The theme this week is Inspirational Songs and you can find the list of available songs over at MJSBigBlog.Com.  The one song that flew out at me was Carole King’s, “You’ve Got A Friend”.

Maybe Crystal will go back to her keyboard and deliver a soulful, bluesy rendition of this number. I can’t see anyone else capable of performing this number and it just seems so logical in my mind.

Also, upon reading the list, it confirmed in my mind that Katie Stevens did indeed select “Over The Rainbow” as her Top 7 number. She performed this song so beautifully on the Ellen Show earlier today.

But let’s not be sad folks! Both Top 9 eliminated contestants, Katie Stevens and Andrew Garcia, have tweeted that they will be part of the 2-hour Idol Gives Back extravaganza on Wednesday.

If anyone knows if  the entire Top 12 are coming back for an encore, give me shout here in the comments section and I will update this blog topic ASAP.

I am hoping that Alicia Keyes can inject some soulful inspiration into the remaining singers -Aaron Kelly, Casey James, Crystal Bowersox, Lee Dewyze, Michael Lynche, Siobhan Magnus and Tim Urban.  She is such a gifted artist and these singers are so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to learn from her.

Best of luck to the Top 7 Finalists and feel welcome to add your comments before, during and after the live telecast on Tuesday, April 20th.

UPDATE: SONG SPOILERS FOR TONIGHT”S SHOW

This talented young man, Sam Tsui, took multiple videos of himself and the result is a phenomenal video presentation of Michael Jackson’s music.

The multiple videos were layered to create the final, extraordinary visual product.

I believe that the gentleman on the far left is the producer, Kurt Schneider.

This beautiful video of the late Michael Jackson singing to the legendary Sammy Davis Jr. brought both a smile to my face and tears to my eyes.

Sammy Davis Jr. was dying of cancer at the time and Michael’s poignant performance is just exquisite in so many ways.

Nothing more needs to be added to this blog topic. All one has to do is enjoy and savour the moment.

R.I.P. Sammy Davis Jr. and Michael Jackson. Your legendary gift of music will continue to remain in our hearts.

However, now that the Fall season has begun and my schedule has been finalized, I can now get back to the business of keeping MasterclassLady.Com current and alive!

Let’s see now, since last we spoke, so many wonderful people have left us, including superstar Michael Jackson and super politician, Senator Edward Kennedy. And, I must say that both the memorial and the funeral services for these gentlemen were absolutely exquisite – tastefully done.

Although both came from entirely different backgrounds, both were justifiably respected and applauded by their fans and followers for their contributions – one to the world of music and the other to the world of politics. Their legacy will remain with us for a lifetime.

Interestingly enough, Senator Kennedy was buried on Michael Jackson’s birthday, August 29th, which also happens to be the birthday of my dear father, Henry Giallonardo. My father, who was an extremely intelligent, gentle and caring individual, passed away on July 8th 2000 and I do miss him every single minute of every single day.

Additionally, Paula Abdul will no longer act as a judge on American Idol. I’m not sure if I like this scenario, but, I suppose, time will tell. I just hope and pray that this season’s show will fare better than last – I am still shaking my head over the Season 8 fiasco!

I am very excited for David Archuleta’s Christmas album, “Christmas From The Heart”, set to drop on October 13th, 2009.  I can only imagine how wonderful and inspiring this CD will sound with David’s glorious voice and musical passion at the center of this recording.

And we cannot forget about Adam Lambert. His new CD should be ready for release soon but details weren’t available on Amazon.Com. His website is rocking though! Have a “look-see“!

And, it appears that Jason Castro has released a new song, “Let’s Just Fall In Love Again“.  His fans are relentless in making certain that I have a ‘heads-up” whenever talented Jason inches a step forward to his escalating career.

“Let’s Just Fall In Love Again” is a great, great number and Jason’s voice sounds terrific.  Even though his voice is not as “open” as I know it could be,  Jason sings with musicality and expressiveness. And his diction is crystal clear!

Finally, there’s Jay Leno who is set to take over Prime Time every weekday with his new show. Finally, something to watch on TV at 10:00 P.M. besides Frasier and Seinfeld re-runs – although I worship these shows everytime I watch them for the zillionth time.

As always, I would like to welcome everybody back to the MCL site, as well as express appreciation for those who stopped by every so often during the course of the summer to say “hi” and left comments or news items.  You can’t buy this kind of loyalty!

I have tears in my eyes when I watch young Michael – all that natural talent and now a music legend.

R.I.P. Michael.

Update: Check out this great YouTube.Com tribute clip of Michael Jackson’s legendary “Moonwalk”.