AMERICAN IDOL Audition Catch Up
January 21, 2009 by Kath Skerry
Three episodes into the new season and hardly a word from me on AMERICAN IDOL. How rude?!
Personally I was hoping not to write much about IDOL until we got to Hollywood Week but based on the emails I’ve received, it seems that if some of you are anxious to talk about it now. So be it…
I guess we should start off with the changes. The producers have been talking a lot about major changes coming to IDOL. So far all I’m seeing is the addition of Kara as a judge. I think I like her. I don’t know if I’ve totally made up my mind of not. She’s feisty and I think she knows what she’s talking about. I don’t know how she’s going to be over the long run, but for now I think I’m digging her.
Please allow me to play Captain Obvious here, but my God how irrelevant has Randy Jackson become? Paula has more worthwhile things to say than this guy. Why is he even there? He offers absolutely nothing to the show. All he does is kiss Simon’s ass. You’re a music producer and you have no original thoughts to share about the quality of the singers coming in to audition. It’s getting quite tiresome.
As for the contestants they’ve passed through the Hollywood? There have been a few standouts. More than a few train wrecks. And a baffling number of talentless blokes that received the golden ticket to Hollywood. What’s the point? Hollywood week is supposed to be the best of the best. Oy vey!
But here are a few of the good contestants that have really stood out to me.
Remember Emily Wynne-Hughes? No? How about the rocker with the pink hair? Ah, yes…her. Emily got everyone’s attention with her take on ‘Baracudda’.e. She’s got the rock edge that’s authentic unlike skunk girl from last season.
Then there was Scott Mcintyre who is a talented singer and musician, who also happens to be blind. Scott had me when he auditioned with one of my favorite songs, Billy Joel’s “And So it Goes”. As great as Scott was, it was when Ryan tried to high five him that has been the best moment of the season so far for me.
Alex Wagner-Trugman screamed awkward and dorky, but he had me with his take on James Ingram’s “Baby Come to Me”. I love when someone who doesn’t scream “idol” shows up with some real talent.
Lil Rounds evoked memories of Fantasia both in appearance and in talent. I’m excited about she can bring to the competition this year. And I like that she’s a bit older and brings that maturity with her.
Last night we were introduced to Adam Lambert, a singer that has the potential to go far. I agree with Simon that he’s a little too dramatic, but he’s a Broadway guy and it takes a lot to leave that behind. He’s got the talent and the look to move on and I’m excited about what he can bring to the show this year.
And fear not…the AMERICAN IDOL sob stories are back in full swing this season. Two of which were exploited to the point I wanted to throw up. First up was Kai Kalama, a young man whose dreams were put on hold when his mother became ill. He know takes care of her and hopes that IDOL will lead them to a better place in life. I’ll be honest. I didn’t feel that Kai was purposefully trying to exploit his mother but got the sense that it was something the IDOL producers were pulling out from him. Let’s just say that despite his sob story, I didn’t hate him. He was easy on the eyes (who does he look like? I’m thinking Rick Fox but there’s someone else too??) and he has talent. I don’t think he’s going far, but he can at least sing.
Danny Gokey‘s sob story on the other hand really got on my nerves me. Danny lost his wife 4 months before the audition, and as much as my heart goes out to him, his story didn’t move me. His emotional break down over his wife rang of falseness. I’m not saying he was insincere, I’m just saying it didn’t resonate with me. A good sob story should make me want to pull for a contestant, but in Danny’s case it had the opposite affect on me. Don’t worry…I know I’m going straight to hell. I’ve dealt with it.
I will say that I thought Danny had a great voice, and I’m glad he made it through the Hollywood. But he should keep his experience on IDOL about the singing. If starts dedicating his every performance to the dead wife he’s not getting my vote.
Oh and Danny’s audition led to the second unintentionally hilarious moment of this season. After telling the story of his dead wife, and then auditioning, Danny leaves the room while the producers opted to play The Fray’s “How to Save a Life” in the background. Oh come on guys…you can do better than that!!
Talk to me about your take on this season of IDOL. Any contestants or moments that really stood out in your mind (good or bad)? What about the talent we’ve seen thus far…are you excited for the season ahead? A special thanks to Rickey.org for posting these videos. You should definitely check out his site for in-depth coverage of IDOL as well as to see more of the auditions.
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I am 100% behind Adam Lambert. I am a diehard Wicked fan and went to see it at Pantages when he was in the cast. He was just in the chorus (and an u/s for Kristoffer Cusick’s Fiyero) at the time but he was still noticeable and is a complete STAR.
I hope that he makes it!
I also loved Emily Wynne-Hughes. Those are my picks so far!
i hate the 4th judge. she is jealous of every girl that walks into the room. Why does hse have such a bad attitude? maybe its just me.
Um… it wasn’t 4 months… it was 4 weeks. And that’s why it is impressive that he’s auditioning for Idol, IMHO. If I were him, I would barely be able to get out of bed after the passing of my spouse, much less do something this extreme. I hope he does very very well.
I agree that Cara seems pretty good so far…obviously very knowledgeable, but has a feisty side that will probably start to grate on us. But here’s my question regarding judging: With 4 on the panel now, I thought they would run into problems with ties, but it seems like Simon keeps having the deciding vote – i.e. if there are 2 saying no and 1 saying yes, then Simon puts them through to Hollywood. I at least expected a couple of tie-breaker moments. Anyone else noticing that?
Maura- It’s been stated by the producers that Simon would have the deciding vote in case of a tie.