Hello kiddies. This is Haterade, playing the tour guide as we go to Motown. The Idolists are ready, Paula wants the artists to take risks and Simon wants the singers to be original, yet good. Motown is, of course, land that should NEVER be touched by a bunch of Singer wanna-bes (as people like Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy have given us classics that I can't imagine to be sung by others), but touch it we will.

The idolists visit Detroit, where they are met by the aforementioned Gordy and Robinson. Smokey is their mentor, as he tries to steer the musicians over the river Styx (aka. the ability to make the songs their own instead of Karaoke, or even worse, Crapaoke). I am your cryptkeeper, and Jason Block will be joining me as my Undertaker.

Matt Giraud starts us off with 'Let's Get it On', by Marvin Gaye. This is not the song I would have selected for him, but we'll see if he can deliver it.
The Good: It was a nice piano segment that he did, and I agree that he made it his own. I also agree with Kara that getting away from the piano to inject some personality helped.
The Bad: However, it would have helped more if he hit the pitch. Misses the first few notes and completely misses the upper register. He can't keep the song in pitch for more than 30 seconds. What's even worse is that the performance is completely forgettable. My eardrums wanted to sing a new song - 'Let's Change The Channel'.
The Jason: I think this is a great song choice. Except when he went away from the piano. He should have stayed at the piano. But his falsetto and R&B roots will get him through. He was pitchy through the first half of the song, however.
The Verdict: Let's turn it off. If Scott MacIntyre shows up with Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder and blows the doors off the place, Matt could have some serious issues tonight.

Last week, Kris Allen got ballady. This week, he's more upbeat with 'How Sweet It Is', which is also by Marvin Gaye. He's going to add some guitar to make it more acoustic.
The Good: The second half of the song really paid off. The guitar with the acoustic is a really nice touch to the song and he nailed the money pitch at the end.
The Bad: Like Matt, the pitch at the beginning was off. It's a nice safe song, but I wanted something from his vocals in a higher register. Sure he had a nice high note, but the rest of the song was dreary and I don't know if that one note is going to bail out the rest of the song. And Simon is right on selling yourself - you have to have a flair that a Lil Rounds or an Adam Lambert has, and Kris doesn't have that yet.
The Jason: I smell Cheez-Whiz. A pretty much sing back performance which will make him in trouble tonight. Vocally there, but nothing different.
The Verdict: Not a good start to the show. It was a lukewarm performance at best and I think if Kris is safe, it's only because of his compelling balladeer performance from last week.

And speaking of Scott MacIntyre, he's going to be true to himself and stick with the piano, listening to Simon's advice and dissing Paula at the same time. Paula wants him to up the ante..which he will do with...You Can't Hurry Love? Oh no no no no no...
The Good: He played the piano well. Scott has nice soft fingers. He probably gets them manicured on a daily basis. Maybe Madge the Palmolive lady makes house calls.
The Bad: This was a Karaoke performance that you could find in any smoky bar - or in Smokey Robinson's Cafe - though I think Smokey would smack one of those bar stools over Scott's head if he mangled the words or the pitch at his bar as badly as he did tonight.
The Jason: Zzzzzzzoh, was he singing? This was as bad a song choice as he could pick. He should have done anything but this. Boring, and Bland.
The Verdict: You couldn't have picked a worse song. With Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder out there, you had to pick THIS? Matt wins this one on one battle and we will find out just how strong Scott's fan base is. And although Paula brought coloring books and crayons for Simon, if she keeps giving out horrific advice, she may need the crayons and the coloring books herself after the men in white coats escort her to a new residency featuring rubber walls.

Megan Joy is doing the swim. She's recovered from the flu, which is good, because I haven't recovered from Scott's performance yet. Her song choice - 'For Once in My Life'.
The Good: I'm so glad that she is free of the flu. Her head seems clear and non-stuffy and her nasally vocal chords seem decongested. Those throat steroids that she may have gotten from the A-Rod Emporium seem to have worked wonders.
The Bad: Can you now please pass over that medication to me? I may need it to cure my ears from all the missed notes and mangled lyrics. That missed money note was brutal. And she looked like she changed from last week's siren to this week's trampy mermaid who is trying to seduce me before drowning me into the sea.
The Jason: Ah, the fresh sea air! I feel like I am on a cruise ship with a bunch of 80 year olds. Boy, this is bad.
The Verdict: She can't use the flu as an excuse this time, and unlike Scott, who has a mountain of people to bail him out, I don't see who's going to call and save her from that. She has a seat in the bottom 3 reserved for her - for twice in her life (ba dum bum).

Anoop Desai has decided to go back to the love song route with 'Ooh Baby Baby'. Based on what we have heard so far, he should have no problems as long as he doesn't yuck it up...like he did in week #1 when he tried a love song and got knocked out by 21,000 votes. Oops.
The Good: The second half of that song really bailed him out. Once he got growly with it, he really could make the music move. He also hit a very nice money note.
The Bad: The beginning was pretty pitchy. Is there some sort of feedback on the monitor tonight? He needed to take the song one step down in pitch to make it feel comfortable. With the cardigan on, it felt less of a nationally televised stage performance and more of something you would hear at a high school semi-formal.
The Jason: Great song choice. This was right for him. Not as mind-blowing as last week, but still competent.
The Verdict: Last week's performance was a lot better. Still, based on what we've heard so far this week, he won't have a problem surviving. I just want to see more of last week.

Michael Sarver, almost didn't get to Motown Week, but he just scraped past Alexis Grace. Maybe he can get by this week with a Gospel version of 'Ain't Too Proud To Beg', which makes sense, since he sings in his local church.
The Good: The soul and fire are back in his performance. He's definitely over his flu.
The Bad: But like Megan, soul and fire can't replace the pitch, which was absolutely all over the place. The facial features do not match the song. This is supposed to be someone who has a last chance at a girl, but Michael's goofy grin makes it feel like it doesn't matter if he gets her or not, because he has 2 or 3 hotties back at the ranch, another one preparing drinks in the back of his limo. and a lady of the night from Elliott Spitzer Enterprises waiting for him on 42nd street. And the money note at the end made it sound like said women, as a mandatory requirement, have to wear ear plugs while courting him.
The Jason: Hey now. Great song choice. Nice country rock soul vibe...but didn't hit the money note at the end. But he did well enough tonight for me.
The Verdict: I don't think performances like that are going to keep him around much longer in this competition. What I hate the most is that his happy-go-lucky facial expressions don't change at all, regardless of what song he sings, which creates a disconnect between himself and his audience. That being said, I think the audience, who knows he is in danger from last week, is going to bail him out this week...as long as Allison and Adam don't blow the roof off the place. If they do, he could be in big trouble.

Lil Rounds is next up, and she selects Martha and the Vandela's ' Heat Wave'. Can she create a scorching song of her own?
The Good: This is the best song choice of the night so far. It completely suits both her spunk and her voice range.
The Bad: Maybe it's just me, but like a lot of vocalists this evening, she's really pitchy at the beginning of that song. I also agree with Randy that the spacing of the vocals was wrong and it seemed like she was struggling with the lyrics. I think the idea is that she needed to slow the song down and let her vocal range take over the song, instead of the song take over her. And why in the world is she wearing a 1920's flapper outfit with the same hairdo? The whole point of this competition is to be relevant. It's bad enough that the song is old. It's worse when YOU are old.
The Jason: Best performance of the night so far. This is where singing in your wheelhouse is a good thing.
The Verdict: Not as good as last week. And I think that although the vocals were good, the choice of song was not. That being said, she's not in trouble this week.

Next up is Adam Lambert... in a suit? Wha? He hopes he can do 'The Tracks of My Tears' righteously. Can he?
The Good: Whoa. Different Adam completely. Really nice rendition of the song. It's a great acoustic guitar version that added to the flavor of the moment. And an amazing money moment at the end with a great held last note.
The Bad: It was a very pitchy start. And the whiteness of the suit combined with the bright lights could create permanent damage upon the retinas of screaming female fans, which could cause massive problems when they try to use the phone to dial for Adam and instead connect to the porn lines that were prevalent on week #1. And a special boo to Kara, for saying, 'In 6 Words', that Adam was 'one of the best performances of the night'. Last time I checked my abacus, that's 8 words, not 6. Apparently the bright suit and bright lights also causes permanent damage to some people's brain cells.
The Jason: Brilliant Interpretation. This could be a star making moment.
The Verdict: He outsmoldered Costantin Maroulis, and that's saying a lot. Not only was that the best performance of the evening to this point, but it was a transcending performance that could propel him into the elite group of singers.

Danny Gokey has a tall order to live up to, so he won't. Instead, he's going to go with 'Get Ready', which is a nice fun tune. but can he perform it well?
The Good: It's a nice Danny song. Kudos to him taking the pitch down so he can comfortably hit the notes in his range without trying to be screechy. And he actually carries the pitch on the song, which is better than almost everyone else on this evening's show.
The Bad: The reason why Simon called it amateurish is because Danny canoodled with the background singers. The point of this show is to be a star and separate yourself from the backup singer caste - unless you really want to be part of it, in which case America will have no problem sending you there.
The Jason: Fun entertaining performance.
The Verdict: Was it a blow away performance? Absolutely not. Will it work for his fan base? Absolutely. It's a great 'performance', and that will help him out this week.

We end the night with Allison Iraheta, who wants to rock out with 'Papa Was a Rolling Stone'. Can she overcome a case of the lyrical dropsies and get it together?
The Good: Another perfect choice of a song. One of the very few people to hit the pitch and not make my ears itch. And she rolled on that money note.
The Bad: Unfortunately, the 1980's jump suit outfit she had on made it look less like Papa Was a Rolling Stone and more like he was a rolling Rubik's Cube.
The Jason: Great Song Choice. Great Attitude. Nailed it.
The Verdict: One of the best performances of the evening. She was able to pick a song she could rock out on while staying true to both the genre and her voice range.

Overall Verdict: The last 4 singers bailed out the show from being a trip to pitchy-ville (vs. a Trip to Hitsville). Those 4 have nothing to worry about. Neither does Anoop or Kris. I would have put Matt in the bottom, but he gets bailed out by the 'huh?' performances of the evening, which leads us to this:

Trouble: Michael Sarver, Megan Joy, Scott MacIntyre

Although Scott's performance was a trip to bizarroville, he'll have enough fan base to bail himself out. Michael and Megan will wind up in the bottom 2, and it's a coin flip as to who leaves. Will it be the flu girl who sounds better when she was sick, or the flu boy who gave us rock fever in a bad way? When in doubt, go to the singers in their same genre; while Megan doesn't have singers in her genre, Michael's counterparts of Adam and Allison blew the roof off the building last night. Hence, I think that's where the rock vote is going, and Allison, who finished in the bottom 3 with Michael last week, is going to take the votes that Michael needed to stick around.

OUT: MICHAEL SARVER

The Jason: Tonight we saw the cream rising to the top as Adam had a star making performance tonight. But the bottom three are pretty much obvious. Scott's could have put himself in the top of the class. But that song choice was hideous. Michael's performance was better than the judges thought, but not by much, and Megan was well...Megan. She is this year's Sanjaya. However, I think the Sanjaya run ends here.

TROUBLE: Megan Joy, Michael Sarver, Scott MacIntyre

OUT: Megan Joy

Join us in 24 hours to see who is the first person to be eligible to work for Smokey Robinson's cafe.