This week the Top 10 Idol finalists performed classic motown songs after being coached by Motown legend Smokey Robinson. It was a good time had by all in my opinion, I thought most of the music was just stellar, but some artists rose above in my mind – the front runners are becoming obvious at this point. Here’s a breakdown of my opinions of each performance:

Matt Giraud, Let’s Get It On: I think was the first performance by Matt where I actually loved him. I’m not sure if I love him as much as some of my other long-standing favorites but for once he came across to me as more than just a J Timberlake pretty boy wanna be and he impressed me with his vocal skills – I think this genre for him works wonders – his voice really stood out for me. I loved how he started at the piano and then got up and worked the audience. It was a stellar performance.

Kris Allen, How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You: I’m just going to accept that I’m not into him. He’s clearly talented because other people seem to like him but for me there is just always something missing (usually my interest). I feel like there is this whole other second world in performing that he has no access to – but I don’t really know how to explain it. The judges loved him – dh and I were both really, really bored.

Scott MacIntyre, You Can’t Hurry Love: I think Scott can probably record an album at this point, but I don’t think he can win the competition. It’s obvious there are better performers and I just really don’t think his talent is seasoned enough to go much further here. His song was fine but it was not a stand out performance.

Megan Joy, For Once In My Life: My husband and I are big Megan fans and he was completely wowed by this performance. I loved her voice and love her but I also kind of agreed with the judges – I feel like a song where she can linger on the words more and make use of her voice would have been better – my husband, who knows the original song, said she’d already slowed down the tempo a lot, but for me it wasn’t enough. I liked the judges advice and I hope she continues on because I just love hearing her sing. If she makes an album, I’m buying it.

Anoop Desai, Ooh Baby Baby: This wasn’t my favorite Anoop performance but it certainly wasn’t his worst. According to the judges this was a very difficult song to sing – so I give him props for performing it perfectly, but I’d love to hear something with some more energy. I’m not sure Anoop can win this competition, but I do hope he stays around a bit longer – there are other people doing much worse than him.

Michael Sarver, Ain’t To Proud To Beg: Speaking of much worse than Anoop – I’m over Oil Rig Guy – he’s fun, he has a good voice – but I think he’s gone as far here as he’s going to. The judges are asking for an improvement that I’m not sure he even knows how to deliver. All the boy really wants to do is “sang” at the end of the day.

Lil’ Rounds, Heat Wave: I love me some Lil’ but this performance, like the last, was just kind of okay. The hair was just awful. The bottom line is she’s better than this. I think she’s too concerned with honoring her musical predecessors and it’s taking away from a truly Lil’ Rounds performance. I respect her wanting to respect them, but if she wants to win this thing she’s going to need to step it back up a notch (like she was doing in Hollywood week) and bring back her natural swagger. And I’d love it if she did.

Adam Lambert, Tracks Of My Tears: I just love him. He’s forgiven for last week. The thing about Adam is that he has that other special thing that people like Kris Allen (aka I can never actually remember his name) and Michael Sarver just don’t – he has access to that other level of artistry. He’ll sing a word and you think you know how he’ll sing it, but then he’ll change it in this small subtle way and it just takes my breath away. I think his theatre background is helping him a lot because he not only sings the heck out of his songs, but he’s always putting on a performance and owning the stage, even in a song as mild as this, the surprise of him doing something so low key was enough to captivate us. I think we all are anxious to see what he can do next. I loved the first line of this song for him, “People say I’m the life of the party…” in that soft, melancholy voice – this song became his for this night, I think even Smokey Robinson would agree. Love him.

Danny Gokey, Get Ready: I couldn’t believe it when he didn’t take Smokey’s advice and was even more annoyed that nobody even mentioned it. I’m guessing that he knew he wasn’t capable of doing both his lyrics and the “background” lyrics and he knew it. I guess it’s better to ignore good advice and not bomb on the song, but it still annoyed me and the performance for me was just okay. I couldn’t wait for it to be over and I’m just annoyed that he’s still here. I think he stands a good chance of making it to the Top 3 but I’m not happy about it.

Allison Iraheta, Papa Was A Rolling Stone: Where does she come from? I agree with the judges – when I remember this girl is just 16 years old it just blows my mind because she can SING. Her talent is just on another level. My husband commented that he couldn’t understand her a lot of the time and I’ll agree with that, but man this girl is going places – she could easily find herself in the top 2 of this thing.

So for me: Scott MacIntyre and Michael Sarver should pack their bags – and I wouldn’t mind if Kris Allen and Danny Gokey disappeared either. The two front runners for me are Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta – with Anoop, Lil’ and Megan making up the bottom of my Top 5 and Matt Giraurd being my “I don’t know where he’ll end up” other guy. And if I missed anyone, it’s probably because I’ve forgotten they’re still here.

Who did you love? Who did you hate?

Last night the new Top 13 for this season’s American Idol performed for the first time on the Big Stage singing songs by the one and only, Michael Jackson. There were a lot of ah-mazing performances that had me all excited and drooling… and a couple of meh performances that will put said singers in trouble with the voters for sure. This season I find myself constantly being harder on some performers than the judges, leaving me wondering if it’s just me. A lot of the other round ups that I read seem to agree with the judges – but even my husband tends to find the same thing – people perform and we’re like, “Well that was boring… next!” and the judges are all, “Oh my god you’re range is incredible – you could sail to the top of this thing!” And we’re left scratching our heads. Last night a couple of our favorites even recieved pretty harsh criticism, just to keep me on my toes I guess? Anyway, with all those drool worthy performances, here are the ones that had me going WOW:

Lil Rounds, The Way You Make Me Feel: It amazes me sometimes that Lil’ doesn’t have a contract already – she is amazing: oozing confidence, owning the stage, belting out amazing vocals. I cannot help but love her and I thought she rocked her opening performance.

Allison Iraheta, Give Into Me: How is this fierce, fierce woman only 16 years old? Loved the rock and roll, her voice is just ah-mazing. This little flaming red head is a force to be reckoned with. While she wasn’t my favorite overall for the night, she was admittedly awesome. I don’t think I’ve ever heard this song before but that might be a good thing in this instance.

Megan Corkrey, Rockin’ Robin: I was a little surprised when she picked this song, but man she pulled it off for me. The judges were all very hard on her, but I think they are insane – she was awesome. I even noticed her dancing has improved when she actually let loose and moved around a bit instead of just wiggling in place. Way to go Megan! This girl has one heckuvah voice and I seriously loved every second of her performance. I think my jaw dropped.

Adam Lambert, Black And White: Okay I’m officially on the boat with Adam Lambert. For me, he’s what David Cook wishes he was (or what I wish he was). Yes he’s very showy in a musical theatre kind of way, but um hello it works for him. His voice is just incredible, something about “range” according to the judges – I don’t know – he was just goooooooooooooooooooood.

Alexis Grace, Dirty Diana: We got a strong opening with Lil’ Rounds and a strong closing with Alexis Grace. Loved it, loved it, loved it, love her. It’s still a little funny to me to see this tiny little thing belting out songs with that amazing voice and the “dirty” thing was wow, okay. But girl can sing and somehow even tramped up a bit she still exudes class for me. And her little girl is just. too. cute.

You can just go ahead and call them my Top 5.

So who was I not loving so much? First and foremost, and it pains me to say this…

Anoop Desai, Beat It: Ouch. It wasn’t good. I love him and I hope he makes it through, sort of, but um… no. It wasn’t good. And with so many amazing performers already in the Top “13″… I don’t know Noop Dogg. It doesn’t look good. Sadly I think Anoop was the only performance that the judges and I agreed that we didn’t like. And that’s not good.

Danny Gokey, PYT: I know I’m like basically the only one saying this, because all you other people are still in lurve with Danny, but I was completely underwhelmed. He just doesn’t feel like a star to me. Does he have a nice voice? Yes. But so do LOTS of people. For me he’s just not amazing in the way that some of these other people are. But I loved his glasses, in a wanted-to-steal-them kind of way.

Michael Sarver, You Are Not Alone: Again with the judges loved him and I didn’t. I just thought it was a terrible song for him, the words just sounded weird in his mouth. I don’t know how to explain it, I like him – he’s the Oil Rig Guy – but I didn’t love this performance. He’s in the bottom 2 for me with Anoop.

For the rest of the performers? If your name isn’t in this list, that means “your safe” for me. I didn’t love you, but I didn’t strongly dislike you either. You were fine. Good even. But not great.

Alright – your turn – who did you love? Who did you hate? Who wants to rip me a new one for hating on their favorites?

Last night American Idol announced their Top 12 13 contestants. Those last few seconds of the show were a roller coaster of emotions for me. I went from, “WHAT HOW COULD YOU?” to “OH MY GOSH, HURRAY!” within milliseconds. Then I thought, “What does that say about poor Anoop? Should I be happy they couldn’t resist leaving him out or concerned if they only thought he was the 13th best to perform or something?” And then I was like, “Whatever, Anoop dog is still in the house!”

Overall, I’m very pleased with the Top 13. There are some people I might have liked to see over others, but a lot of my favorites (like not just Anoop) make up the new Top 13 for Season Eight.

Adam Lambert aka Not Edward, I Don’t Care What The Judges Say really wowed me with his performance in the Top 36 episode. I was all, “Holy cow, this boy can sing,” which surprised me because up until then I didn’t like him very much. Now I’m thinking he has some serious odds of winning this thing. Apparently America thinks so, too.

Alexis Grace aka Pink Haired Girlie is also a favorite. While I think her most recent performance could have been a lot better, over all, her voice just wows me every time and she’s so cute and tiny. The pink hair really works for her and I could see her getting to the Top 3.

Allison Iraheta aka Flaming Redhead has one heck of a voice – like blows me out of the water amazing. I cannot believe how young she is when she opens her mouth and belts out these incredible songs with such a strong diva-like voice. She could win this thing.

Anoop Desai aka Noop Dogg just makes me smile. His voice surprises me every time and his control of the crowd is just incredible. He is possibly (if not obviously) my overall favorite of the 13.

Danny Gokey aka I Keep Forgetting His Name is admittedly a very good singer with a good chance of making it to the Top 3. I’m still not sure what my problem with him is. I also still feel so terrible for him and cannot imagine how he gets on the stage and performs without just losing it. Mad praise for that.

Jasmine Murray aka Cute As a Button is one of those performers that I know I like, but listening to her last few performances I sometimes wonder why. I know she did something that blew me away and I am really glad she’s still here but if she wants to win this thing she’s going to NEED to start bringing it, on a level she hasn’t yet.

Jorge Nunez aka I Didn’t Even Know There Was a Puerto Rican Audition Until He Sang is really talented. I like him better than my husband does (but my husband also finds him creepy for reasons I still don’t entirely understand). Honestly, I need to see more of him to really make up my mind about him, but I’m glad he made it through to the Top 13 so I’ll have that chance.

Kris Allen aka Seriously, Who Is He Again? is apparently talented since he made it into the Top 13 but to be honest he’s one of a couple “Pretty Boys” that I just can’t keep straight. For some reason the Typically Cute Pop Guys just aren’t doing it for me this season and he’s no exception.

Lil’ Rounds aka Needs No Nickname Because Her NAME Is Lil’ Rounds is one of my favorites. She isn’t my typical favorie music genre but she can bring it. Her voice just kills me and she oozes star appeal. She could win this thing.

Matt Giraud aka Wishes He Was Justin Timberlake really just isn’t doing it for me but the judges seem to love him. Maybe I’m missing something? I’m over him.

Megan Joy Corkrey aka Funny Dancing Girl has a wonderful voice and is clearly a judge favorite. I like her also, but her dancing cracks me up aka needs some work. Maybe Paula could work with her on this? Still my husband and I get a kick out of her “quirky” moves. We could start a drinking game – if I weren’t pregnant. You could start a drinking game for me.

Michael Sarver aka The Oil Rig Guy has a really nice voice, but I was surprised when he made it to the Top 13. I think the jury is still out on him for me. He might blow me away. He might be okay. We’ll see. I like calling him The Oil Rig Guy – it’s oddly fun.

Scott MacIntyre aka The Blind Guy – yeah I said it. He’s the blind guy – the one with the amazing voice who has a serious shot of making it into the Top 3 if not winning this thing and will at the very least be an amazing musical artist. I heart him.

Who are your favorites from the Top 13? Least favorites? If you could predict the Top 3 for season eight, who would be in it?

Last night was the last group of 12 performers who will make up 9 of the top 12 spots in this season’s American Idol. Why is this so confusing? Anyway, yeah, apart from the Wild Card episode where I am under the impression that the judges will pick whoever they want to sing one more time and then vote for whoever they want to go through, this was the last group that we’ll choose for our Top 12. Per usual there were some wowing performances, some boring ones, some painful ones and some people I didn’t recognize at all.

I’m not going to go through every performance, because well this post would get really boring if I did so I’ll focus on the people I liked and loved. The first performance that made me say, “Hey this one doesn’t suck!” was Ju’not Joyner, who sang Hey There Delilah by The Plain White Tees. I LOVE this song. So while I thought he gave it an interesting twist and made it his own, I’m still going to be all stubborn and insist I prefer the original. My husband disagreed and thought Ju’not was awesome, had a great voice and sang it better – according to Dan The Music Man, this rendition made him stop and listen to (and admire) the lyrics. And I was like, “That’s nice sweetie but Ju’not can’t take credit for the beautiful lyrics.” Don’t get me wrong – I am trying to tell you that I liked it. I liked him. I just felt unenthused in comparison to my husband and the judges. Like Janderson @ Blissfully Domestic, I kept waiting for him to kick it up a notch and throw some real emotion into the song, to blow me away. But Ju’not did not.

The next performance was by Kristen McNamara who sang Gimmie One Reason by Tracy Chapman, a song I’ve always liked “in spite of myself.” I actually preferred McNamara’s version of the song better in some ways, although her performance wasn’t flawless, I liked her energy. The judges were pretty harsh on her, telling her she had poor fashion sense and other stuff which seemed irrelevant, but overall I liked her a lot.

After Nathaniel Marshall’s painfully strange performance Felicia Barton came out and knocked my socks off with No One by Alicia Keyes. Felicia was the girl who was sent home and then brought back and I didn’t really know who she was but then she opened her mouth and a power house came out! She was so good my husband’s jaw dropped (I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before but my husband is a huge music snob, from a long family line of talented musician / music snobs and Simon is pretty much his idol judgment wise. He’s not an easy one to please.). I’m not going to be able to say this any better than, “She was really really good,” so I won’t bother. You get the point. If I voted for this show, she’d be getting a vote stat.

Next Scott MacIntyre sang Mandolin Rain (Bruce Hornsby). What is it with blind guys being terrific musicians? MacIntyre is no exception, his performance, though not flawless, was really really good also. I can see him going far and hope he pulls through to the Top 12, if not by votes then by a Wild Card (where Anoop had better be!). I think his odds are about tied with Ju’not though and I’m relatively fine with that, because…

For me this was a ladies night that ended with a bang. Lil’ Rounds was the last performer, singing Without You by Mary J. Blige and she was flipping phenomenal. I’ve liked her since the beginning and while this certainly wasn’t her best performance it was good and I think it really showed who she is as a musician – her voice is so powerful and her stage presence is fierce. If she doesn’t make it through to the Top 12 I will be very surprised and disappointed in America. Because she’s awesome.

So once again, the show ends and I’m left with more of a Top 5 than a Top 3 and no intentions of narrowing it further. I think overall Lil’ Rounds and Felicia Barton were my favorites, the others all being in the still really, really good category.

Who was in your Top 3 last night? Who are you hoping to see in the Wild Card episode?

Last night was American Idol Group 2 of the Top 36′s chance to wow us, show us what they were made of and essentially beg us to vote for them. So weird to know that only three of these people will be going forward. I mean, don’t get me wrong, most of them were terrible, so no real love lost. There was only one male performance that in my mind was worthy of a vote and I have to tell you, I didn’t even think I’d like him until he opened his mouth and belted out Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones, and I coughed, sputtered and called out to my husband in the other room, “Holy cow this guy can actually sing!” You know, Adam Lambert:

I was seriously blown away and I’m hoping the rest of America was, too and that we won’t have to endure any more Norman Gentle from here on out. Don’t get me wrong, he’s oddly entertaining, but American Idol, really? Don’t do it America. Choose Adam Lambert. Oh sure there were other male performances that didn’t suck, but if all I can say for you is that you didn’t suck, I don’t think that’s saying enough.

As for the ladies, I actually enjoyed a good handful of them. This was clearly ladies night. While there were some flops in the beginning, I was wowed by the performances of Allison Iraheta, Jesse Langseth and Megan Joy Corkrey with an honorable mention to Mishavonna Henson who I wanted to love but just didn’t quite love as much as the other three. As for the other three? Don’t make me choose. Pick two of them now and throw the other in at the Wild Card Episode. They were all really good and deserve to be in this competition a lot. And if you are gonna get all manic and hold a gun to my head and force me to pick one of them – I’d have to go with Jesse Langseth, but I still want the other two in also.

Who would be in your Top 3 this week?