Somehow, some way, Fox spared us by making “American Idol” one hour long last night. Having that extra hour unexpectedly was like finding a $50 bill on the street. I won’t question why, I’ll say “Thank You” to Fox for letting me get back to Rick Reilly’s “Who’s Your Caddy?” a bit earlier. Great book, by the way, that all of you golfers or Reilly fans should read.
Let me start by saying that Paula Abdul is messed up. It took us two weeks to see that drunk, disorderly Paula we’ve come to know and love, but she made an appearance. On the second day of the Birmingham audtions, Paula reportedly had to return home for a family obligation. Just a hunch, but I think that obligation was with her big brother, Tequila Abdul.
With only an hour to show the auditions in Birmingham (the city that brought us Idol faves like Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard and Bo Bice), only five of the really talented contestants’ entries were aired. Katie Bernard was the first of those, and while she sounded like a 3-year old when she spoke, she was all woman when she sang. This kind of disturbed Simon Cowell, but Paula and Randy voted her through to Hollywood.
Then there was young Tatiana from Atlanta. Have you ever woken up with the feeling you’re going to eat fried chicken, and then hours later found yourself in the KFC drive thru? I had that feeling about Tatiana when she was being interviewed, before she even sang. Like, this girl is going to be an awesome singer. And folks, I do have the gift of ESP. She was, as Randy declared, “a natural.” Maybe like Paris Bennett last season, and definitely top 12 material.
Bernard, who sang Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You,” was awesome, but Paula somehow thought he was off-key. Uh, Paula, the only thing off-key is the ringing in your ears from that bender.
Jamie Lee, a cute 16 year old blonde chick, matter of factly stated that her “daddy” is paralyzed, because he shot himself after catching his ex-wife cheating on him. How heartwarming. Somehow, this girl is unfazed by her home situation, and sang well enough to advance.
This chubby dude Chris, who described his look as a cross between Jack Black and Jack Osborne, was hilarious. When asked why he was there, he replied,” Because I want to make David Hasselhoff cry.” That was reference to when Hasselhoff was spotted in the audience teary-eyed during last season’s show. Props to this kid. But he could sing too, and mark my words, Chris is a dark horse to go really far.
As always, there were a few duds. I mean, that’s what drives ratings, so here is a glimpse into last night’s train wrecks….
Erica, a cute blonde from Auburn, was so off key it was painful. But to make things worse, she kept singing until security had to usher her out the door. Diana Warner, who was so round that she may have had a medicine ball in her dress, was also all over the place vocally.
Then there was Margaret, who was literally dressed like Big Bird. Simon called it an “Easter Bunny Nightmare Experiment.” Need I say more?
18 year old Victoria had six foot long hair, but just an average voice. Lakia Hill, who led the league in off-key notes last night, was accurately depicted by Simon as one of the worst contestants in Birmingham.
Then they showed a bunch of bad auditions that ended with contestants being gracious and saying “Thank you for the opportunity.” Talk about Southern charm. This wasn’t New York or any of those northern cities, where everyone thought it was their birthright to earn a golden ticket to Hollywood.
Finally, Brandy sang “Like a Virgin,” and danced with stripper moves, removing her sweater to the horror of Randy and Simon. When told by Simon that it was a “rotten audition,” Brandy claimed that it may have been the way her voice echoed off the fake floor, so they let her step back onto the carpet. Still no dice. So then she was outside being interviewed by Ryan Seacrest and was bad-mouthing both judges, even calling Randy a “fat ass.” Wow. But hey, that’s good television.
All in all, 20 contestants from B-ham made it on to Hollywood, and tonight’s auditions take place in Los Angeles, where a trip to Hollywood will mean a bus pass. See you tomorrow for the recap….
