Tonight American Idol is taking on the music of Detroit, which means Motown songs for probably the 12th time in 12 seasons. But then they play the White Stripes over the intro, so maybe it won't be so boring tonight after all? Here at MSHBB HQ, we're taking a break from our excitement over Jon Peter "Pen Salesman" Lewis on The Voice to bring all of the American Idol Top 8 action to you.
I need Mariah's dress tonight, it's gorgeous. Nicki actually looks quite pretty.
So any artist from Detroit is fair game. Please let someone do Lose Yourself. Smokey Robinson is a mentor this week, but so is Jimmy, so I'm getting sick of. And I shouldn't fail to mention that Mariah has a light-up wand that she is waving at Seacrest as he describes the theme.
Candice is up first, and Smokey tells her that he made her cry singing I Who Have Nothing. Smokey knows what's up, I'm still amazed by that performance. Tonight she's singing I Heard It Through The Grapevine. Smokey loooooves Candice, it's adorable. He gives her some advice about making the song funkier, but otherwise, how do you improve upon what Candice already does?! What more can we possibly say about this girl... Her voice is huge, her pitch is perfect, she's oozing in swag, and she never ever looks like she's even trying. Just drop the mic and get your recording contract already, girl.
Apparently we're also doing duets tonight, and Kree and Janelle are up first. And they're doing my all-time favorite song, Like a Prayer. It's awesome, but at times the choir drowns them out a little bit, which is basically what this song is all about anyway. But their voices sound really great together, and if neither wins, they could totally start a country duo.
Devin, aka Hispanic Clay Aiken, is singing Tracks of My Tears. I love this song. Smokey tells an awesome story about the origin of the lyrics. How cool would it be to sing a song after someone has explained how they came up with the lyrics? Smokey is such a great mentor. Anyway, Devin sounds good, and the judges all like him, but in general, he bores me.
Next up, we have a trio. So apparently it's not just duets. Amber, Candice, and Angie (and her leather shorts) are doing The Supremes. They sound beautiful, as to be expected. Can we put together some girl groups from this year's contestants? We need a new Destiny's Child, yo.
MAKE SURE PAT SOLITANO ISN'T AROUND CAUSE SOMEONE'S SINGING MY CHERIE AMOUR! Seriously, this song will forever be intertwined with Silver Linings Playbook in my mind. I will never not think of Bradley Cooper when I hear it. (Not necessarily a bad thing. Also if you haven't seen that movie yet, go see it. Now. I'll be here when you get back.) Anyway, Burnell is singing it, and it's not great. And he's wearing a white suit and what appears to be a choker with a giant bronze lion. Keith references Ron Burgandy and then tells him he's so unique he can't critique it. Which is bullshit, because Keith, it's your damn job to critique him. Ugh. Next.
Angie is singing Shop Around. Ugh. I'm not a fan of this choice. The Madonna songbook is available, Angie could've done a gorgeous version of The Power of Goodbye or Take a Bow or Crazy For You. Or Joss Stone's version of The White Strokes' Fell In Love With a Girl. But I guess I should be happy she's singing an uptempo song after the weeks of endless ballads we've had. It's just... not great. The arrangement is cool, but I've decided that Angie is basically Lea Michele. She's incredibly talented, but she's just trying so damn hard. Mariah also suggests her own version of I'll Be There, which I totally agree with. Dammit, Angie would've sounded so good on that.
Amber is next, and she's doing Lately by Stevie Wonder. Meh. I get that Amber is a great singer, but she just doesn't excite me at all. Mariah says it was a "TOUR DE FORCE DAHHHHLINGS!" and then gets bleeped for saying it was "effing incredible." I'm loving Mariah tonight, I want some of whatever she's on. The judges all love Amber, so obviously I'm missing something. I just thought it was boring.
The boys are singing Sugar Pie Honey Bunch, and Lindsay reminds me that Clay sang this on his Motown night, meaning Devin REALLY IS Hispanic Clay. Here, see for yourself:
Seacrest's hair in that video. Seriously, that happened.
Anyway, the boys sound cute. I don't think it's bad by any means, but then Nicki completely goes off. Like, shouts at the boys to get off the stage. It's so batshit crazy and awkward. Nicki needs to refill her happy pills prescription, or something.
Kree is in the pimp spot doing some Aretha Franklin. She's singing Don't Play That Song. I'm not sure I'm familiar with this one. Smokey is uber complimentary after her recording session and even says he's going to call Aretha to tell her to watch. No pressure, Kree. Lindsay says Kree reminds her a little of Carrie tonight. She sounds awesome, as per usual, but I'm not the biggest fan of the song choice. Maybe because I didn't know the song. But I love Kree's voice, and if Smokey says she rivals Aretha, then I will take his word.
So that was "music of Detroit" night, aka Motown with one random Madonna song thrown in. My top three were Janelle, Candice, and Kree. My bottom three were Burnell, Devin, and Angie. I think Devin is going home, even though Burnell's song was worse. Lindsay will take you through the results and whatever musical acts/alumni they've scrounged up this week. Till then!
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