Reid About It

Week four brings us about as far away from last week's Grand Ol' Opry as possible, it's Motown Week. The celebrity chirpa is Smokey Robinson, and the tour is hosted by Berry Gordy. How much music biz power does Berry Gordy have? He even got his son Rockwell a top 10 hit.

Matt starts us off with "Let's Get It On." He oversings it a bit, which is probably going to be a common thread here. Soul and R&B songs are easy to step over the line with. The judges love him. However, when I'm President, performing a Marvin Gaye song while wearing a tie and sweater will be cause for detention and public flogging.

Kris does "How Sweet It Is." Not bad, but not outstanding either. That's too close to the James Taylor version, and not enough Motown. Judges loved it, though.

After criticism of his always-at-the-piano style last week, Scott responds by...sitting at the piano and doing "You Can't Hurry Love," complete with backup singers. It was uptempo at least, but even then his voice just isn't picking up any urgency. He still sounds like a lounge singer, which is pretty much what he admits he is and will be once this is all over. I don't think he lasts much longer, but he could still have a career once he's beyond Idol.

Megan continued her string of weird performances with "For Once In My Life." I still don't get her. I understand the tattooed appeal, but the singing is just...peculiar. She alternates between growling out the lyrics and random out-of-place vocal runs that make her sound like an inked-up Sweeney Sister.

Anoop did "Ooo Baby Baby." Smokey Robinson said he wouldn't change a thing in his performance, since of course Smokey gets paid everytime Anoop sings his song. Busting out a song with a prominent falsetto part on national TV in front of the guy who made it a classic takes cajones grande, and he did it well.

Jasper's Michael Sarver didn't get to go to Motown because of illness, but he still tees off on "Ain't Too Proud To Beg." He's got a good voice, but he comes off as a guy just oversinging to hear himself sing. He sounds like Garth Brooks when he does a cover song and just sings all over it. The judges hammer him pretty hard.

Lil Rounds did "Heatwave," which would seem to be right in her wheelhouse. However, she falls into the trap of oversinging. Nobody likes it but Paula, which is like no one liking your acting but James Lipton.

Up next, it's emo Adam who's had a makeover. He no longer looks like the singer for "Panic! At My Chemical Fallout Boy." Now, he's like a young, well-dressed Lou Diamond Phillips. Captain Emo breaks out the falsetto for "Tracks Of My Tears," which draws a standing ovation from Smokey. A very Sonia Dada performance, if you don't know what I'm talking about, hustle to Amazon and buy it. This kid's a star.

Danny does "Get Ready," one of the few stand-up-and-dance songs on the show. Smokey tells him how to handle the chorus of the song, and Danny ignores him. No one notices, since we're way behind in the show by this point.

We close the show with Allison singing "Papa Was A Rolling Stone," and Paula never touches her chair throughout the performance. She absolutely kills with this one. She's sixteen in human years perhaps, but she sings like she's been living the Blues since the Great Depression.

Top Three: Adam, Allison, Danny
Bottom Three: Michael, Lil, Megan