Category: American Idol (Page 17 of 31)

Last night “American Idol” swiftly made its way to the final 24 contestants, whose fate is now in the hands of our nation’s voters. But before that, every one of the 40 remaining semi-finalists had to perform solo with a real band and real backup singers in front of Randy, Paula and Simon. The song choices were limited, which meant we had to hear Bryan Adams’ “When You Love a Woman” about 25 times. Ugh. That song could seriously induce vomiting when heard that many times.

Then, each contestant had to march into a conference room where the judges let them know if they were staying or going. Of course, the judges had to mess with these poor folks by saying things like “we’re sorry to say……that you’re going to be seeing more of us!” I’m waiting for one of these kids to have a heart attack right there….you think that would put a stop to the nonsense? Hey judges: stop playing games, a yes or no would suit everyone just fine.

Some of the kids going home included Anna Kearns, who Simon had once referred to as a “giraffe;” Tammy, the old-school singer who reminded me of a hippie from the sixties; and Matthew Buckstein, the Jewish cowboy.

So now we have 24 finalists, who will begin performing in front of us all next Tuesday.

For you gambling types, I’m going to take a few shots at predicting the future here.

Among the 12 guys, watch for Brandon Rogers, the career backup singer from L.A. This dude has a stellar voice, and tons of charisma. Same with Chris Sligh, the chubby kid with the afro and glasses. He was part of that guy group who sang the Bee Gees the night before….and there is no denying his vocal talent. Plus, he’s hilarious. Other strong dudes are Phil Stacy, beat-box boy Blake, and Chris Richardson (who looks and dresses like Justin Timberlake). Look for an early exit from Sundance Head (I can’t get out of my head Simon’s comment that he looked like he’d been “boiled” after singing); Sanjaya, the Indian kid with the sister who got booted out a day earlier; and Paul Kim, the barefoot dude who claimed to wear the same underwear for each audition…..um, I’m wondering if ol’ Paul crapped his pants when he went in to learn his fate…I bet that would force him to find clean skivvies.

Among the girls, watch for Melinda Doolittle. She is another career backup singer who is finally getting a chance at the big spotlight, and she so deserves it. I mean, wow. She is this year’s Paris Bennett. Also watch for Stephanie, who looks like Fantasia Barrino but, and I know I’m stretching here, has a better voice than the third season champ. Finally, Lakisha, who claimed that she would be just as happy going home to her young daughter, will have to wait a while. And I’m saying a long while, because she can sing her ass off. Other chicks to watch for are Gina Glockson, Jordin Sparks, and Nicole Tranquillo. Look for early exits from Antonella (is it just me, or is everyone else sick of this chick?), Haley (who was cute but not a good enough singer), and Leslie Hunt.

So that’s it, America. The real fun begins now, and we’ll be here to cover it all. I bet that makes you happy, doesn’t it?

I’m not complaining, but the opening to “American Idol’s” Hollywood rounds was like an episode of speed-dating, speed reading, or, well, it was just plain fast. There were 172 contestants from the seven opening auditions, and by the end of last night they had narrowed the field down to 40. It wasn’t that the usual format was different, with solo auditions in front of the judges again, and the group round, but they just showed less of it. Hey, that’s fine by me.

The girls went first and this season there were twice as many chicks that made it to Hollywood as there were dudes.

Jory Steinberg was dressed EXACTLY like Paula, trying to earn points of some kind. But she didn’t quite sing that well. In fact, the first six they showed all got sent home. Then there was Colombian semi-bombshell Perla, who did her Shakira impression again. She was just okay, but Randy and Paula thought she had just enough personality to advance. Very young Baylie Brown, a blue-eyed blonde cutie, was awesome in the first Hollywood round, just as she was in her initial audition.

In all, the judges sent 56 of the 114 girls home. Then the guys went….Jarrod, the dude who won “Reagan Idol” on his Navy ship, didn’t quite cut it this time around. Then there was Matt Sato, who made a spectacle in his opening round audition, saying his parents didn’t approve of him auditioning. This dude called his mom in tears again when he made it through to the second Hollywood round. They simply showed way too much of this kid.

Then there were the groups. This is always entertaining because inevitably there is bickering when kids with large egos are forced to perform together.

Best friends Amanda and Antonella were paired with Baylie Brown. This was like mixing salsa and cookie dough. They appeared to respect each other, but you could tell the friends didn’t like Baylie and she didn’t like them. Ultimately, two of the girls forgot their lyrics badly, including Baylie. What a shame, because she had the voice to go far. Antonella advanced to the final 40 but her friend Amanda was sent home.

Same thing happened to the Indian brother and sister…the brother made it, she did not. They were shown hugging at the end. Also a shame…I thought she was great but didn’t quite have enough. The dude, though, he’s going to make it far.

Finally Matt Sato got sent home….I don’t think America could handle another phone call to his mom.

Perla’s inability to sing on key finally got her booted out, because the three other chicks in her group were awesome and it made Perla’s flaws stand out.

The guy’s group of Blake, Rudy, Chris (and I can’t remember the fourth guy…hey, when I say they blazed through this, they really did!) was incredible. They did the Bee Gees’ “How Deep is Your Love” and I’m telling you, these kids could go on tour tomorrow and become mega-stars. All four are going to go deep in this competition. It was by far the best group performance ever on the show, and I am not exaggerating.

Also watch for my boy Brandon Rogers…he made the final cut too and I am picking him as top 12 material, maybe top 5.

So I guess tonight they will get from 40 down to 24….the final 12 guys and 12 girls. Hey, again, this is okay by me. This is when the show really gets fun to watch. Yes America, admit it, this show is fun to watch. See you all tomorrow….

Contestant Akron Watson dazzled “American Idol” judges and all of America this past Tuesday with renditions of Sam Cooke’s “Change is Gonna Come” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On.” This was the guy who auditioned with his cousin, but obviously had all the singing genes in the family.

But just reported on People.com is the fact that the producers called Watson back in November and told him he was no longer welcome to the Hollywood round. Worse, they gave him no reason.

Apparently Watson has a marijuana possession blemish from 2003, but claims he divulged this to the Idol producers before auditioning.

This seems extremely unfair, because not only did Watson disclose his past in full as required, but he had rightfully earned his golden ticket to Hollywood only to have it stripped away. So the dude made a mistake a few years ago……give him a break! Watson is also asking for a break, as he has set up a MySpace page for fan support. If you saw this guy perform, you know he’s worthy of going really far. So help the cause.

For you Idol producers, a big thumbs down to you. First, you waste an hour of my time last night…now this.

Leave it to Fox. Just when they were being nice enough to cut the audition episodes of “American Idol” from two hours to one, they decided to throw a filler at us. Last season, there were seven episodes of audition rounds, and on the eighth, Hollywood week. This time, the eighth was a recap of some of the best and worst contestants, with a few new ones we haven’t seen yet peppered in.

Hey Fox, did you just see me open my mouth for a BIG FREAKING YAWN?

Anyway, since they aired it, I’m gonna write about it. First, there were a few entrants who made it to Hollywood that we hadn’t seen yet, most notably Tami, who looked like a rocker chick from the sixties.
Tami sang the Allman Brothers’ “Whipping Post,” and was both talented and really different. Other standouts who made it through were Gina Glockson, who basically professed her love for Simon (these girls aren’t stupid…just butter up the old man); and Lakisha Jones, who sang Aretha Franklin’s “Think.” This chick might make the finals, she was that good.

They also showed how various contestants tried to dress different to impress the judges, and that usually backfired. The first chick they showed, Christa, dressed, as Simon put it “like the inside of a dust bin.”

There were these three girls who dressed as waitresses on roller skates…I’m not sure if this is how they really earn their living or if they just rented the outfits….but the bummer of it was that only two of them made it to Hollywood. Ebony was the best, followed by Ashley, followed by Heather. I’m really not sure what the judges saw in Ashley, but they voted her through.

Other moments from last night were Brandon, who did a singing meets beat-box thing that was really good, but not good enough to advance him; Wes, a “composer” who had a huge gap in his teeth and did this stomping thing when he sang, most likely to cover up the fact that he couldn’t sing; and this dude Alexander, who professed his love for Paula. Simon added that if Paula had a mustache, the two could have been separated at birth.

Are you bored yet? Becuase I sure was last night.

Next week is Hollywood week….let the catfighting, the drama, and the real competition begin. And someone please pour Paula Abdul another drink…I mean, I wanna get my money’s worth!
See you next week….