Sure, sure... I was excited to see the Top 13 perform... but I was NOT prepared for an entire night of Michael Jackson songs! A 2-hour Michael Jackson event! SHAMON! The only disappointment was realizing that the King of Pop himself would not be there to mentor the notestants. Because he's holed up in his Bruneian castle tower knitting Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket some new butterfly masks.
- First up is Lil Rounds and her very round booty singing "(The Way You) Make Me Feel." To me, it sounds pretty dated, and it's always lame when someone has to change all the "girls" to "boys" to suit their hetero persona (She also had to sing, "Hey pretty baby, got my high heels on.") The judges love it, but hate what she's wearing. Here's a lil' tip, Lil: Don't take fashion (or make-up) advice from Paula, who tonight looks like she got dressed to audition for the role of Jareth the Goblin King. Or maybe a Dark Crystal muppet.
- Scott McIntyre chooses "Keep the Faith," which he performs at the piano. I like his obscure song choice, but the judges play him. Love ya, Scott, but... somebody get this man a haircut! Don't they have stylists on staff? He can't see; help him!
- Mr. Church Camp, Danny Gokey, singing "P.Y.T." with a whole lotta soul and some seriously chatty dancing. The judges lap it up, but I am underwhelmed.
- Big country boy Michael singing "You Are Not Alone," which, in the words of Paula, is a "distinctually perfect" song choice for him.
- Jasmine Murray skates close to the wall by choosing "I'll Be There," which is Jackson Five, but whatever.
- Kris Allen sings "Remember the Time," a song we've all been trying to forget since the Eddie Murphy music video. Too bad he picked such a dud because his voice is well-suited for the MJJ canon, as he demonstrated with his performance of "Man in the Mirror" in the middle rounds.
- Alison Iruheta sings the underrated "Give in to Me" from the Dangerous album. I really like her rocker edge. She could totally record this song and make it the hit it never was for Michael. I also like how she completely sticks her foot in her mouth and/or flubs everytime she has to talk as herself or answer a question. Rock on, girl!
- Anoop Dawg is an only child! I knew I liked him. His mom is super-chic, too. His rendition of "Beat It" is way better than the version I sing at karaoke, but Paula called his version "karaoke" anyway. I think I heard him screw up one of the lyrics, too. I agree with Simon that it lacked agression. But gee, Anoop sure is cute. He's gotta get out of his frat boy comfort zone and bring it next week.
- Adorable Jorge Nunez is the second person to select a Jackson Five tune: "Never Can Say Goodbye," a goodie. I love this kid's voice and the judges are stupid. Note to the Kara, et. al.: stop using the "Maybe because it's your second language..." thing as your go-to critique of Jorge.
- A pretty blond single mama named Megan is next. Why does she feel the need to use her middle name (Joy) with a surname like Corkrey? And "Rockin' Robin?" Seriously? She looks like she can't quite believe it herself!
- Future rock band front man Adam Lambert is so comfortable on stage that he takes a mini-pause while singin' "Black or White" to shake some fan-girls' hands. I kind of like his Guns N Roses take on this song. He's one of the best tonight.
- Matt G takes a bite out of "Human Nature" and I am disappointed there aren't 12 more singers to go, 'cause we all know Jacko's got the song library to back them up. Matt does a fine job from behind the piano, but I can't help thinking the producers F'ed up by not making Adam's performance tonight's finale.
- Alexis Grace sings "Dirty Diana" rather breathlessly (that song has a lot of lyrics) but I kind of like the Ani DiFranco-esque vibe she brings to it. And I'm really thankful she didn't change it to "Dirty Duane."
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