Motown week. Good music. Can they fill the shoes of the greats who sang these songs? Hope so because I grew up with the Motown sound, and I don't want any of these kids blowing it.
And away we go . . .
Casey (Heard It Through the Grapevine): Hmm. Casey, you know I love you, but that wasn't the best start to a performance. It got better, thank goodness, because this song should have been a perfect fit for you. Not a great ending either. Sorry. The judges absolutely loved it. Good but not great IMHO. So I'm giving him a 4.2 out of 5.
Thia (Heat Wave): Way to go, Thia! The youngest contestant brought something new to us this week, and her voice was just as beautiful with a bit of boogie goin' on. Moving around more helped show that she has confidence on the stage as well. She gets a 4.4.
Jacob (You're All I Need to Get By): I have a feeling that I will not be with the majority on this one. I didn't like it much. I thought he was sharp at times. Other times I thought it was just messy. Not a disaster and yet ... But the judges LOVED IT! Sorry. My sound must be messed up on my TV. He gets a 4.0 out of me.
Lauren (You Keep Me Hangin' On): She's feeling better, that's obvious. I thought this was a fine performance. Not brilliant. Not a blow-me-away Wow! But fine. She'll get a 4.2 out of 5.
Stefano (Hello?): Well, he's no Lionel Richie, but he does a fine job. Once again, not a Wow. The judges pointed out the closed eyes again. He's not connecting with the audience. An emotionless performance, perhaps is the best description. I feel like I'm stuck on this number but I'll call it another 4.2.
Haley (You Really Got a Hold on Me): Sorry. I barely recognized the song when she was finished with it. I'll be surprised if this keeps her out of the bottom three again. Not that she was off-key or sang it badly. It was just ... wrong somehow. Judges loved it. Maybe so will the rest of America. {{shrug}} I guess I'll give her a 4.0.
Scotty (For Once in My Life): Scotty puts a country twist on the Stevie Wonder version and gets a standing ovation. I loved it. It wasn't my favorite Scotty performance to date, but it was my favorite performance of the night so far. He gets a 4.5.
Pia (All in Love Is Fair): Okay, does someone need to call me Miss Cranky-Pants? I feel like there must be something wrong with me tonight. This was a perfectly lovely performance. Pia looked gorgeous (oh that dress and that beautiful figure). Her vocals were without a flaw. And yet she didn't move me. I am looking for a Wow and I'm not getting it. What's missing here? I'll give her a 4.6.
Paul (The Tracks of My Tears): I loved this performance from Paul. He turned this into a kind of folk-song, and it worked. Loved his smile and his playing of the guitar. No odd dance moves which I sort of appreciated. Very, very nice. A Rod Stewart vibe. Love the unique tone to Paul's voice. He gets a 4.4.
Naima (Dancing in the Street): Flashback with her huge bellbottom pants. LOL! Best performance she has had in weeks. I didn't hear one wrong note. Loved her little African dance addition toward the end. Not quite a Wow but a whole lot closer than anyone's made me feel so far tonight. She's getting a 4.6 for this.
James (Living for the City): James rocked Motown (and I liked his dance steps too!). This kid uses the stage and pulls in the crowd. And even though he can do some screaming (which often costs points from me), these were "screams that were sung" if that makes any sense. Really, I love this kid. He looked like a rocker star. Definitely the performance of the night. I can't claim a Wow (sorry), but still ... A 4.7.
Okay, I'm looking back over the performances, and I realized what a good night this was. Nobody ruined Motown for me. Nobody had a major misstep. The lowest score I gave was a 4.0, and the kids were all clustered close together up from there. That's pretty great. In other words, although I was complaining about not getting a Wow, what I was seeing was a night of consistently solid performances. So solid that saying who might be at risk is beyond me. I mean, Casey and Jacob were the weakest IMHO, and they weren't bad. So I guess I won't even try to predict who will be in the bottom three. This is going to be popularity night, I guess.
My favorite performances tonight?
It was such a turn around from last week, when I was impressed with hardly anyone. They were all good this week! Not a "what were they thinking" performance in the lot...
James was the best of the lot, though, in my opinion. No wonder they gave him the sweet spot.
Posted by: Birgit Ph | Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 09:35 PM
It was a very good night, Birgit. Has to be when the worst performances of the night included Casey who really wasn't horrible at all.
Posted by: Robin Lee Hatcher | Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 10:12 PM
Loved your review Robin-I loved Casey tonight-Thought he used the stage brilliantly! Agree with you about his ending. Loved Pia-beautiful and agreed with the judges-she does need to bring more. Loved Jacob but got distracted by too much...Great voice though!
Posted by: Valerie Gray | Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 11:24 PM
Just saw Naima!! Loved her whole thing and the wild bells-Loved her vulnerability!!
Posted by: Valerie Gray | Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 11:41 PM
Hi, Robin. I read your review last night, but we didn't get through until almost 10pm, so I was tired. I get what you say about not getting a "Wow," last night. I only got the goosebumps once, and that was during Pia's performance. It was the most fun I've ever had watching an Idol episode! Possibly the best performance show that I've ever seen. It makes me continue to wonder if they finally fixed the stage mix. See you tonight!
Posted by: Jeff Bickley | Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 06:11 AM
Thanks, Valerie. Casey is great. I think he didn't rank as high with me because my expectations of him are so high. As for Jacob, I don't know why, but he just doesn't do it for me. I know he has a fine voice, but I could never buy an album and listen to ten to fifteen songs of his in a row.
Posted by: Robin Lee Hatcher | Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 10:07 AM
Naima has been very uneven in her prior performances, so I doubt she will go the whole way (although maybe she's been too nervous in the past and is over that). But this was a great performance from start to finish. And that outfit. Man, if she'd had an afro, it could have been me from the early 70's. LOL!
Robin Lee Hatcher
Faith. Courage. Love.
http://www.robinleehatcher.com
http://blog.robinleehatcher.com
"Robin's stories are always an adventure of the heart! " –– Karen Kingsbury
Posted by: Robin Lee Hatcher | Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 10:09 AM
Jeff, it would be nice to think all the sour notes we've been hearing was the stage mix. I guess we'll know if things are different in coming weeks. <g>
Robin Lee Hatcher
Faith. Courage. Love.
http://www.robinleehatcher.com
http://blog.robinleehatcher.com
"Robin's stories are always an adventure of the heart! " –– Karen Kingsbury
Posted by: Robin Lee Hatcher | Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 10:10 AM