American Idol - Memphis Auditions

Well regardless of your political stance, we can all thank "Dubya" for one thing tonight. He spared us from 2 hours of auditions! So this meant they stopped wasting our time with some lousy BAD auditions and crammed in the talent, right? Nope. Of the 22 people that made it through in Memphis, we saw 5 of them. But this is part of the beauty of Idol. These people we see in the ads and early audition episodes, are clearly the contestants that the producers of Idol are pushing. They want America to start making attachments with these people. But, usually there are people that make it to the Top 24 that didn't get much publicity and SOMETIMES these people can make a surprise run into the Top 12...maybe even the top 2! (Bo Bice anyone???)

Anyway, to sum up the bad auditions, we had a Flamboyant Male Cheerleader backed by and entire Marching Band, a no personality Ashanti wannabe, a rapping dancing idiot who dedicated his audition to his girlfriend, an obsessed Paula fan whose wife left him (that was actually a good time), a mostly cleavage bearing Disco Inferno performance (leading Paula to cover up her shirt in embarrassment for her, and Simon's "you're a handful" comment), and of course Robert Lee Holmes. You know the "I'm not going to dance, just gonna do a little movement" Elvis Fan who "rocked" out to Burning Love and ended the story of the music of Robert with a period"." Semi-Funny stuff, but you know my thoughts on this already! 6 Years and I've had enough!

So did the homeland of "THE KING" bring us any talent? Well, surprisingly YES. For a year that Simon has announced the competition is wide open, they showed some heavyweight competitors tonight (2 to be exact). Here's who got in tonight:

• Danielle McCulloch - 18 - The blonde haired girl that sang Aretha's "Baby I Love you." Alright, fine, I'll agree with the judges that she had a unique sound. But I will disagree with Simon and Paula on being impressed. I don't think it's a sound that America wants to hear on a weekly basis. She had a bluesy style but I was bored seconds into the performance. I don't even think it was all on key. Simon was more impressed that she could sing the way she did for her age. Well, that's never a promising sign for the long haul. If she makes it to the Top 24, it's because Simon will fight for her or because he likes her appearance. Otherwise, I'm saying it's a Hollywood exit for her. Yo Dawg, Randy, good call on this one! Stand up to Simon!
  
• Sean Michel - 27 - Well here's one guy that used a gimmick to get in the door but could actually sing. This guy has been growing a beard since before he was born and likes to go by the names of Castro, Jesus, and Osama Bin Laden. Yes, and these are three names you usually hear in the same sentence! (only on Idol!) This guy pulled out some Johnny Cash and had a serious sense of rhythm. I still wasn't sure on his singing abilities, but he seemed to be able to carry a tune. I say this guy is a wildcard for a top 24 spot. But the big question will be, will he make a political stance on keeping his beard and long hair throughout his run on the competition? (kinda Like Taylor speaking for all the young grey haired wonders last year?) Well I'm intrigued. Let's keep Castro around a bit!
  
• Phillip Stacy - 28 - Ahh yes what a story. His 2nd daughter was born just before his audition. And he gives the PC answer that he would rather be with his daughter than on American Idol. ummmm dude, then why is there even audition footage of you? I thought this guy was okay. Nothing special. He had a decent voice, but I think he just got the sympathy vote because he was having a good day already. And Idol knew America would dig the story and want to see the little tiny baby at the end of the episode....PLEASE! Spare me the gooey cheesy icky moments! This guy is not even good enough to win, why bother getting invested in him? In fact, I'll say this. If he wins...I will stop writing American Idol blogs!
  
• Melinda Dolittle - 28 - Ahh the background singer lacking confidence to step up front, but wants to get over her fear. The story just writes itself (maybe Robert Lee should write it!). Well, boy did she belt out some Stevie! Judges were impressed saying it may have been one of the best vocal auditions in Idol History. I was pretty impressed myself. Confidence always plays a big factor though. It'll be interesting to see her run on the show. I have no doubt she'll be in the Top 24, but how will she perform in front of a live audience? There's no reason this girl shouldn't make a long run into the Top 12. But we'll see!
  
• Jason "Sundance" Head - 27 - son of Roy Head who had a number 1 single "Treat Her Right" back in the day. This is the guy with the crazy goatee from the commercials. Well, I know Idol wants me to do this, but I like this guy a lot. He's got a great personality, even had enough of a sense of humor to make fun of his own confidence in his interview. But the biggest reason I liked him is that he was soooo wearing one of my shirts from Old Navy! No the biggest reason was his voice. He may not look like an Idol, but he has some kind of appeal to him and the voice was powerful and flawless on his rendition of "Stormy Monday." And when Simon usually makes a statement like "I'd be amazed if you are not in the finals," that's usually a pretty good sign that big things are to come. Will be interesting to see how he will command the stage though. And you gotta love Simon's other great comment about how he "totally blew Taylor out of the park" Simon is clearly still bitter about Taylor winning last year and America turning the show into a popularity contest over talent. I would be too, considering Taylor's album sales!

So, overall not a bad show. We saw some decent talent, had some sappy stories, and had some ridiculous auditions. Not much else you can expect! Unfortunately, we'll be back to a 2 hour show on Wednesday when we hit the streets of New York! (ummm no...it was East Rutherford New Jersey! Yes, the good ol' meadowlands!) Who will come out to challenge the early Memphis front runners? We'll find out soon enough!

Question to end on tonight: Did anyone notice that Paula was completely normal in tonight's episode? I was thinking this through all of her comments and her normal reactions to performances. Of course this was until she was clapping along to Robert Lee's Elvis performance and hurt her finger in the process! Ahh good times...how can she top this tomorrow? We shall see soon enough! See you then!