Last night the top 13 tackled songs from the Michael Jackson songbook. I was a big fan of Michael when he was young and black. Although it seemed the whiter he got, the weirder he became. However, it's a huge challenge to take on arguably the biggest pop star of all time! As it turned out, there were some brilliant moments (Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey) some not so brilliant moments (Jorge Nunez) and some downright brutal moments (Anoop-Dawg Desai).
Here's my recap of what went down, who should go, who will go, and who I'd like to see get launched to the moon!
1. Lil Rounds
Lil Rounds kicked off the night (or Season 8 if you believe Randy Jackson who seems to say this EVERY week) singing The Way You Make Me Feel. I was a little disappointed in her performance. It wasn't bad, I just expected more from her. The good news is, it was still better than most and she will be back next week.
2. Scott MacIntyre
Scott sang Keep the Faith which is one of Jackson's lesser known songs. Personally, I don't get the judges love affair with this guy. Sure, his story is inspirational, but the fact of the matter is he's an average singer at best.
3. Danny Gokey
Here's another guy who the judges (and America) seem to be ga-ga over. And I'll admit, until last night, I didn't get it. He was a good singer, but I think too much was made of his wife who passed away 7 months ago (sorry for your loss dude). But last night Danny performed P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing) and he knocked it out of the park! In my opinion, the second best performance of the night and now I'm a believer too!
4. Michael Sarver
Michael's clearly not the greatest singer in the competition, but I love this guy. Well, I love him in a way that a man can love another man that he's never met without crossing any icky lines! Last night he sang You Are Not Alone and I was pleasantly surprised at how well he performed. It's nice to see an everyman like Michael on the show. It gives hope to all of us "everymen" everywhere that if we can dream it, we can do it! Keep it up Michael!
5. Jasmine Murray
Jasmine performed I'll Be There by the Jackson 5 and in my humble opinion, I thought she did a great job. I love this girl mainly because she reminds me of my niece. Unfortunately she's probably going home tonight, but I'd really like to see her stay!
6. Kris Allen
Kris seems to be a favourite of the judges and the fans but honestly, I don't get it. I think he's an average singer at best and his performance Remember the Time was mediocre and boring.
7. Allison Iraheta
Allison sang Give in to Me and she rocked it!! Man, this 16-year old can flat out sing! And the judges nailed it, for someone so young she has incredible poise on the stage. Methinks she'll be around for a while.
8. Anoop Desai
There are 3 songs that the contestants should have stayed away from. Billie Jean (no one will ever do again what David Cook accomplished last season), Thriller, and Beat It. Unfortunately Anoop-Dawg didn't get the memo because he butchered Jackson's Beat It. It was awful. Downright appalling. It was so bad that I was starting to feel embarrassed for the guy. He seems likable, but I don't think he did himself any favours last night.
9. Jorge Nunez
Jorge sang Never Can Say Goodbye. My question is, can we the audience finally say goodbye to this guy?? His performance was boring, and seriously, what's with the eyebrows dude?
10. Megan Joy Corkrey
Megan seems to be taking a lot of heat online and I don't understand why. She has a great voice, a beautiful smile (nevermind smile, she has a beautiful everything!) and my God does she have good genes - have you seen her Mother?? Hubba hubba! Megan's style is unique, her voice is unique, her dancing is.........weird. But in a good way. She sang Rockin' Robin and aside from the crow call at the end, I thought her performance was fantastic! I love this girl, she is one of my favourites and I really really hope she goes far!
11. Adam Lambert
Wow!! Nothing I could write here could possibly capture the essence of Adam's performance last night. He sang Jackson's Black or White and he left everyone else in this competition in the dust. He was head and shoulder's better than everyone else last night. Adam was working the stage, working the audience and working the cameras, all while putting on the best vocal performance of the night!! I'm calling it right now, Adam Lambert will be your next American Idol!!
12. Matt Giraud
Matt did an awesome job with Human Nature. He was obviously very comfortable behind the piano, the problem was he followed Adam Lambert. Talk about your bum spots! It really didn't matter what he did, it would have paled in comparison. That being said, he did enough that I'd be shocked if he wasn't here next week.
13. Alexis Grace
Alexis sang my favourite Jackson song, Dirty Diana. It was good, but it could have been better. The judges were right on the money when they said she oversang the song. She looked hot, but like Lil Rounds, I was expecting more. However Alexis has talents in places where I don't have places so she'll be around for a while yet!
Who should go - Jorge Nunez, Scott MacIntyre
Who will go - Jorge Nunez, Jasmine Murray
Who I'd like to launch to the moon - Jorge Nunez
Who should count there lucky stars that it's only the first week - Anoop Desai
