Our Top Ten American Idol wannabees travel from Memphis to Detroit next week, with songs from Motown. The wife and I thought we’d change things up a bit, and make suggestions of what we think each contestant should choose.
Its unclear whether they are going to allow any song from the soul genre, or just limit it to actual releases from Motown Records.
Allison Iraheta
Our first choice for Allison was “Respect” by Aretha Franklin, but we’re not sure that actually counts as a Motown song. If not, she should go for “No Where to Run” by Martha Reeves.
In either case, she should give the performance a rocker girl edge.
Danny Gokey
This one is easy: “Try a Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding. We’re envisioning a performance more in the vein of The Commitments, however.
Lil Rounds
If “Proud Mary” is an option, she should channel her inner Tina Turner. If not, “Don’t Leave Me This Way” by Thelma Houston would be a solid alternative.
Matt Giraud
Definitely “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett.
Scott MacIntyre
I’m really starting to get bored by Scott, so I think he should change things up with “I Can’t Get Next to You” by The Temptations. It has a fantastic piano solo at the start of the song.
It’s an ensemble song, however, so he would need a lot of help from the backup singers.
Kris Allen
“You Are the Sunshine of my Life” by Stevie Wonder. With more than twenty-five covers out, there are any number of ways he could take the song.
Megan Corkrey
Megan, Megan, Megan… You’re an odd duck, and picking songs for you is not easy. We’re thinking “Where Did Our Love Go?” by The Supremes.
Adam Lambert
No more bizarre Egyptian versions of songs, Adam. Go back to the rocker thing.
And give us a rock version of “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder. As the song was originally written for Jeff Beck, we think you can put something together.
Michael Sarver
In my opinion, Michael’s already been around two weeks longer than he should have, so he’d better starting putting things together. A solid performance of “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” by The Temptations would be a step in the right direction.
Anoop Desai
Noop Dog was brilliant during Country Week with his rendition of “Always On My Mind”. The question now is, “Does he go back to the entertaining Anoop or stick with the Anoop who can actually sing?”
We say he should do both. So, the song is “Super Freak” by Rick James, but he should start with a greatly slowed version, and then transition into the traditional version midway through.
Yes, it’s a strange idea, but he needs to keep changing things up if he wants to stay around much longer.
Adam can sing any song and he ll be great.With this range of vocals,musicality and power he ll deliver something amazing for shure.No w we heard 3 really surprizing,fearless and wild presentations (loooved “Ring of fire!”!!!) would be interesting to see him standing behind the mic and just blow us away with pure vocals.