an authentic tribute but thought it was the wrong song.

8. Adam - He's singing "The tracks of my tears" - Smokey was proud of him . . . There are no words . . . Kara thought it was one of the best of the night. Paula thinks he's in his own league. Simon thought it was THE BEST of the night.

9. The Gokey - He's singin "Gettin Ready" - PERFECT SONG CHOICE . . . Folks, I think we've got our finale . . . Danny v. Adam . . . . That was Brilliant! He was great! Paula thinks he is indentifiable . . . . Simon thought it was clumsy and amateurish . . . Randy thought it was dope . . . Kara loved his personality, and thought it was good . . . but not great.

10. Allison - She's singin "Papa Was A Rollin Stone" . . . Again PERFECT SONG CHOICE . . . I like this girl and would love for her to have a moment . . . I LOVE HER. That was a GREAT VOCAL! Randy thought it was dope. Kara thinks that she is from God. Paula has a mustache and thinks she is awesome. Simon thinks she is a survivor, and that she had a great performance.

I'll be back with rankings soon . . . this could be a tricky week. . . . .

The Bottom Two: Who Stays and Who Goes?

We're down to the bottom two . . . Justin and Tommy. I think Justin will go, but I'm curious to see how they perform.

Justin Gaston – “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” – Oh Justin, Justin, Justin . . . I hate that you were eliminated, but I need to review your last performance anyway. One last look at The Hotness, yo. I agree with Jewel . . . no telling what John Rich is gonna say about this one. Ok, ok, vocals are still a little weak, but they are on pitch and he sounds country. 1000 times better than either of his other two performances. I think that of these ten, for tonight, he was right in the middle. However, I think we all know that he was not going to win this competition.

Tommy Stanley – “Maniac” – Sounds like a strange song choice to me, but I’m willing to have an open mind. I like this guy . . . and he did stop wearing the sailor suit, so, I’m all in. Vocally, a decent performance. He was on pitch for most of the song . . . screamed a bit, but overall good vocal. I have to agree with the judges, not very country, but good vocally.

Now, I kind of hope that Justin stays . . . But, alas, I am wrong. He wasn't gonna win anyway . . . another week is done. I'm gonna rank em this week, I promise.

Thank God For Melissa Lawson

Melissa Lawson – True Colors – Ms. Lawson was SHOCKINGLY in the bottom two last week . . . then she came out and gave a good, if shrieking, performance of “Natural Woman”. Even before I hear her, I think she has made the best song selection of the evening. I have very very high hopes for this performance. THERE ARE NO WORDS . . . yes, there are. Wonderful, beautiful, amazing . . . the girl is back. That performance took any shrieking memories of last week out of my head. She’s back and head and shoulders above everyone else.

Shaun Mayer is N'Sync

Shaun Mayer – “Bye, Bye, Bye” – Another ballsy choice by Ms. Mayer. I have not loved her in the first two performances, but I have been impressed with her ability to think outside the box. I’m very interested to see how she countrifies this song. . . really, JT has quite a little twang to his voice at times, so maybe it will flow well. Alright, ok. . . I was actually kind of feeling that one. First, the beginning was GENIOUS . . . I loved how she slowed it down and made the beginning an actual opening that was distinguishable from the rest of the song. The remaining two thirds were quite nicely sung. I could have done without the dancers, but overall an impressive transformation of a major pop hit.

Lauren and Sophie Are More Than Pretty Young Things

Lauren and Sophie – “PYT” – Once again, I want these two girls to win me over. First off, I’m confused – this has nothing to do with the girls – in all of the other clips we have seen, the performer comes in with what they want to sing . . . however, in this clip they are showing Jeff pitch an idea and an arrangement to the girls. The reason I am pointing this out is that if they are not the only group/performer who is getting this much assistance from the judges, then they are being unfairly portrayed by the editing department. Anyway, on to the performance . . . Ok, adult sized, matching, JonBenet Ramsey dresses aside, the performance was pretty, darn good. I’m not gonna lie, these girls are still not my favorite performers, BUT, for me, by far their best performance. Their harmonies on the chorus’ were tight and they looked at the audience MUCH more than their prior two performances. More impressed this week . . . good job, girls.