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.