American Idol - March 30

Silver Chips Online's judges voiced their opinions regarding the American Idol episode shown on March 30.

Ellie
Tonight, American Idol was divided between those who excelled and those who lagged behind. The 10 remaining contestants sang Motown hits, accompanied by the world-famous session band The Funk Brothers and guest judges Valerie Simpson and Nick Ashford.

Camile Velasco: This girl is such a sweetheart, but her performance of Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life" did not do her justice. Camile faded in and out and was pitchy throughout. Camile may be destined for the bottom three again this week.

Jon Peter Lewis: This performance of the Aisley Brothers' "This Old Heart of Mine" was JPL's best performance by far. His rich, multi-faceted voice came out tonight, and he was able to support his notes longer than ever before. However, Jon Peter was outshined by more than a few contestants tonight.

La Toya London: La Toya sang a Smokey Robinson hit, and, as always, was able to make it her own. La Toya has a beautiful, powerful and classy voice, although she came out a bit pitchy in the beginning. Don't expect to see La Toya leave any time soon.

Amy Adams: Amy was very comfortable onstage tonight singing "Dancin' in the Streets." Finally, Amy is having fun and engaging the audience. She looked great, and though she was overpowered a bit by the band, Amy delivered a solid performance.

John Stevens: I myself am a big John Stevens fan, but tonight I couldn't help but cringe a bit when he missed notes and sang flatly throughout his rendition of "My Girl." John's unique style, which has kept him alive so far, is finally starting to become his weakness, as Idol fans continue to see him struggle with songs outside of his narrow vocal range.

Jennifer Hudson: Jennifer sang "Heat Wave" and was the first singer to show real command of the stage and band. Jennifer did shout the song, but in this case, it worked for her. Jennifer's style translates well into Motown, and she looked very natural onstage tonight. Jennifer will be around next week for sure.

Jasmine Trias: Jasmine was 10 times better this week than last. She sang "You're All I Need to Get By," a song which showed off the power of Jasmine's rich, intriguing voice. Jasmine has a big fan base that will stick by her for this week at the very least.

Diana DeGarmo: Diana is one of the youngest singers in this group, but she didn't show it tonight. Diana had a powerful presence onstage and got the entire audience on their feet singing "Do You Love Me."

Fantasia Barrino: One word: perfect. Fantasia can do no wrong, as week after week she takes songs and makes them work for her. This performance of "I Heard it through the Grapevine" was flawless and amazing. If I had to pick a winner for tonight, it would without a question be Ms. Fantasia Barrino.

George Huff: George Huff is an adorable guy with a loyal and varied group of supporters. George sang The Temptations' "Ain't too Proud to Beg," and was fantastic. Not only was the song flawless, but it was also rich and entertaining. George is a star who deserves every bit of the praise he receives.

Overall, tonight was a good one for Idol fans. However, for all of those who succeeded, there were contestants who couldn't quite cut it. Among these were Jon Peter Lewis and John Stevens. This time, their fans won't be able to keep them out of the bottom three. I predict that next week's bottom three will be Camile Velasco, Jon Peter Lewis and John Stevens. I predict that Camile will unfortunately be voted out tomorrow.

Adedeji
This week's Motown theme on American Idol provided only a few fantastic performances and several gruesome presentations.

Camille Velasco: Since the final 12 were decided, Velasco has used the excuse that she is nervous. She has been given numerous chances to raise the bar, but she has not done so. Her performance of "For Once in my Life" by Stevie Wonder was entirely unprofessional. One word describes Velasco's talent: TERRIBLE.

Jon Peter Lewis: Instead of supporting the song-strong Motown sound, Lewis sounded more like a member of the Osmonds. His dancing was horrendous, and he didn't help his situation by delivering a presentation that was a shockingly awful karaoke version of an otherwise-good song.

La Toya London: London hit a home run with her exemplary performance of a smoky Robinson great "Baby" . Her voice was powerful yet sultry. She didn't over sing, but was able to intensify her voice in key areas, and that made her performance all the more valuable.

Amy Adams: Adams' performance of "Dancing in the Streets" was lackluster to say the most. She had a great deal of energy but didn't make the song her own. She was playing it safe and didn't do anything to make the song more original.

John Stevens: This week, Stevens made the unexplainable mistake of applying a Frank Sinatra vibe to a Temptations song. The Temptations were rolling in their graves. His pitch was extremely flat, and his tone was not suitable for the song.

Jennifer Hudson: Hudson brought the true meaning of the Motown sound to her rendition of "Heat Wave." As always, she had astounding energy. Her powerhouse voice is sure to earn her a position in the top five, possibly the top three.

Jasmine Trias: One advantage that Trias has is her cover-girl looks. But looking like a model does not magically endow anybody with musical talent. The same applies to Trias. Her performance of "You're All I Need to Get By" was technically sound but utterly uninspiring. It was her best performance, but, then again, her previous performances were nothing to brag about.

Diana DeGarmo: Delivered one of best performances. DeGarmo has pipes, and she blew the audience away with her performance of "Do You Love Me." The 16-year-old is one of the youngest contestants in the competition.

Fantansia Barrino: Fantasia was absolutely fantastic. She was the most innovative performer of the night and brought all of herself to the song with her performance of "I Heard it Through The Grapevine". Usually a subdued and effortless song, Barrino added multiple riffs and plain belted the song with extreme brilliance.

George Huff: Huff was cool with his performance and incredibly unique as well. Beyond his goofy boyish personality, Huff is able to produce a voice that exceeds voices of some of the most accomplished singers.

For Wednesday, John Stevens should be voted off. His poor song choice and execution has discredited him entirely.

Shewit
The stars of American Idol truly shined with this week's theme being Motown. Those with the soulful voices showed the judges what they were made of:
 
Camile Velasco: She really could have used this week's theme of Motown to show her powerful voice, but as usual her timidness shone through instead of her strong vocals.
 
Fantasia Barrino : She was the highlight of all the performances and, as of today, she showed that she is here to stay. Her voice was made for Motown and made the other performances look like zeros on a one-to-10 scale.
 
Jon Peter Lewis: He definitely proved something this week - that the only reason he has stayed this long is because of his looks because it is definitely not his voice. Throughout the whole song, his voice was on the weak side and did look not as confident as he usually does.
 
Jennifer Hudson : Hudson disappointed me this week. Simon constantly taunts her that she does not have what it takes to win this competition, so, with the theme being Motown, she should have made that her best performance. She still did a good job, but this week was her time to go above and beyond, and she did not.
 
Jasmine Trias: I have never been a great fan of hers, but this week she proved she had a voice that is here to stay. Trias' performance really showed the beauty in her voice. She is a very talented singer who may make it to the top three or four, but she may not have what it takes to win this competition.
 
George Huff: His performance was not that good, but that is not what the judges thought. They thought his performance was wonderful, but his I-am-a-little-kid-about-to-go-to-the-playground facial expressions and his husky voice are getting annoying. He sang a Temptations song; if I were the Temptations, I would have been angry.
 
Le Toya London: Just like Fantasia, London rocked the show. She sang a slow song that focused in on her untouchable vocals. She and Fantasia proved what they were made of and are both potentials for the last two.
 
Diana DiGarmo She, however, was not good. Although last week was one of her best performances and she was picked for the bottom three, she should not have lost hope. She should have come even stronger, not weaker. I don't think it will be her time to go tomorrow, so she still has time to prove what she is made of.
 
Amy Adams: She was satisfactory. It was like any other performance she has given, neither good nor bad, although last week was extraordinary. She needs to step her singing up a notch to even think of making it to top five.
 
John Stevens : was absolutely terrible. His boring voice was not meant to destroy the soulful music of Motown music. Anyone who votes for him this week is crazy.
 
For destroying one of my favorite songs, "My Girl" by The Temptations, it is time for John Stevens to leave this competition.