American Idol: Idols sing Motown hits . . .

Combining soul, blues and R&B!  It's Motown night on Idol!  This week's show is important because the top 10 secures themselves a spot on the American Idol Summer Tour.    

And here's how the performances went:

Casey Abrams sings Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye and receives generous remarks from all the judges.  I thought it was good, but it wasn't his best performance. I thought the violin players was a cool touch. :)

Thia Megia sings (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave by Martha and the Vandellas. It is an upbeat song which is something that the judges have wanted her to do and I thought she did pretty good.  She looked very comfortable on stage and was pitch perfect.  

Jacob Lusk raises the roof with You're All I Need to Get By by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.   For me, this was the best performance of the season. Not only did he get a standing "O" but it got Steven Tyler up out of his chair to give Jacob a hug.  And if that wasn't enough, the whole front row, thanks to Ryan Secrest, got up to also give Jacob a hug.

Lauren Alaina sings You Keep Me Hangin' On by Diana Ross & the Supremes and although Jacob's performance was a hard act to follow I thought Lauren did a great job.  Randy said that she's got her swagger back on and I totally agree.

Stefano Langone sings Hello by Lionel Richie. I thought he did good, but I have to agree with the judges in that he didn't quite connect to this song as much as he did with the song he sang last week.

Haley Reinhart sings You Really Got a Hold on Me by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.  One of my favorite Motown songs and I thought she did great.  The judges loved it and so did I.  I think she is to the girls what Jacob is to the guys  (well, not exactly at the same level). . . old school soul!   

Scotty McCreery sings For Once in My Life by Stevie Wonder.  I'm a huge Scotty fan, but I wasn't really feeling his performance tonight at all.  I guess blending his Scotty country vibe with Stevie's Motown classic just didn't work for me.  Oh well, I still like Scotty, I think he should still be safe and he did afterall make that long basketball shot. :)

Pia Toscano sings All in Love Is Fair by Stevie Wonder and I thought she did another great job.  Yes, it's another Ballad, but she performed it so well.  I like JLO's comments, maybe Pia needs to change things up by raising her energy level and command of the stage. I think she needs to get a bit of her swagger on too. :)

Paul McDonald sings The Tracks of My Tears by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.  It's not quite at the same level with Adam Lambert's performance  from last year, but he does have his own unique style and I enjoyed it a lot. 

Naima Adedapo sings Dancing in the Street by Martha and the Vandellas. Another one of my favorite Motown songs and wow, was I entertained.  Loved the drums, loved the dancing, better vocals from her previous performances. Definitely the total package tonight. Excellent!

James Durbin sings Living for the City by Stevie Wonder.  This was the perfect song choice for James.  I loved his performance. He really did it justice and James demonstrated that he has some pretty cool dance moves too!

And here's how I would rate tonight's performances:

Jacob Lusk
James Durbin
Naima Adedapo
Lauren Alaina
Pia Toscano
Paul McDonald
Haley Reinhart
Thia Megia
Scotty McCreery
Casey Abrams
Stefano Langone

And that's my Recap. Keep on Rocking AI . . .

I was saddened to hear about the passing of the very talented and generous humanitarian, Elizabeth Taylor. Her star will shine on brightly forever . . .