WWTBAM Bored

Matt - Let's Get It On (Marvin Gaye) - The song is right in Matt's wheelhouse, and despite the peppered-in falsettos (which, admittedly are indicative of the Motown sound, so I better let 'em go), he did the song justice. In fact, there were sections that made me think he was doing an impression of Marvin....which means he wasn't "making the song his own". However, it wasn't karaoke, it was contemporary sounding and modern at the same time as being a tribute. And once again, I found myself agreeing with Paula (God help me): he didn't overdo the riffs and runs, he made them work in context, so they didn't sound out of place. A.

Kris - How Sweet It Is (Marvin Gaye again) - Hated the beginning, it was way too snarky looking. For that matter, so was most of the rest of the song. It reminded me more of James Taylor's version than Marvin's. Kris tried to infuse a little John Mayer/Jason Mraz into it, but for me (maybe because I'm not a big fan of either Mayer or Mraz), it just didn't work as well as Matt for me. I did like the ending glory note, though. I certainly didn't like it as much as the judges. B-.

Scott - You Can't Hurry Love (The Supremes) - Is it wrong of me to be thinking that Ray Charles would have been a better fit for Scott? Yeah, I know, I'm going to hell, and anyway, Ray wasn't Motown, but still.... OK, now that that's behind me, on to the performance: I liked about 80% of it. Once Scott loosened up, and began really making the song his own (in a way neither of the two singers who preceded him did), it got 100% better. But there were sections that were just not good, and I guess it balances out to about a C+.

Megan - For Once In My Life (Stevie Wonder) - It's been said that Megan reminds one of Adele, or Amy Winehouse, or Duffy....the problem is, I don't much like them, either. It didn't help that she was consistently flat start to finish. There were one or two very nice notes, but they didn't come close to compensating for the 4,000 bad ones. She'd make a great Miss Congeniality in the pageant she was singing in, though. D-.

Anoop - Ooh, Baby Baby (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles) - I know, I know, I said above that I needed to let the falsetto go this week, but I just can't. Mainly because Anoop, who can be very strong in the middle register, sounds AWFUL in falsetto. He just doesn't have the vocal strength for it. And (I'm sorry Mr. Robinson) that song is just sooooooooooooo dull, it needs strength in the falsetto, or it falls apart. That's how Smokey made such a dull song into a classic, but Anoop didn't I did like that last note, though. C-.

Michael - Ain't Too Proud to Beg (The Temptations) - I really liked the growly parts of Michael's performance. He did kinda remind me of Taylor Hicks a little, though, and that's not necessarily a good thing. I yet again had to agree with Paula regarding Michael's stage presence reminding one of Vegas lounge singers. Playing with the crowd, his mike handling, it was just amateurish. I didn't dislike it as much as Simon did, but he's right: it wasn't good enough. C-.

Lil - Heat Wave (Martha and the Vandellas) - Like Matt, this week's theme fit Lil like a glove. Too bad she didn't try the glove on first. MOST of the time, especially during the verses, she was terrific, but her choruses were painful. She was trying so hard to take the judges' mantra of "make it your own" to heart she just got lost. The good far outweighed the bad, though, and on the whole, I liked it (despite the fact that she must be spending too much time at the mansion with Shreiky McShreikerson), but she's been much better. B-.

Shreiky....um....Adam - Tracks of My Tears (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles) - FINALLY! Adam sings a song that only shreiks on the final falsetto note. I still absolutely HATE falsetto, but I am not too proud to admit that Adam really did surprise me tonight, and he was the only one to really pull off the falsetto. He definitely did do justice to one of my favorite songs of all time. Unlike the judges, though, I found his "look" to be so plastic that he looked to me kinda like Jude Law in "A.I." -- like he's not human. But I did agree that it was the best of the night to this point (and unless Allison, my new favorite since the criminally underappreciated Alexis was booted off last week, KILLS "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" in the pimp spot, probably the best period). A. (Disclosure: I had Adam at A+ until Allison sang, but then I had to downgrade him slightly because I had no way to show how much better Allison was.)

Danny - Get Ready (The Temptations) - The Short Version: I really liked it. The Qualification: I hated the fact that he consistently took a breath between the "get" and the "ready". The Second Qualification: I think he overenunciates. The Slightly Longer Version: One of the best of the night, after UsuallyShreiky and Matt, although he, too, was kinda awkward in his stage presence. A-.

Allison - Papa Was a Rolling Stone (The Temptations) - Another of my favorite Motown songs, and I take back what I said above in Adam's critique: Allison DID kill "Papa," and IMO gave the single best performance not just of the night, but of this whole SEASON tonight. Absolutely brilliant. A+.

If it were up to me, the bottom three would be Megan, Anoop and Michael, and Megan would be leaving. Since it's not, I'll predict the bottom three will be Scott, Megan and Michael, with Megan STILL going home.