American Idol - Season 10

[klinkman]

Motown Week. I'm writing this as they perform, so we'll see how the week goes.

Casey: He got it back this week in my opinion. Casey is going to be really hard to beaten, but he might end up beating himself.

Thia: Wow! I didn't know she had that in her. This competition has another real competitor now.

Jacob: I don't really agree with the judges. The beginning was breathy, not restrained, and the ending was just...out there. It was good for the rest of it, but it certainly wasn't run up on stage and hug the singer because you are so enamored by the performance good.

Lauren: Listening to her intro video was just painful. I was cringing. It's a good thing she sounded much better on stage. She still didn't pass mediocre, but hey it wasn't cringe worthy.

Stefano: Uggh, the old Stefano is back. I didn't enjoy any part of this performance, it just got on my nerves.

Haley: I had to distract myself by playing angry birds to avoid dealing with the pain that this horrific singer is still on the American Idol Stage. Oh God this was awful. The American public made a horrific mistake by keeping her around.

Scotty: This is a good sign for Scotty. He was beyond out of his element trying to do Motown, and found a way to at least kind of pull it off. I mean, I don't think he was anywhere near the best couple of performances today, but he still did okay, which is more than can be expected from a pure country singer.

Pia: I feel like she took a slight step back this week. She's been consistently strong throughout this competition, but she was only pretty good this week. I found it to be slightly sleepy, with nothing really exciting or interesting about it. She was lacking the feeling and stage presence that makes a performance like that truly impressive. Don't get me wrong, she was still good-just not strong or great like she has been.

Paul: I'm still not a Paul fan. I guess his voice is just not for me. I mean, it's not like he was outright bad like some before him, but I really don't care for his voice, and I don't expect him to make any major changes to it at this point.

Naima: They really put it up on a tee for her tonight. She did extremely well with it, perhaps the best I've heard so far. But she'll have to keep that up during weeks that aren't in her wheelhouse in order to survive.

James: James is an amazing performer, a talented singer and a little bit crazy too. He's gotta be one of the favorites from this point.

Winner: Thia. She was so much improved this week it was outright shocking. To be honest it was hard to pick a winner, as the top 6 or 7 were all pretty evenly matched, but Thia's shocking improvement puts her over the top.

Bottom 3: Lauren, Stefano, Haley

These were clearly the worst performances tonight. Lauren was better than Stefano and Haley, who were just grating on my ears. All will need massive improvements in order to catch up to the pack.

Going home: Haley

She was the worst of the bad in my opinion. She can't seem to carry a tune and her voice is grating. This should be the end of the line for her.

[NDN]

Excellent recap. Below you'll find my summary and rebuttals mixed within your reviews. We differ in more than one place this week!

Before we get to that though, I should say that I usually hate just about every theme week that they come up with on American Idol. Motown week is no different. Don't get me wrong, I love Motown, but year after year it's just a week of watching people who simply will never be able to improve a Motown song. Maybe it's the fact that these are all young singers trying to sing older tunes. Whatever it is, there has historically only been one performer each year that can pull this week off and I think it's a shame to dedicate a full week to a "theme" that only one contestant can master.

For most of my critiques, a lot of the negative stuff I have to say this week is due to the back-up vocals. If you're not able to sing over the back-ups and they do nothing to showcase your individual voice, then why they hell are you using them? A lot of people fell victim to the back-up singers this week in my opinion.

And now for the good stuff....

Motown Week. I'm writing this as they perform, so we'll see how the week goes.

Casey: He got it back this week in my opinion. Casey is going to be really hard to beaten, but he might end up beating himself.

I hate this song (and someone sings it every year, but I didn't mind the performance). I think Casey was at his best earlier in the year, but he'll no doubt have some more brilliant moments to come. I definitely agree that he might be the one to beat himself. I liken it to Adam Lambert staying true to himself and losing to the inferior Kris Allen. For Casey, it comes down to doing what he loves or doing what will get him the victory on AI. Clearly Adam stuck to what he does best and it's paying off these days, so I think Casey will take the same route.

Thia: Wow! I didn't know she had that in her. This competition has another real competitor now.

Definitely nice to see her move away from the ballads, but she fell victim to the "back-up singer" curse I mentioned earlier. I could barely hear her and she didn't give it 100% in my opinion. She still has a phenomenal voice, but she needs to really "go for it" and quickly!

Jacob: I don't really agree with the judges. The beginning was breathy, not restrained, and the ending was just...out there. It was good for the rest of it, but it certainly wasn't run up on stage and hug the singer because you are so enamored by the performance good.

I enjoyed this performance and liked that he listened to the "producers" and showed some restraint. Certainly not "hug" worthy, but pleasant enough for me.

Lauren: Listening to her intro video was just painful. I was cringing. It's a good thing she sounded much better on stage. She still didn't pass mediocre, but hey it wasn't cringe worthy.

She's still one of my favorites (I think it's more her demeanor than her voice). I liked that she started off the song slow, but when it went fast it was just alright for me. I'd like to see her do a ballad one week to get away from the upbeat stuff.

Stefano: Uggh, the old Stefano is back. I didn't enjoy any part of this performance, it just got on my nerves.

Not the best of the week, but not nearly the worst either. Based on the performance I think he deserves to be around a little while longer.

Haley: I had to distract myself by playing angry birds to avoid dealing with the pain that this horrific singer is still on the American Idol Stage. Oh God this was awful. The American public made a horrific mistake by keeping her around.

I hated 50% of the song and loved the other 50%. That's certainly not going to do her any favors, but I don't think she was the worst of the week. I'm telling you, one good "moment" and she can get a lot of momentum going her way and make some believers out of her critics.

Scotty: This is a good sign for Scotty. He was beyond out of his element trying to do Motown, and found a way to at least kind of pull it off. I mean, I don't think he was anywhere near the best couple of performances today, but he still did okay, which is more than can be expected from a pure country singer.

While Scotty was singing, it dawned on me who he is. He is Casey James from a year or two back (if you watch the show you'll know who I am talking about). He's the guy who makes it week after week and I am always left wondering why. He has way too many fans for his lackluster performances and it's a shame that better singers will leave the competition before he will.

Pia: I feel like she took a slight step back this week. She's been consistently strong throughout this competition, but she was only pretty good this week. I found it to be slightly sleepy, with nothing really exciting or interesting about it. She was lacking the feeling and stage presence that makes a performance like that truly impressive. Don't get me wrong, she was still good-just not strong or great like she has been.

While she definitely needs to try something other than a ballad, this was still one of the more pleasant songs to listen to tonight. In a night that left me confused about some and disappointed with others, at least she was consistent with her vocals.

Paul: I'm still not a Paul fan. I guess his voice is just not for me. I mean, it's not like he was outright bad like some before him, but I really don't care for his voice, and I don't expect him to make any major changes to it at this point.

Paul needs to do something drastic to make me a fan again. After liking his initial prospects, I've been left disappointed with nearly all of his performances.

Naima: They really put it up on a tee for her tonight. She did extremely well with it, perhaps the best I've heard so far. But she'll have to keep that up during weeks that aren't in her wheelhouse in order to survive.

I think someone paid the judges to try to get this girl some votes. Although this might have been her best performance, her best still falls short of every other contestant's worst.

James: James is an amazing performer, a talented singer and a little bit crazy too. He's gotta be one of the favorites from this point.

This was a great performance. I can't complain about any of it. Although, I will complain about him "soaking it up" after the performance a little too much.

Winner: Thia. She was so much improved this week it was outright shocking. To be honest it was hard to pick a winner, as the top 6 or 7 were all pretty evenly matched, but Thia's shocking improvement puts her over the top.

Winner: James by far.

Bottom 3: Lauren, Stefano, Haley

Bottom 3: Naima, Haley, Thia

You can swap out Thia for Paul if you'd like, but since Paul has the "fan vote" at the moment, I think Thia could be in the bottom.

Going home: Naima (Please Please Please)

[klinkman]

I'll be shocked if Thia or Naima end up in the bottom 3 this week. They both improved greatly over the last couple of weeks. Thia wasn't even in the bottom 3 after an off week last time out! If Naima doesn't make it out of the bottom 3 this week she'll be gone by next week for sure, she won't get it handed to her again like she did this week.

I really do expect Haley to be the casualty for this week.

[NDN]

I'll be shocked if Thia or Naima end up in the bottom 3 this week. They both improved greatly over the last couple of weeks. Thia wasn't even in the bottom 3 after an off week last time out! If Naima doesn't make it out of the bottom 3 this week she'll be gone by next week for sure, she won't get it handed to her again like she did this week.

I really do expect Haley to be the casualty for this week.

Just because someone improves doesn't mean they should stick around longer than contestants who are more talented. Like I said, it was Naima's best and she was definitely improved, but her best isn't ahead of any other contestant's worst.

I don't think Thia stands a shot at going home, but based on just this one performance, I think she deserves a taste of the bottom three.

I can definitely see Haley getting the ax, but I still think Naima is the weaker of the two.

[klinkman]

I definitely disagree. Naima's best is better than Haley's best, let alone her worst. Naima's best is better than Stefano's best and and Paul's even in my opinion. It seems clear to me that this performance was improved enough to pull her ahead of the bottom 3.

Thia was good enough to be above the bottom 3 last week, even when she seemed to have an off week. She was WAY above them this week.

Naima might be weaker overall, but last week buys her a week reprieve most likely.

[NDN]

We shall see tonight!

[taylovesthebeatles]

Holy crap look what happens when America is left to its own devices. Sheesh. No way in hell should Thia have been in the bottom three, let alone Casey. I applaud the judges for doing the right thing, but on the other hand, why in the world did they put Haley in the top 24? Just why? So in general, just craziness. I'm really happy for James though, that was just awesome. What a night for him.

[NDN]

The results are in....

The bottom three this week were: Thia - Stephano - CASEY

The person with the fewest votes this week was: CASEY

My take: I predicted Thia would be in the bottom three, I can understand why Stephano was in the bottom three, but what in the hell is Casey doing in the bottom three. Not only that, what is he doing with the least amount of votes?!?!

Needless to say, the judges let him sing about two words of his "save me" song and they stopped him and basically said what the hell is America doing. They used the judges save and we'll see all 11 contestants next week.

They didn't cover whether or not all 11 will be on tour or how many people they will eliminate next week. In the past when they've used the save, two people were eliminated the following week.

We will see what happens next week!

Maybe I'll get lucky and Naima will somehow end up getting the boot and not making it on the tour (fingers crossed)!!!