Tag: American Idol recap (Page 7 of 21)

American Idol: Hollywood Part 1 recap

Last night began the real auditions for “American Idol” and while most of the decisions of who to keep and who to send home were good, there was definitely some drama. Here is a quick recap….

STAYING IN HOLLYWOOD
Brett Lowenstern, the 16 year old who got picked on most of his life, delivered again….so did Rachel Zevita, Thia Meghia (thought I didn’t think she was that great last night), and Casey Abrams, the Seth Rogan clone….James Durbin, the dude who auditioned in San Fran and is trying desperately to make a better life for his family…Paris Tassin, also trying to make a better life as she has a daughter with special needs. But she sang Celine Dion, to which I say, “BLAH!”….Loren Alaina, the 15 year old from Georgia who I have said has a shot to go very far…..Chris Medina, the dude with a fiancee that had the horrible car accident and is severely disabled, also made it to the next round…Jacee Badeux, the dorky 15 year old kid that Simon would no doubt have sent home in this round….Robbie Rosen, the Andy Pettitte look-alike, also moved on….so did Hollie Cavanaugh, but I really don’t see the talent in here. To me she is all technique, no substance. Mrs. Mike disagreed with me, and so did the judges….the exes of Chelsee and Rob made it through. Both could go far, but especially Rob…..the other couple, the happy happy one of Nick and Jacqueline–well, she made it through but Nick didn’t. Uh-oh. More on him in a bit….Scott McCreedy, the 16 year old kid with the deep country voice, also made it….so did Jackie Wilson and Jerome Bell, who both sang the same song they did in their initial audition. Risky but worked this time….Tiffany Rios, who wanted to show off her “assets” in the first audition, made it through, but not before dissing every other contestant by saying something like, “I am better than everyone else here.” J-Lo made note of that, but they still let her through, maybe to avoid the drama of eliminating her this week….then they showed a whole bunch of others who made it through in quick fire fashion, including Stefano from the San Francisco auditions who we really liked.

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American Idol: auditions wind down

Last night was Episode 7 of this season’s “American Idol” on FOX. That means it was the last night of initial audition footage, and tonight we get into Hollywood week. But first, a recap from last night’s San Francisco auditions:

HOLLYWOOD BOUND
The first few that they showed going to Hollywood were 21 year old Brittany Mazur; Lara Johnston; and Matthew Nuss. I wrote down next to Lara that she was all technique and I wrote “eh” next to Matthew. Sometimes I’m not quite sure what the judges are smoking, or that they are a bit too lenient…but Stefano Langone, who went next, was quite a story. He was in a life-threatening car accident two years ago, but pulled through. He talked about the desire to win “American Idol” burning in him, and when someone goes through something like that and to top it off, has the talent AND the burning drive, look out. I’m just saying, keep an eye on this kid. He did an awesome version of “Heard it Through the Grapevine” and J-Lo even suggested the word “star” to Stefano….Clint Jun Gamboa, a karaoke host from Los Angeles, was pretty damn good…after a medley of good auditions, some with women in short dresses that caught the eyes of Randy and Steven, the next Hollywood-bound contestant was Julie Zorrilla, a 20 year old beauty originally from Colombia. Her family was rich but constantly extorted by the army, so they left and came to LA for a better life. Good for us, because she was awesome and did a super cool version of the classic, “Summertime”….Emily Anne Reed, whose house burned down like last week, sang “You’re Getting To Bet a Habit,” and she was really good, kind of old-timey but very unique. Steven said no, but Randy and Jennifer said yes resoundingly…..and finally, 21 year old James Durbin from Santa Cruz, whose dad always played in bands and toured but died when James was 9 of a drug overdose, was quite a story. He and his girlfriend Heidi have a little daughter and though he has no job, they make ends meet somehow, and now he wants a better life for his family. Thankfully, he didn’t suck. Dude did a super cool version of Led Zeppelin’s “You Shook Me” and then even did Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” with Steven’s permission of course. This dude was really good and worth keeping an eye on.

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American Idol: L.A. auditions lame

Last night’s “American Idol” auditions were in Los Angeles, not far from where the contestants with golden tickets will go if they move on to the next round. And while they didn’t give an exact number, they said L.A. did not produce the hopefuls they thought it would. Here are the good and the bad from last night:

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American Idol: judges keep spreading love

It sure is going to get interesting as this season of “American Idol” gets into the real judging of Hollywood, because Randy, Steven and Jennifer continue to be much more lenient than Simon ever was. I have said I think it’s refreshing and I stand by that, but I think they are going to have a difficult time making actual cuts in a few weeks. Here were the highlights and (a few) lowlights from last night’s Austin auditions:

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American Idol: Nashville auditions

Last night’s Nashville auditions on “American Idol” were as far on both ends of the spectrum as could be, but that’s what the producers of the show I’m sure would prefer. Here is how it went down…..

HOLLYWOOD BOUND
The duo of Chelsee Oaks and Rob Bolin was unique—they are formerly an item romantically but still are musically, and still live together despite the fact that Chelsee has a new boyfriend. Yikes. The whole thing was made even sadder by the fact that they were both really good, especially Rob. And both made it to Hollywood, with Steven and Jennifer proclaiming that they would get back together while in Hollywood…..Stormy Henley, a Miss Teen USA winner from Crossville, Tennessee, was pretty good but not great. J-Lo said no but Steven and Randy were enamored, just as Simon Cowell would have been without even hearing her sing….22 year old Adrienne Beasley, an African American from Kentucky with white parents who are farmers, had a great voice and Steven accurately pointed out that there is “something special in there”…..Jackie Wilson, 28, had the jitters but did a nice version of “Till You Come Back to Me,” and had the judges flipping out. I mean, she was good, but not that good….a few rapid-fire Hollywood bound folks were 25 year old Paul McDonald, 25 year old Jimmie Allen and Danny Pate, who did a cool version of “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”…..Matt Dillard, a 27 year old dude in overalls from south of Nashville, came from a family that takes care of foster children. Amazingly, this dude with overalls and a cowboy hat sang Josh Groban. It was weird, but really good….and they closed with 15 year old Lauren Alaina, from Roscoe, Georgia. This was also the sob story of the night, as she has been inspired by her cousin Holly, who is recovering from brain surgery but was on hand to cheer her on. Lauren was insanely talented, and Steven even said “I think we may have found ‘the one.’” I’m certainly not going to argue. She was that good…and only 15!

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