'American Idol' Recap: Songs From Detroit

American Idol’s theme of the night was music from Detroit, so Motown legend Smokey Robinson spent the week with the final eight contestants as their guest coach, helping them come up with the performances to keep them around for another week.

First up was Candace Glover, who sang Marvin Gaye’s “Through the Grapevine.” By putting decidedly bluesy vocals on the track, Glover impressed the judges and received a standing ovation from the live audience once again. “You’ve got once of the best voices in the competition,” judge Randy Jackson observed.

Next was Lazaro Arbos, whose underwhelming performance last week drew criticism from everyone, with Nicki Minaj questioning where his confidence had gone. Well, this week, Lazaro performed Stevie Wonder’s “For Once in My Life,” and seemed to reestablish himself as a worthy Idol contestant. All of the judges found the performance far better than last week’s.

Janelle Arthur opted to sing a countrified version of the Supreme’s “Keep Me Hanging On” with an arrangement she first came up with in her early teenage years. She even complimented her voice on the guitar. Mariah Carey leapt to her feet, announcing enthusiastically, “Janelle at her finest!”

The next solo performance was by Devin Velesz, who has yet to wow the judges since making it into the final 10. Boldly, Devin opted to sing “The Tracks of My Tears,” written by Smokey Robinson. The risk proved wise as Keith Urban lauded the moments he “relaxed into” the song, and Mariah issued more effusive praise.

Burnell Taylor sang Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour” flawlessly in an all-white ensemble. “You reminded us why we fell in love with that voice,” Minaj said.

Unfortunately for Angle Miller, this week was just not her week. She sang the up-tempo “Shop Around” and received disappointed reactions from all the judges. Words of praise even failed Mariah who said, “That is not necessarily what you do best.”

Amber Holcomb sang the third Stevie Wonder hit of the night, “Lately.” Nicki gushed, “When God created those vocal chords he was showing off.”

Kree Harrison sang the final number – a rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Don’t Play That Song.” Although Kree gave another worthy performance, the judges felt that it could have been even better.

The night also offered some group performances. Janelle and Kree sang a version of Detroit-born Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” where Kree outshone her duet partner. Although there were some pitch problems over all, it was infinitely better than Devin, Lazaro and Burnell’s take on “I Can’t Help Myself.” Minaj actually ordered them off the stage after saying, “"I don't know what that was, but I'm gonna act like I didn't see it or hear it."

The American Idol results show airs tonight on FOX at 8/7c.

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