The Top 8 sing Motown

The top 8 finalists are singing the music of Motown/Detroit:

I Heard It Through the Grapevine was a huge hit for both Gladys Knight and Marvin Gaye with very different versions. Candice Glover opened the show with a third completely different arrangement of this great song. It was jazzy and sultry and she sounded wonderful.

Madonna hit #1 in 1989 with Like A Prayer. Kree Harrison did a really good job serving as a background singer for Janelle Arthur. Where Kree was bland, boring and almost not even noticeable, Janelle was vibrant and showcasing big star quality. 

For Once In My Life was a signature hit song by Stevie Wonder that peaked at #2 in 1968. Lazaro Arbos once again lit up the stage with his radiant smile, outstanding fashion sense and sweet personality. This song allowed him to deliver another crystal clear vocal performance. He can do no wrong!

You Keep Me Hanging On was one of the 12 #1 hit songs by Diana Ross and The Supremes. Janelle Arthur completely exuded even more star quality with her stripped down acoustic version of this classic. She played guitar and her vocals were emotionally heartfelt and she told the story in the lyrics better than anyone ever has.

The Tracks of My Tears was a hit in 1965 for Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. Devin Velez settled nicely in his comfort zone with this wonderful song. It was simple, straightforward and nothing distracted from his voice.

I'm Gonna Make You Love Me was a huge Motown collaboration by the Supremes and the Temptations that hit #2 in 1968. Tonight the Miss American Idol huge collaboration was delivered by Angie Miller, Candice Glover and Amber Holcomb. Candice and Amber were the ones relegated to back-up singers because they were simply overshadowed by Angie's stellar stage presence and superior vocals.

My Cherie Amour hit #4 in 1969 by Stevie Wonder. Burnell Taylor should just pack his bags and go home now. It was strained, clumsy and awkward. He looks like he's asleep up there.

Shop Around was a #2 smash hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles in 1961. Angie Miller completely owned the stage with a hard rock, guitar driven arrangement of this fun song. You couldn't take your eyes off of her because she looked fantastic as she totally worked it out and entertained the crowd.

Lately by Stevie Wonder didn't actually become a hit until 1993 when Jodeci hit #4 with it. Amber Holcomb belted it out exactly how it needs to be done. She has a powerful voice and this song let her show it off.

I Can't Help Myself was a #1 hit for the Four Tops in 1965. Devin, Burnell and Lazaro, unfortunately, struggled to remember the lyrics on the pop classic. At least Devin and Lazaro looked great, but Burnell has a strange eye contact problem. He doesn't seem to be present because he is looking off into space.

Don't Play That Song was a hit for Aretha Franklin in 1970. Kree Harrison served up the most bland stereotypical white girl effort of trying to take on the Queen of Soul. It was pretty embarrassing. Kree has absolutely zero stage presence and no personality.

My prediction for the bottom three is Amber, Kree and Burnell with Burnell finally going home.

The Top 8 - Sing the 80's

Tonight the top 8 finalists are singing songs from the totally awesome 80's!

Debarge took I Like It to #31 in 1983 and Deandre Brackensick brought it right into the present. Once again he chose a song that allowed him to show off his extremely impressive vocal range while highlighting his smooth and wonderful falsetto. Deandre is totally ready for his videos to get millions of views on YouTube.

Foreigner hit #1 in 1984 with I Want To Know What Love is. Elise Testone hoped this power ballad would sustain the energy from her rocking performance last week, but unfortunately it just exposed her vocal and performance limitations.

Colton and Skylar got together to perform Islands In The Stream that Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton took to #1 in 1983. For the most part they just appeared to be going through the motions, but their voices are good enough that it wasn't all bad.

Genesis took That's All! to #6 in 1982. Phillip Phillips was out there showing off a combination of awkwardness mixed with anger. He couldn't seem to connect with the song at all and he made it very obvious that he didn't like it.

Hollie and Deandre served up some pure entertainment with their very fun rendition of The Pointer Sisters #9 hit song I'm So Excited from 1984. It was bouncy, energetic and showed off the lightness in their youthful personalities while also highlighting amazing vocals.

Simply Red had a #1 hit in 1989 with If You Don't Know Me By Now. Joshua Ledet once again took the song to his gospel comfort zone and performed with passion. One thing that he hasn't shown off yet is if he can actually sustain a single note for an extended period of time. There's lots of gasping up and down but no controlled blowing us away.

Whitney Houston took How Will I Know to #1 in 1985. Jessica Sanchez really makes it all look so easy. She can perform outstanding vocals live so incredibly well that it's going to be wonderfully impressive to hear what she produces in the studio. She's wonderful.

Phillip and Elise got together to drag down the fantastic classic rock song from 1981 Stop Dragging My Heart Around. Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty took it to #3 on the Billboard HOT 100 and were a completely natural pairing, but these kids just painfully strained their voices trying to force it out.

Irene Cara had a #1 song for 6 weeks in 1983 with Flashdance, What A Feeling. Hollie Cavanagh looked spectacular in a very cute sparkly blue dress while she strutted and showed off her great legs in some very cute shoes. Along with her working the stage so well came more of her fantastic voice that belted out this great song to perfection.

Jessica and Joshua paired up on the 1987 #1 smash I Knew You Were Waiting from George Michael and Aretha Franklin. It's a good song, but it didn't provide Jessica with any great moments to shine and Joshua just over sang it.

Cyndi Lauper won the Grammy for Best New Artist after releasing great material like Time After Time that hit #1 in 1984. Colton Dixon has a unique ability to transform an amazing song into his very own showstopper. He tore the roof off the place while taking us all on the ride with him.

Bette Midler hit #1 in 1989 with Wind Beneath My Wings. Skylar Laine wanted the crowd to see that she can belt out the big notes and this song easily allowed her to do that. She also managed to interpret the song lyrics very well.

My prediction for the bottom three this week is Elise, Phillip and Joshua. They all have the same problem of lacking range and versatility. They serve up the exact same thing every week, but instead of getting better, it just ends up being more tired and boring. I think that Elise will be going home.

The Top 13 boys take their first shot...

Tonight we get to know what these top 13 boys can really do - they can pick any song they want to present themselves to America for the first time:

Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera took Moves Like Jagger to #1 in 2011. Reed Grimm reinvented this piece of dance pop and turned it into a freestyle jazz extravaganza. It was an impressive example of his fun showmanship and style.

Aretha Franklin took Think to #7 in 1968. Adam Brock did his best to channel the black woman that he believes is trapped inside of him with this performance, but the reality is that he's just a white guy with limited vocal talent.

Earth Wind and Fire never released Reasons as a single. Deandre Brackensick sang this album track in his falsetto with some pretty good skill and he belted out a great note at the end.

Paramore's Decode was included on the 2008 Twilight soundtrack. Colton Dixon expressed that he is the height of teen fashion with his hair and style, and his vocals were pretty good also.

Sara Bareilles included Gravity as the closing track on her 2007 release Little Voice. Jeremy Rosado is a very sweet young man with a good vocal range. It's a nice combination.

The Jackson 5 took Never Can Say Goodbye to #2 in 1971. Aaron Marcellus provided a pretty standard reading of this wonderful R&B jam, but he failed to elevate it to a higher level.

Hunter Hayes released Storm Warning in 2011. Chase Likens is a very handsome guy who could be a big country star. He has a great voice and performed this recent hit very well.

Cyndi Lauper took True Colors to #1 in 1986. Creighton Fraker is an outstanding talent who can convey an impressive depth of emotion with every beautiful note that he sings.

Phil Collins took In The Air Tonight to #19 in 1981. Phillip Phillips took a risk and re-interpreted this song as a bluesy guitar driven jam. He is very like-able so even though it was almost unrecognizable it still worked.

Adele just hit #1 a few weeks ago with Set Fire To The Rain. Eben Franckewicz is only 15, but he has a smooth and clear vocal range. He may have bitten off more than he could chew with this current and familiar hit, but he managed to pull it through.

Heejun Han takes the description "bad personality" to a whole new level as working with special needs kids and singing about angels doesn't help to dig him out of the hole at all.

Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson included You Pulled Me Through on her Grammy winning debut album. Joshua Ledet belted out this anthem with his best gospel wail and brought the house down.

Luther Vandross won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 2003 for Dance With My Father. Jermaine Jones has a very deep voice and served up a pretty good version of the song.

Now it's up to America to vote and you can go online to support your favorites at http://www.americanidol.com/.

My top 5 will be: Reed Grimm, Deandre Brackensick, Colton Dixon, Creighton Fraker, and Eben Franckewicz.

And Creighton Fraker is my early favorite. :)

The Top 9 sing Rock&Roll Hall of Fame

Tonight the top 9 finalists had to make a selection from the inductees of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Michael Jackson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Jacob Lusk showed that he doesn't have any star quality remotely close to that of the King of Pop as he butchered Man In The Mirror (#1 for 2 weeks in 1988). He really should have switched places with the wonderfully talented singer and songwriter, Siedah Garrett, who was on stage with him doing background vocals. Jacob does not belong front and center.

Janis Joplin was inducted in 1995 and Haley Reinhart performed her classic Piece of my Heart. Haley is taking her game of playing dress up as a pop star way too far. She must be the niece of some high powered record executive to have gotten this far in the competition because she has no likable or desirable vocal talent at all. This was just comical screaming.

Creedence Clearwater Revival was inducted in 1993. Have You Ever Seen The Rain hit #8 in 1971 and Casey Abrams got back up on stage with his upright bass and showed that he's much more of a musician than a singer. His vocals simply aren't that good.

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, was inducted in 1987. Lauren Alaina took one of the greatest songs of all time, A Natural Woman (#8 - 1967) and made it very emotionless and boring. And the outfit she had on was not flattering at all.

George Harrison has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: once with the Beatles in 1988 and then again as a solo artist in 2004. His power ballad While My Guitar Gently Weeps is the perfect showcase for James Durbin's dynamic musical and vocal range. This was a spectacular, powerful and emotional performance.

The King of Rock-n-Roll, Elvis Presley, was inducted in 1986. Elvis could successfully perform Rock, Soul, Country and Gospel where Scotty McCreery isn't quite as convincing when he steps out of his comfort zone. This was a respectable effort but he really needs to polish things up a lot more before he's ready for the big leagues.

Tina Turner was inducted in 1991 and one of her signature hits is River Deep, Mountain High. This song has a dramatic production value that is an exciting compliment to the outstanding vocals of Pia Toscano. She sounded even better than last week!

Percy Sledge was inducted in 2005 and he is most well-known for his fantastic smash When A Man Loves A Woman that hit #1 for two weeks in 1966. Stefano Langone once again showed that he has all the ingredients necessary to be a huge pop idol. His vocals were over the top amazing as he belted out every lyric with passion and conviction.

Johnny Cash was inducted in 1992 and he is probably the coolest cowboy ever. Paul McDonald is more like the cool cowboy's crazy cousin, but he definitely made Folsom Prison Blues his own. It was the same quirky Paul that we've seen every week.

The division between the good finalists with pop music potential and the other finalists is getting wider and wider. It's very clear that the talented front-runners are Pia, Stefano and James.

Then there's the not-so great ones who should be going home. My prediction for the bottom three vote getters this week is Jacob, Haley and Casey with Haley finally going home this week. Haley has absolutely no star quality or charisma and her performance style is so embarrassing and amateurish. We can only hope that we won't have to see her again.

The Top 10 sing R&B Soul

Hit making R&B superstar, Usher, shared his musical words of wisdom with the top 10 finalists this week.

Siobhan Magnus did her best to work her magic on Chaka Khan's Through The Fire. Her vocals were just as strong as usual, but there was a noticeable difference in her confidence. It looks like even the most talented finalists get worried about performing first.

Casey James brought his usual good guy persona to Sam & Dave's Hold On! I'm A Comin' that hit #21 in 1966. It looks like Casey is going to do pretty much the same thing every week. It appears he has no interest in growing as an artist.

Michael Lynche introduced the audience to the India Arie track Ready For Love. It was sweet and sensitive to the point of being quite boring, but the vocals were clear and strong. People may be interested in hearing this song again...

Didi Benami stood center stage in a glittery gown to perform Jimmy Ruffin's What Becomes of the Brokenhearted that hit #7 in 1966. She looked quite beautiful clearly showing that she has no interest in being pigeonholed in one musical category. She wants to take risks and try different things and she doesn't care what people think. Her voice is strong and she showed it off well tonight.

Tim Urban actually hit some good notes in his performance of Anita Baker's #8 hit from 1986, Sweet Love. So in this case, in combination with his adorable good looks there are sure to be numerous fans who are very pleased out there.

Andrew Garcia is so stuck in trying to recreate his past glory that he thought sucking the life out of Chris Brown's fun dance floor jam Forever that peaked at #2 in 2008 would win us over. His drippy acoustic version completely fell flat with weak vocals and no personality.

Katie Stevens tried to keep herself out of the bottom three this week by taking on Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools that hit #2 in 1967. She looked cute, fresh and young and sounded pretty good, but she still hasn't really lived up to her potential yet.

Lee Dewyze showed some unexpected vocal range with his version of the 1971 #3 hit Treat Her Like A Lady by the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose. Now keep in my that there was only some vocal range, most of it was still his tired old generic rock guy rasping. Being merely good should not pass for something earth shattering...

Crystal Bowersox showed everyone what it means to keep growing as an artist with her fantastic version of the classic #1 smash by Gladys Knight and the Pips from 1973, Midnight Train To Georgia. She sat at the piano instead of using her guitar and her voice was even better than usual. She looked fabulous in her stilettos as well!

Aaron Kelly can sing Bill Withers #3 hit from 1971 Ain't No Sunshine all he wants, but he's still a pixie little kid trying to be taken seriously. His voice simply isn't good enough to overcome his shortcomings.

My prediction for the bottom three this week is Tim Urban, Andrew Garcia and Aaron Kelly. This week should finally be the time when Andrew Garcia goes home.

The top 10 girls try again to impress

Some of the boys managed to step up and improve from last week so let's see if any of the girls can make an exciting effort to save themselves...

Credence Clearwater Revival never had a hit with Long As I Can See The Light, but Crystal Bowersox could change that if she released her version. She is able to take the stage like a true artist and blow the audience away with her powerful vocals and talent.

Miley Cyrus is a teenager who hit #6 last year with The Climb so another teen Haeley Vaughn gave this song her best effort. In my opinion Haeley was able to do it better than Miley. She has a very nice voice and bubbly personality that makes her fun to watch.

Sixpence None The Richer peaked at #2 in 1999 with Kiss Me and Lacey Brown hoped that this song would endear the audience to her. While it should have been a perfect match for her free spirited style it was just drab.

Corinne Bailey Rae got critical acclaim in 2006 when she released Put Your Records On, but this was totally the wrong song to showcase Katie Stevens at her best. It's clear that there are some powerful pipes in Katie but she selected this messy song that allowed her to barely use any of them.

Bill Withers had a #1 smash in 1972 with Lean On Me and Didi Benami did her best to make it more soulful than folksy. The fact is, though, that everything Didi does is going to come off as a simple folk song.

Creed hit the #1 position in 2000 with their power ballad With Arms Wide Open and Michelle Delamor hoped she would be able to make this song her own. Very disappointingly, her vocals were totally off in her painful effort. We were all glad when it was finally over.

Sam Cooke was able to get A Change Is Gonna Come up to #31 in 1965 and Lilly Scott has the passion to possibly take her version even higher. She had a lot of confidence as she performed this song with her very unique personal style.

Coldplay recorded The Scientist on their 2002 album A Rush Of Blood To The Head and Katelyn Epperly tried to show a different side of herself with this performance. She successfully presented an artist who can play piano and sing with strong vocals, even though the song was very slow and boring.

Season One Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson had numerous hits off her blockbuster album Breakaway including Walk Away. Paige Miles did a great job with this catchy pop rock song, but she would do even better with a song with more power notes.

Aretha Franklin hit #7 with her very fun song Think in 1968 and Siobhan Magnus was actually able to take on the Queen of Soul with her version. She still needs to work on deciding what kind of stage presence she has, but she hits the big notes very well.

Crystal is the only girl who stood out as having any real ability to be a entertaining performer and recording artist. While some of the others may have reasonably good voices, they do not have the stage presence yet to know how to show it off best. Any of them could be going home, but my prediction is that Lacey Brown and Michelle Delamor have put in their final performance.

The competition begins....

Only three of the next 12 finalists will be moving forward. Here's what they did to win you over...

Jackie Tohn got the competition started with her version of the Elvis Presley track A Little Less Conversation. She may think she's an amazing performer with the style and charisma of the King of Rock n Roll, but she didn't show it tonight. Her vocals were scratchy and weak and were not a good fit for the song at all. The performance was like Katy Perry's at the Grammy Awards this year, but even worse. Jackie needed huge pieces of fruit on stage to distract us from her dreadful outfit. We definitely will not be seeing her again.

Ricky Braddy went in a completely different direction with his rendition of Leon Russell's A Song For You. He's a nice looking young man who didn't feel the need to resort to any gimmicks in the form of a crazy costume or wacky stage antics. He took this vocally challenging ballad and he demonstrated how it's done. It was packed with genuine emotion and big notes highlighting his broad vocal range. We should see more of him.

Alexis Grace attempted to win us over by taking on the first top 10 song by the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You). It was a very strong attempt as this little white girl got up there in her little black dress and belted out vocals worthy of this 1967 classic song. We should see more of her.

Brent Keith chose to stick with what he knows best by singing a fun country song called Hick Town. He's got a great look and sound for country music world, but he didn't show off his vocal range with this effort. He went for the fans who want to get up and line dance and two-step and there's quite a few of them out there so we very well may be seeing more of him.

Stevie Wright stayed with the country theme by choosing a song by teen chart topper Taylor Swift. It was a sweet little uptempo tale of teen love, but just like Taylor, Stevie doesn't have much of an impressive vocal range. Taylor manages to sell millions of albums despite her weak vocal abilities, but on this show Stevie failed to make a choice that impressed. We should not be seeing more of her.

Anoop Desai took on the #1 smash from 1999 by Monica, Angel of Mine. This song was actually a very good match for his impressive range. But the song itself is somewhat forgettable. Monica managed to have a hit with it as she was riding the wave of success of even bigger #1 smash hits, The Boy Is Mine and The First Night. Anoop wasn't following up any bigger hits, so this was his only chance to leave his mark. That means we might not being seeing more of him.

Casey Carlson did her best to make the 1981 hit by The Police, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic her own. She's a very attractive young woman and we know from the auditions that she has a good voice, but nothing about it worked. She had no opportunity to show off her vocal range at all. It's sad, but we will not be seeing more of her.

Michael Sarver sang the 2005 hit song by Gavin DeGraw, I Don't Want To Be. The song is a real crowd pleaser, but Michael's vocals were kinda bland. He did not get the opportunity to really impress us with his singing. He did, though, have more time to show off his winning personality. If we see more of him it's going to be based solely on his nice personality.

Ann Marie Boskovich took on the Queen of Soul as well with Aretha Franklin's (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman. Aretha was successfully having a string of hits in 1967 but Ann Marie isn't likely to experience the same thing in this year or in any year. She has a nice voice, but the song was bigger than she can handle. This young contestant doesn't have the personality or the soul to pull it off. Being attractive isn't enough. We will not be seeing more of her.

Stephen Fowler reached back to 1980 to sing the dance groove of Michael Jackson's huge #1 smash Rock With You. This song is a classic jam, but Stephen failed to breath any life into it. He has a good voice that he simply did not use at it's best with this song. We will not be seeing more of him.

Tatiana Del Toro took on the first #1 song by Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love For You from 1986. She did her best to pull back the drama from Hollywood Week and just let her vocal abilities shine through. The fact is that she actually can hit many of the notes required in a song like this. She has some real talent in there and she's not going to let anything stop her from making the best of this rare opportunity. We will be seeing more of her.

Danny Gokey learned a lesson last year when Mariah Carey was a guest mentor for the finalists last year: Boys can cover her songs better than girls. He took on her #1 hit anthem from 1994, Hero. You could feel that he genuinely connects with the spirit of the song to believe in yourself while he sang every note. He is definitely marketing himself very well. He knows how to pick a song, sing it and tell the story of his life with every appearance he makes. We will definitely be seeing more of him.

Only three of these 12 finalists are moving on in the competition. Here are my predictions:

Danny Gokey will be the top boy vote getter and Tatiana Del Toro will be the top girl. Michael Sarver will then come out ahead of the others to stay in the game.