Tonight is (once again) Motown Night on American Idol, and I must make a plea to the season 8 top 10: Please, please, please do not attempt "I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," "Love Child," "Let’s Get It On," or "(Love Is Like a) Heatwave." And as much as I’d like this season’s hopefuls to gravitate toward some of the famous label’s output from the last couple decades, I know it’s highly unlikely. Which is why my request list for tonight consists mainly of Motown hits from the ’60s and ’70s. Check out my dream picks, then post your own in the comments section below! And let’s pray (to paraphrase the Four Tops) it’s not going to be the same old songs.
Matt Giraud: The Temptations’ "Psychedelic Shack"
Danny Gokey: The Isley Brothers’ "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)"
Kris Allen: The Miracles’ "Ooo Baby Baby"
Scott MacIntyre: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ "Tears of a Clown"
Megan Corkrey: The Supremes’ "The Happening"
Anoop Desai: The Temptations’ "Can’t Get Next to You"
Adam Lambert: Barrett Strong’s "Money (That’s What I Want)"
Allison Iraheta: Diana Ross’ "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)"
Lil Rounds: Erykah Badu’s "Tyrone"
Michael Sarver: The Temptations’ "I Wish It Would Rain"
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Comments (1-15) of 51 Add your comment
How about none of it. I’m from motown and am absolutely sick of this music after so many years. Give it a rest. It was NOT that good.
Bring back Beatles week. The best two weeks of Idol ever.
id love to hear allison sing that song!!!!!
also kris’ song sounds cool
Wow, that is a perfect pick for Megan… I might even enjoy her for once if she does that.
I wonder if anyone will do Boyz II Men. We know Anoop and Michael like them…
Awesome picks, Slezak! It’d be so great to see Alison and Lil sing those two songs! Something tells me we’ll get more standard fare if anyone goes for the Supremes, but it’d be nice to hear someone doing “Love Hangover.”
lil rounds singing tyrone…that would be the coolest pick ever! michael, you’ve got me all excited eventhough we all know tyrone’s never gonna happen
In that picture of the top 10, do you think the blind dude’s brother is back there ducking behind the Idols?
I’d like to hear Adam sing Bernadette, an underappreciated Four Tops track.
Dear Tom (the Beatles fan),
Aside from two or three performances last year. The two weeks that were devoted to Beatles music were quite boring. I agree however that Motown doesn’t bring the kind of versatile entertainment we’d like to see from our singers either. Here’s to hoping for an original theme week! What could be next? Power ballad night? Hair Band night?
“Superstition” – Matt Giraud (oh yeah, rock it out on that piano!);
maybe a little “Signed Sealed Delivered” for Danny Gokey (he’s gotta do a Stevie jam, right?);
I’m going to pair Smokey Robinson to Anoopie . . perhaps “The Tracks of My Tears”?;
Boy, I would love to see Adam do “Hello”, but that song might be ‘untouchable’ (in the words of Kara) ever since Cook got his hands on it. Adam always surprises me, so I’m not going to even try and guess what he’s going to do; and
Lil’ should finally step it up tonight, maybe with “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” or if she really wants to jam it out, let’s give her “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.
-Elizabeth (www.myrealitybit.com)
Alison: Teena Marie “Square Biz”
Megan: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles “Baby, Baby”
Kris: Hall and Oats’es version of The Spinners “I’ll Be Around
Adam: Rick James “Superfreak (rewritten of course)” “That boy is really kinky (he’s a superfreak)…” It would be awesome!
If he’s not going to be allowed, then Jackie Wilson, “Higher and Higher”
Scott: Stevie Wonder “Higher Ground”
Michael: The Commodores “Lady (you bring me up”
Danny: I think that we all know that he’s going to sing Boys to Men’s “End of the Road” even if the song has been used on Idol way too many times.
If I were to choose, he’s sing The Contours “Do You Love Me?”
Lil: Gladys Knight’s version of “I heard it through the Grapevine”
Matt: Junior Walker “Shotgun”
Anoop would rock the house if he did Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and went into some rapping in the middle of the song! He’s an awesome rapper!
Oh and Anoop: Rare Earth/Temptations “Get Ready”
Interesting choices, Slezak. I find particularly inspired the idea of Alison doing “Theme from Mahogany.” But as much as I like “The Happening,” I just don’t think it is a song that allows for the kind of signing/belting that shows off the voice in the way that AI seems to demand. (If anything it seems more likely that Megan would choose “Tyrone” than Lil Rounds.) I’m also going to predict that Anoop is going to sing Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” since it is a song he apparently has been signing for a # of years. It could be quite good, in fact, especially if he doesn’t just do a copycat version.
“I Wish It Would Rain” is my favorite Motown song. I hope someone sings this one.
I’d like to hear Anoop sing a little more Boyz to Men… this is what I have been waiting for!