Motown is a GIGANTIC part of the history of American music. So, so, sooooo many great songs (i.e. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch, You Can’t Hurry Love, For Once in my Life, Tracks of my Tears), and so many great performers (i.e. Temptations, the Miracles, the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Jackson 5, just to name a few) — came from motown. It’s my favorite period of music, next to 1920s-1950s big band. Not only did motown make big contributions to music, it also was one of the few things that transcended racial barriers during a period in America when black and white didn’t dine in the same restaurant.

American Idol tonight mentioned a little bit of how motown came to be — the name motown (which is a reference to a certain era of music, as well as the record label) is named after Detroit, motown’s birth place. In the 1960s, Detroit was the place for auto manufacture, and hence its nickname “Motor City.” So how come this auto town became the birth place of one of the biggest brand of music (and never moved to LA Hollywood)?

Smokey Robinson said, “All cities have the same amount of talent. But in motor town, we have Berry Gordy.”

Berry Gordy is the founder of the motown label. It all started in a garage. And from then on, the talent started coming, and the motown label just grew and grew. Gordy was the “organizer”, the inducer, of the massive talent. Perhaps it was he who paved the logistics that allowed the talent to be realized.

Is it really purely by chance that Berry Gordy happened to be in Detroit?

On a somewhat related note, is it really purely by chance that a great leader such as Lee Kuan Yew became the president in Singapore, and who became the key instrument to Singapore’s subsequent growth?

Anyway, here is a tribute to Diana Ross, queen of motown:

So Kristy Lee Cook was eliminated. But I could not help but be quite suspicous about this result. According to dialidol, Kristy Lee Cook should be within a safe distance from bottom three. Rickey’s poll also somehow matches that prediction.

Although her presence at this stage of the competition is deemed undeserved by many, she has been improving while some of her competitors faltered. I thought her performance last week with Martina McBride’s “Anyway” and this week with Mariah Carey’s “Forever” was actually decent. In fact, “Forever” was delivered very well indeed.

Anyway, I am now devoting an entry to Kristy Lee Cook’s elimination because I thought her exit clip was quite touching. It began only with the sound of rapid horse hooves hitting the ground. Then we see a Kristy on her horse, she leaning far forward on the horse’ back, galloping fast across the plain.

I thought that scene was shot beautifully and it sent some chills down my spine.

 Yeppie, Beatles!  How can anybody go wrong with a Beatle song?  Coming into the night, my top 3 of this season are:  1.)  David Cook 2.) Brooke White  3.)  Jason Castro.  (In that order)

Chikizie was surprising good.  You got to give him credits for the refreshing arrangement, beginning with folk then with rock.

Ramielle sang “All my Life”.  Judges didn’t like it.  But I like her voice and the song.  She didn’t do anything new to it.

Jason Castro’s delivery is always very touching.  He sang “If I fell.” Just the guitar and him.  (My top 3 of this season)

David Cook is possibly the smartest contestant on this show.  Every performance he gave was carefully designed and reliably contained at least one of his creative twists to it.  He sang “Eleanor.” 

Although I don’t like Carly Smithson, she was good tonight.  The song she chose, “Come Together,” exactly suits her voice.  Finally, I understood what the judges saw in her voice.

Love Brooke White.  She played “Let It Be” on the piano, and was shaking all over afterwards and tearing up.   Didn’t do anything new to it, but it was a –as Randy put it–”heartfelt” delivery.  This girl is so true that every sentence she utters seems to be coming straight from the heart.  So when she sings “Let It Be,” you really felt that she MEANT it. 

David Hernandez, like always, is too dramatic.  Too show-biz for me.  Agree with all three judges that his performance is over the top.  (Stripperish!)

Amanda Overmeyer picked a song that I have never heard before.  She’s cool.

Michael John sang a song named “Across the Universe.”  I have never heard this song before but it sounded so good!  It was sung simply, with him standing in the center, just holding the microphone.  Simon and Randy thought it was boring because he didn’t do anything new.  Paula thought it was heartfelt.  I agree with Paula.  Maybe females can more easily connect to the emotion current underlying a song’s delivery? 

Kristy Lee Cook “Eight Days a Week” with her own country arrangement.  I was squinting throughout her rendition.  The band seems to be half a beat faster than her.  And there was this annoyingly pushy drum beat that just didn’t go with her rhythm.  Still, Simon’s comments were too mean. 

David Archuleta, put on the pimp spot.  Omg, did he just forget the lyrics?  Yes he did!  It’s a crime to forget your lyrics for a Beatle song on such a highly watched show!  Agree with Simon, it’s a mess.  It’s obvious David himeslf didn’t even enjoy the song. 

My Ranking of the Night:

1.  Brooke White

2.  David Cook

3.  Chikizie

4.  Jason Castro

5.  Michael Johns

6.  Carly Smithson

7.  Amanda Overmeyer

8.  David Hernandez, Syesha, Ramielle Maluby, David Archuleta

12.  Kristy Lee Cook

Going home:  Kristy Lee Cook.

David Archuleta looked nervous tonight.  He kept looking down at his piano, as if he’s afraid he would press the wrong keys.  It’s an awkward peformance, if you ask me.

David Cook is just getting better and better.  People remember stars, movies, or books which slowly build into a climax, not something that begin with a bang but wither afterwards.  Romance is the best when it builds up slowly from friendship to love.  Not some one night passionate fling.  David Cook delivers that slow, friendly climax.  You can rely on this one for a creative performance.  He is not boring at all.

Jason Castro.  He is promisingly not boring.  I like his voice.  Very soulful.   This is the soul singer (not Michale Johns).  

David Hernandez?  All I can think of when he sings is:  stripper.  Sorry, I was indeed distracted.  But I never liked his karaoke belting.  And that arched eyebrow, as if it was carefully carved.  And the way he raised his eyebrow, so …stripperish.

Danny Noriega:  I like him.  He is fun.

Brooke White among the girls to me is like Jason Castro among the guys.  She is unique (that hair!).  She is like a dandelion.  I don’t know, maybe I just have a soft spot for singer/song writer.  Her rendition of Carly Simon’s “You’re so vain” is delightful, like Jason’s “Dreams” was.  (Incidentally I was just listening to You’re so vain lately).  Many say that she will be gone soon.  But I think that’ll make the girls show extremely boring.

Kristin Lee Cook has a consistent girlish voice.   But that can also be boring.

I like Kady Malloy’s personality.

Asia’h betrayed her weakness with Celin Dion’s All by myself. 

Carly Smithson is the girl counterpart of Michael Johns — overrated and commercial.  I don’t see anything special about her voice, personality, or stage presence.  She has nothing of that Katherine McPhee had in season 5, and she does not have Asia’s vibrant spirit or Brooke White ethereal’s image. 

The rest of the performances are very, very blah.  The girls’ performance is much weaker than the guys.  It’s boring to watch.  At some points it’s scary to watch.

Wow, David Archuleta, the 17-year-old boy, CAN sing.  The notes went exactly where he intended them to be.  The way he sings remind me of the way one of my classmate here solve complicated econ/math problem:  work out a bunch of very complicated stuff yet knowing exactly where he is going, and of course, in the end, reaches it.

David Archuleta’s harmony of John Lennon’s Imagine is just perfection.  I have heard this song sang by very different and good singers many times, but none of them has struck so many goosebumps on my body.  This boy has talent.  And his voice has the kind of purity that can be compared to Josh Groban.  So thick, but also magnetic.  And how humble.  How he cannot control that sighing laugh upon receiving the judges’ raving comments. 

So pure.  Not vanilla pure.  But I mean, angelically pure. 

Watch an 11-year-old David Archuleta sing to Kelly Clarkson, and Kelly Clarkson’s reaction to him. 

Did you see that Paula was crying?  She said, “You are born to super stardom.”  And then the rest of the wrap-up she was seen rubbing her eyes.  Yeah, it was that touching. 

The other contestants all look contrived and commercial compare to him.  There’s really no comparison.

I also like Jason Castro (despite the comments tonight, he is special).  It is a joy to watch him with his guitar. 

I wish I can play the guitar like when the band play for the Chikezi.

Other vocals I thought were good tonight are:  David Cook (I whole-heartedly disagree with Simon:  the clip showing David Cook’s love of words and crossword puzzles is SUPER APPEALING to me!) , Chikezi.

Vocals I thought are overrated:  David Hernandez, Michael Johns.  These two voices are too commercial.  Boring.  Switch to Channel 7 to watch “Just for Laughs” (which is the funniest show on TV!)

Vocals I thought are blah:  David Noriega, Robbie.

The ones I didn’t mention meant that I don’t even remember them.