American Idol: New York City and San Juan Auditions

Well my friends, we've reached the end of the auditions! And it couldn't come soon enough. Thankfully, it has come a week sooner this year. They want to spend more time in Hollywood this season. We'll see if it pans out over the next 2 weeks. But for now, we have 2 more cities to recap! And with this being the 3rd Idol blog of the week (and the limited audience reading the first 2), I'm burned out. So let's cut to the chase! Here's who got in!



New York City Auditions

• Melinda Camille - 21 - Crazy lady with cleavage bearing dress that likes to dance naked and send a message to the world of uplifting humanity with positivity. Huh???? Oh well, after all of that nonsense, she ended up sounding pretty good. But, will American buy into the craziness? Time will tell.
• Jackie Tohn - 27 - The female rocker girl. She tried to pull off Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours." It wasn't too bad. She has a crazy Raspy voice. Then again, so did Amanda Overmeyer and look how she turned out! She sang a 2nd song and apparently the judges saw enough to let her through. Well, she's different so that may be good for the competition to mix things up. We'll see!
• Nick Mitchell (aka Norman Gentle) - 27 - A man with a voice but couldn't pass up being silly. He really was doing well with "Amazing Grace" until he jazzed it up too much. Paula and Kara loved the guy, and the judges ended up giving him another shot. But in the great words of newbie Judge Kara "you don't have a shot in hell but I like you!"
• Ashley Hollister - 21 - She made it in and we saw 2 seconds.
• Kenny Hoffpauer - She made it in and we saw 2 seconds.

San Juan Puerto Rico

• Jorge Nunez - 20- Bad Dancer guy that sang "My Way" in Spanish. He has a big voice and sounded pretty good. But definitely sounded better in Spanish. He's going to need to sing in English though if he wants to get further. Remember "Besame Mucho" that Sanjaya sang? ouch!
• Monique Garcia Torres -16 - The girl that brought her 9 year old brother in with her. She sang okay, but I would've been fine if they just let her brother into Hollywood! Too many 16 year olds this year!
• Kendall Beard - 23 - She made it in and we saw 2 seconds.
• Patricia Lewis Roman - 20 - Last girl of the San Juan audition. Her parents got married at the audition location. She sang "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" which I thought sounded pretty good. Simon went into his predictable rant of how she'll always be a 2nd rate Whitney. They let her sing a 2nd song which she did in Spanish and she ended up getting in. Don't know if she'll be good enough to win or anything but she deserved to get to the next round.
  

Highlights of the bad was the inevitable return of Philly Auditioner Alexis Cohen. (you know the one from Allentown who said the song written about her town was Bon Jovi instead of Billy Joel! I'm still upset about it!) She was just as bad as ever. Then there was the guy that jumped into walls and was a human iPod. Just bizarre! And the girl that kept bragging about all the competitions she won. It was nice to see her be awful!

So 9 from San Juan got in and 26 NYC. There's quite a lot of faces from the 8 cities that we haven't been introduced to. Will they show us them over 4 weeks in Hollywood? You'd think they'd take that extra time (2 weeks) to show us them. And then we'll be getting 12 more people into the Semi-Finals this year. But we'll explain that whole process as we get closer.

Hope you enjoyed my ramblings through the auditions. I'm sure you know that I'm glad they're over! I'll see you next week as we begin the Hollywood Round!

American Idol: Salt Lake City Auditions

Okay folks, I gotta say I'm excited. Not excited about tonight's episode, but about the preview for Thursday's episode. Remember back in the day (yesterday) when I said I had no idea what the Thursday episode was about? Turns out they are granting my wish this year. LESS Audition episodes. Instead they're cramming the final 2 cities into one hour (i hope!) and then we move to Hollywood NEXT week! woo hoo! As for Salt Lake City, home of the Artichoke? Maybe some real contenders coming out of here. But at this point, not worth dwelling on them too much. Here are the 6 of 12 we saw get in:

• David Osmond -28 - Apparently, there are more Osmonds out in the world than just Donnie and Marie. Go figure. This one was son of the infamous Alan Osmond who had to leave show-biz due to M.S. (which David also is a victim of). David has a bit of John Locke in him where he is sometimes in a wheelchair, and sometimes he's on some magical Island where he can walk around and be a great singer. (Sorry if I spoiled the 3rd episode of season 1 of LOST for any non-watchers out there!) Anyway, he was pretty good. I'm not sure if they were just trying to add drama, or if there's a chance that David could go far in the competition and end up in a wheel chair at some point. Kinda depressing. He seems to be a guy that Idol wants to support this season.
• Frankie Jordan - 26 - They hyped her up as the next Amy Winehouse (do we really need another?). That being said, she did sing well and had a distinct voice (if you call sounding like Amy distinct). And because I have nothing else to say about her I'll just also say she's a stay-at-home mom. There seems to be tons of these. My question is...who's gonna watch these kids when the moms go off chasing their dreams this year?! Daddy still has to bring home the bacon!!
• Megan Corkrey - 23 - If you can get past any Carly Smithson comparisons (crazy tattoos all down her right arm), this girl is pretty good. She ALSO has a child, but divorced the bacon provider! Good thing she can sing, because based on what we heard and the judge's reactions, she could be a top 12'er. (here's the question, have i mentioned top 12 more than 12 times this season yet? I think I've been careful!) Let's see how America votes in the Semi-Finals! Also one thing to note, this is the first of 2 auditions that Simon said "you're one of the few that I'll remember" (yikes, i wonder how many times he used that line!)
• Austin Sisneros -17 - Ugh...Can you say David "The Artichoke" Archuleta part 2???? He's the class president of his senior class and is auditioning "to inspire people" bleh....put me out of my misery now! Oh wait I'm not done, when his Train song (incorrectly sung by the way) didn't win them over, he decided to get more hip with a RAFFI song! I really do hope he gets far. We'll need a new vegetable for his nickname! I'm throwing it out there for suggestions. Best suggestion gets to write tomorrow's blog for me! (just kidding)
• Taylor Vafuna - 16 - may have messed up that spelling, but it's LOST day folks, can't go rewind and find it! Okay, so she's another 16 year old...but she could play in the NBA or something (yes that means she's tall!) Anyway, I guess she sounded okay. Kara heard her sing in the Bathroom so she must be good! Whatever, she could pass for something other than 16, so if she goes further, maybe I'll be fine with it (a la Jordin Sparks, as Randy compared her appearance to)
• Rose Flack - 17 - The ultimate sympathy yellow ticket. The judges liked her vibe and her look. And I'm sure they were tipped off that she had been gradually orphaned over the past 4 years. Don't get me wrong, that is sad stuff. But she really didn't wow anyone with her voice. Even Paula said that she needs to work on her vocals. If this is a SINGING competition, we shouldn't be letting people in if they're not good singers! But whatever, let her go to Hollywood and see the world! And of course Simon also told her "you are one of the few singers I'll remember" DOY!!!

The best was when they showed a clip of Ryan afterwards telling Simon that he liked the girl that Simon said he'll remember and Simon asked "What was her name?" Ahh good times. The bad singers aren't worth talking about. Plus, looks like I may have to throw another recap out there tomorrow night at some point. So I'll save some strength! New York City and San Juan tomorrow then we're off to Hollywood! See you then.

American Idol: Jacksonville Auditions

Another day another audition! Jacksonville was no different than the others. Dare I say it, maybe it was worse? The judges shared in my distaste though, at least on day 1 of the auditions. The 3 people we saw them let in on day 1 were just horrendous. In fact, the only person I thought was decent was the person they made leave and come back later. But we'll get to that. Some of the bad auditions were a little humorous, even if a little staged (the sitting on the laps anyone???) And, any episode of Idol where they show Randy from the 80's rocking it out with Journey is worth a little praise!

But, let's get on with our tiny recap of who we saw got in (we saw 6 of 16 that got a golden ticket):

• Joshua Ulloa - 22 - The Justin Guarini look-a-like. Okay, so Justin is from Doylestown, PA which isn't far from me...but come on. You NEVER want to compare yourself to that guy! And this guy didn't do any extra favors for liking him with all of his silly sound effects during his audition. I agree with Simon. Parts of the audition were good and others were just awful. We'll see if he tones himself down a bit in the crazy department. But I don't see this guy lasting.
• Sharon Wilbur - 25 - This is the girl with the dog and the Britney Spears twang when she sang the word "Baby." She also had some weird mannerisms. Just a gimmicky audition with the dog...and then Paula and Kara kissing? Whaaaat? Anyway, again..I'm not seeing a winner here.
• Julissa Veloz - 19 - Okay, this girl was just insane. She wants to be the first Latin American Idol, and is some Florida teen pageant winner or something. But if the last 2 people I mentioned had some nervous ticks and twitches, this girl topped them both. She sang a Whitney song and tried to be a Whitney CLONE. And in the process, I think she changed keys 3 or 4 times. Simon said it best when he said she was better than he expected but she didn't make it sound nice. She just gives off an uncomfortable vibe. I don't think I can get past that!
• Jasmine Murray - 16 - She sang well, the judges ate it up. But come on, look at her age. I don't think I even have to say what I always say one more time. The age says it all!
• Ann Marie Baskovich - 22 - (take 1) She saw Kara in Nashville sing a song that no one knew. And Ann Marie sang it for the judges. The judges made her leave and come back and be someone different. Not sure I understood what that all meant. But she went and did some kind of crazy make-over and came back. stay tuned.
• T.K. Hash - 23 - Auditioned before, Simon didn't remember him. Paula claims his voice improved. I dunno. He turned "Imagine" into some crazy R&B note sliding roller coaster. And, yet again, in the process changed keys several times. My favorite is when he was MAN (woman) enough to admit he was inspired by the Artichoke's rendition last year. (the only performance of Davey's that I'll claim was good. But it still irked me because it was him!!) Anyway, I can see T.K. being a guy that's a little full of himself with his crazy runs and stuff. Maybe he'll prove me wrong.
• Ann Marie Baskovich - TAKE 2! - She came back with her make-over and new attire. And wowed the judges with a little Colbie Callet "Bubbly" And I'm man (woman) enough to admit that I love that crazy song! Anyway, she's a likable person, has a marketable look, is relevant and she sounds good. That, my friends, is the combination that American Idol and us viewers strive to find! I'm not saying she's going to win or anything. But she has a strong chance at getting to the top 12. But let's get through Hollywood and the Top 36 first!

So how about that crazy dude with the guitar that broke down when he couldn't play it in the audition room (and why can't they when they're now allowed to play instruments later? I guess because the show is mainly about finding a good singer). Man he flipped out! And what's with all the nerdy scientists coming out this year to compete? That would be an interesting show all to itself! Other than that, I'm all out of commentary on the night.

I see on my TiVo that there is a Thursday episode this week. I'm not too thrilled about that folks! I thought we would be getting that next week for the "best of the rest" episode after the auditions. So, stay tuned on if you'll be getting 3 blogs from me this week. 2 audition blogs a week is already pushing it! :-) Anyway, hope you enjoyed my ramblings. We're getting there...soon enough we'll be in Hollywood. Stay the course! See you tomorrow.

American Idol: Louisville Auditions

Okay everyone here we go! Another So-So audition episode. This is about the point where the novelty (not so novel anymore!) wears off on me. While hour episodes are wonderful, there simply isn't enough time to show a lot of people or get to know anyone, unless they want to make us feel bad for the unemployed and self-proclaimed homeless. Tonight's formula was pretty much the same as the San Fran formula except we had 2 days of auditions instead of 1. So we saw 3 out of 10 get in in day 1 and then 5 out of however many get in in day 2. (but 4 were those really quick ones again). Bad auditions? Well they were not worth noting again except for Kara making a girl cry by telling her her audition was funny! Whoops! Here's the quick recap of who got in

• Joanna Paciti -27 - An L.A. implant from Philly! So Kara knew who this person was because apparently she was on the A&M Label for a little while. I guess Idol is learning their lesson from years' past and being upfront about some people having prior contracts. Obviously, this girl was good if she's been signed before. But we'll see if she lasts through the grueling Idol process. Carly Smithson didn't fare too well last year! Of course, those crazy tatoos didn't help!
• Brent Keith Smith - 28 - The dude that sang that Bad Company song. He wasn't so bad. Simon didn't like the song choice and thought he should've picked something more emotional. This is one case where I need to hear more to make a judgement on this guy. We shall see!
• Matt Girard - 23 - Dueling Piano Player guy. Well, you gotta love the Dueling Pianists! They're a fun time! This guy had a unique voice and wasn't too bad with rendition of Gavin Degraw's "I Don't Wanna Be" Simon was reminded of Elliott Yamin. The man can carry a tune, and playing the piano always wins points in my book (except in the case of the Artichoke last year!) Let's see if he can take the momentum through Hollywood.
• Alexis Grace - 20 - Stay at Home mom who's fiance' is in Military School. She has a pretty powerful voice that you wouldn't expect. The judges loved her, and Kara made some inappropriate comments about how she should celebrate. Family Show Kara! Stop drinking from Paula's cup! She could go a few rounds in this competition. We'll see how she does with song selection.
• Leneshe Young - 18 - Ugh, Cry me a river homeless girl! Haven't we seen this clip before like, I dunno, in every single audition episode? Now now, don't get me wrong. I'm sure they've had it tough. But I'm also sure that the family exaggerated their trials and Idol exploited it even further. Anyway, to the audition. She's from Cincinatti and performed a song she wrote called "Natti." Creative! Simon thought so. They liked her "current" vibe. Naturally, I didn't see anything too special with her. I guess we'll see if American can identify with her hardships and decide to keep rooting for her.

And then the 4 quick clips we got. They all sounded good to me and would've liked to hear more:

• Kris Allen - 23 - Business Major
• Felcia Barton -26 - Bar Singer/Mom
• Ryan Johnson - 27 - Railroad
• Shera Lawrence - 23 - Otherpoedic Office Assistant.

Ugh...are we there yet? I guess we have 2 more weeks of the audition craziness. Expect more blogs like this for them! Don't worry, I'll turn things up for the LIVE performance episodes as always. So, next week is Jacksonville, Florida. We'll see if things improve! See you then!