Pbmom's Blog

Music of Motown. Smokey Robinson is guest mentor.

Candice Glover–Smokey cried at her performance last week. This week she chose “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye. Preach girl! She is always spot on. She laid down the gauntlet! I believe she is untouchable. Keith said tonight was her best performance (for her). Nicki said she stayed in it emotionally completely. Randy said she was crazy good. Mariah said she wants to hear more of that jazzy sound.

Group song–Kree and Janelle–country version of “Like a Prayer” by Madonna. I preferred Kree over Janelle. This song was not a good choice for Janelle’s voice. Nicki said that Kree looked like she flew in to sing with an Idol contestant. OUCH. Randy said Janelle’s pitch was off night and Kree outshined her. Mariah said it was a sisterhood moment. Then I walked out of the room to ask my husband a question and Mariah was still talking when I got back in. Keith said it worked really well. He felt they could have walked around more but he was glad they had each other’s back in that lyric-slip moment.

Lazaro Arbos — “For Once In My Life” by Stevie Wonder. I think Jimmy was going easy on him this week because he has gotten such flack the past few weeks about his mentoring of Lazaro. Lazaro has enunciation issues but this is the best he has done since the auditions. Randy thinks it was better than last week. Mariah said she hears Randy about the pitch problems. His confidence was back. Keith thought Smokey’s advice was fantastic. This week was better than last week. Nicki feels he was back this week. Nicki said he gave her everything she needed and wanted. She said when he stopped listening to Jimmy, he did a great job.

Janelle Arthur “You Keep Me Hanging On” by The Supremes. I was bored. Mariah said it was her at her finest. Keith thought it was fearless. He thought it was beautiful. Nicki thinks she shines when she has her guitar. She seems to be smiling a lot more (but is smiling during this song appropriate?). Nicki does not think that her voice is where it normally is. Randy thought it was one of her best performances.

Devin Velez–“Tracks of My Tears” by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. Flawless to me. I like this but Adam Lambert’s is still my favorite Idol cover of the song. Keith says he has to stop thinking about things so much and relax but he has style. Nicki said he looks like a ripe banana and that is a good thing. Amazing job. YES sir. (He was wearing a red jacket, but I think she meant she wanted to eat him all up figuratively speaking). Randy thinks Devin is back tonight. Best performance from him in weeks. Mariah loved it.

Group number:  Amber, Candice and Angie–I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” by The Supremes & The Temptations. Fantastic and they get a standing ovation except for Mariah. Mariah said it was A-plus amazing.

Burnell Taylor–“My Cherie Amour”–Stevie Wonder. He had a nice voice but there’s nothing about it or his performances that stand out. He always sounds like he is right under the note and I think he mispronounced the word “amour.” Nicki thinks he is artsy. Randy loves his choices. Mariah loves him looking debonair. He gave it a modern twist. Keith said where is Ron Burgundy when you need him (and what the hell does that mean, but I love that Keith loves Anchorman). Keith likes him too.

Angie Miller—“Shop Around”–The Miracles. She needs to work on her stage presence when she is not behind the piano. I felt there were opportunities to interact with the good-looking guitar players that would have made that performance stand out more for me, but I think because of her faith and her age, she is reluctant to do that. Nicki said she tried to show a different side of Angie and she does not need to do that. Randy thought it was pitchy.

Amber Holcomb–“Lately“–Stevie Wonder. I loved it. My second favorite performance of the night. Mariah: She is a tour de force. Mariah was bleeped! That’s funny. Keith agrees. It was the right song. She felt it (the song). It was beautiful tonight. Nicki said it was out of this world. When God created those vocal cords….. Randy said it was the best vocal of the night.

Group number:  Devin, Burnell and Lazaro–“I Can’t Help Myself” by The Four Tops (which ironically is at this moment playing on Shark Tales on my son’s DVD). This performance was TERRIBLE. Their voices do not complement each other. Nicki hated it. She told them to get off the stage. I LOVE HER HONESTY.

Kree Harrison— “Don’t Play That Song” Aretha Franklin. Her voice is really growing on me. Randy says she was one of the best in the competition. She is here to stay. Mariah commends her for doing the song. She loves her and she is here to stay. Keith loves her. Nicki says she is a queen.

My top 3: Candice Glover, Amber Holcomb, Kree Harrison.

My bottom 3: Burnell Taylor, Lazaro Arbos, Janelle Arthur