So, are we ready for Good Ol' Motown week? Can Scotty do something else than boring country songs? Is Paul finally going to bring out the guitar instead of dancing like an idiot? Will Thia finally show some emotion while singing? Will Pia be ever so predictable and choose the diva-est of the Motown songs?
I don't know. I miss mentors. They brought some variety to the show. You didn't have to see the same people every week. I really do miss that format. More and more, as the weeks go by.
Okay, so -
Casey - you guys like him, I don't think he can sing well enough. Plus, even though he sings kind of like James Brown, he's a 19 year old white music student, and to me that's what he comes across as. He does remind me of Adam, in some way - in that theatrical way - but Adam can sing, and this kid, maybe not so much. What he does is cute, but really, I don't find it to be all that.
Thia - Nice, not great, meh, I don't know. Bland.
Jacob - He's very dramatic - it's just him, so if you like him, you like that. I can see why people would like him, but me, Not too much. Also, way too much vibrato.
The thing is these people have talent but they all seem to lack something. If you combined them all they'd make a good Idol winner, maybe.
Lauren - she has a good voice but she's somehow very ordinary. Including her voice. I can't get excited about Lauren. I want to give people props if they deserve them, so I'll say she sounds good. She can sing. It's just not interesting.
Stefano - JLo gives a good critique for once. I like Stefano, he can sing, though, unfortunately, I don't really like his voice a lot. I'm not all, "can't wait to see hear him again." Stefano has more charm than most of the rest of them, though. I think the critique was valid. I hate that song, btw.
Anyhow, he's old-fashioned-sounding, to me. Like, for ex., Kris listened to all that same music growing up and he loved it - but - he didn't copy it. He has his own style, while Stefano sounds generic r&b. He has clean vocals, though. Fewer runs would be okay.
I wish I could say something more positive, here.
Haley...actually, I want her to put on a skirt or some pants, or whatever. I noticed this in the results show last week. You don't have to show us your legs up to the hip
every time, right? As for the singing - the overpraise this year is really getting to me. This was so meh and they are going nuts over it. Don't get it.
Scotty... At least he tried something a little different. To me he's all voice. No performance style. Yeah, he reminded me of Glen Campbell, also. It's interesting how he has no real vocal power (usually an American Idol requisite) but everyone thinks he's awesome. I don't actually get why he's so popular.
This year these people all seem like types. Almost stereotypes. The country singer. The r&b singer. The gospel singer. The teen pageant singer. The teen karaoke singer. The diva. Etc. I find it dull. I almost miss Season 9, right now.
Pia is standing still again and singing a ballad again. Which she does well. But I can't believe this is what the judges mean when they say they're looking for an original artist who's different from anyone else on the radio.
Paul. I don't think he's all that. He has an interesting voice, true. But something about him is blandly generic, as well. I don't think I'd listen to a record or a concert full of that voice. There's not enough there. He's not impressive, though he's (like a lot of them) strangely "professional." But if anything he has probably performed too much. He's found a niche and he's comfortable in it, and it's a very narrow niche, and that's it. He's not going to suddenly make us go, "Ow wow! Amazing!" Imho.
I'm sorry - I'm trying.
I really hate being so negative, but, like, dude, I have to honest, dog.
Naima. Nothing terrible about this. Nothing great about it. This is the dancing that Nigel was talking about, I guess. I have to give her credit for trying it but I didn't like it or hate it.
And...there's more? Who's left?
James. With the screaming high notes he keeps reminding me of Adam. I know we're not supposed to say that, for some reason, even though I can't believe no one else thinks that. But he was a little less than super-impressive, despite being good. The steps were fun, the voice was occasionally less than fantastic. Good. Not great. Very good, maybe.
I don't feel like voting, again. Tonight I think Jacob was possibly the best, sort of by default. I mean, he reined it in and at least he sounded like Motown.
Lee DeWyze gives a good interview (as usual).
OK! Interview: Reigning ‘American Idol’ Winner Lee DeWyze - OK! Magazine - The First for Celebrity News
He talks a little bit about being compared to Cook and Kris. A lot of common sense.
Not his best to be honest. 
