Category: American Idol (Page 6 of 31)

American Idol: Aight Start

February 20, 2008 / Mike Farley

Last night’s “American Idol” had a bit of everything, but the 12 guys who kicked off the America voting portion of the season just didn’t blow everyone away on the first night as in previous seasons. Still, there were some standouts and some clunkers, some back-and-forth between judges and between some bitter contestants. As we have done the last two years, we’ll pick the good, the bad and the in-between. It was a ’60s theme, so all of the contestants were singing songs that were released before they were born. Here we go….

THE GOOD

David Hernandez kicked things off with “Midnight Hour” and to me appeared pretty confident and natural, and he definitely has a great voice. Randy said it was a good way to start, Paula agreed and Simon said it was better than he expected it to be.

25-year-old David Cook sang a rock version of The Turtles’ “Happy Together” and it wasn’t bad at all. In fact it was better than I anticipated. Randy said it was weird at the start but that David worked it out. Paula agreed (as she often does with Randy), and Simon said it was good except for some shouting in the middle.

David Archuleta is 17 and just has a natural voice and an innocence Continue reading »

Alternative, American Idol, Country, Pop, Rock

American Idol: Down To 24

February 14, 2008 / Mike Farley

Last night we got down from 50 contestants to 24 on “American Idol.” That means, from here on out, America decides who stays and who goes. You gotta love how they plod along through the initial auditions and then blast through Hollywood week like they have somewhere else to be. But I’m not complaining.

Anyway, the one-hour episode last night was all about having the remaining 50 go up an elevator and walk across a long, hardwood floor to sit in front of the three judges and meet their fate. You can see how excruciating it is on their faces and how the judges just have to mess with them and make them wait as long as possible to learn about their decision. And right from the start of the show, they let us know that not every decision was unanimous, and that Simon did not agree with all of the final calls.

With that, here are some of the contestants that were sent packing Continue reading »

Alternative, American Idol, Country, Hip Hop, Pop, Rock

American Idol: Hollywood Week Returns

February 13, 2008 / Mike Farley

Hollywood Week began last night on “American Idol,” and they are definitely changing things up this season. For one, by tonight, if someone sucked on their initial Hollywood audition, they would be given a second chance a few days later. Secondly, we went from 164 contestants down to 50 after some brutal, immediate eliminations. Thirdly, no group performances. Fourthly, they could play an instrument while performing. And finally, we will have our 24 finalists by tonight. Geez, that was fast.

Anyway, in making short work of Hollywood Week, we were asked to give Fox an extra hour of our day, as it was a 2-hour episode, and tonight we go back to one hour. I’m not complaining, only telling you that there is a lot to summarize in short space here. So I’ll do it by telling you who looked great, who looked mediocre and who sucked and went home. Here we go….

Absolute finalists:

David Hernandez—I don’t remember this guy from the initial rounds, but he sang “Love the One You’re With,” with a really cool arrangement to boot. He was really, really good and I would definitely peg him as top 24 material.

Amanda Obermeyer, the biker nurse, threw another twist Continue reading »

Alternative, American Idol, Country, Hip Hop, Lyrics, Pop, Rap, Rock

American Idol: One More Round of Freaks and Hopefuls

February 7, 2008 / Mike Farley

Last night’s “American Idol” was, thankfully, the last round of the initial auditions before we head to Hollywood. Seven cities in four weeks, and what they did last night was essentially filler–a few great auditions and a few nut jobs from each city that they saved for one episode. Whew. After about two or three of those first shows, I’m begging for them to speed things up and get to Hollywood. Thankfully, we’re there and things usually move quickly at this point.

First, the freaks from last night…

26-year-old Luke was this really large dude in an even larger white T-shirt, and he sang George Michael’s “Faith” horribly out of tune. Simon said something about the “massive T-shirt” being too much, and he pretty much said what I was thinking.

21-year-old Tiffany McCampbell was a church choir singer who just shouted through her entire audition.

Then there was Ashley, 19, along with twin brothers Chris and Corey. Ashley is this cute blond who was dating one brother and then now, the other..I’m still confused by the whole dynamic, and I’m even more confused at why the brothers still like each other. Anyway, they all auditioned. First the brothers, who did some rap (one the beatbox, the other the rapping) about why they were better than last season’s Brittanum twins. If it weren’t for the rapping dude forgetting the lyrics, it wasn’t all that bad, but not good enough for Hollywood. Then Ashley took her turn, after letting Paula and Simon hold her dog (what is she, Paris Hilton?)….Ashley thought she was talented, but as Simon correctly pointed out, it was “excruciating.” Simon added that Ashley is probably used to getting what she wants, and she even agreed. Next..

Jay Smoove, whose real name Continue reading »

Alternative, American Idol, Country, Hip Hop, Pop, Rap, Rock

American Idol: The ATL and Storms

February 6, 2008 / Mike Farley

Last night’s “American Idol” was the Super Tuesday edition, meaning we were probably going to be interrupted by election poll results throughout the show. But not in Tennessee. We were interrupted more by tornado warnings that were very real and very destructive. The reason I’m telling you this is that it cut into “American Idol” a couple of times. I’m pretty sure that I only missed one result, but I could be wrong and may need you, dear readers, to help fill in the blanks.

The auditions were held in Atlanta, hometown of host Ryan Seacrest…and we got to meet Ryan’s parents for the first time….whatever.

On to the freaks…

The first contestant of the night was Josh Jones, a 26-year-old who sang Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” and freaked the judges out by bugging his own eyes out with every note he hit. It was so bad that they made Josh turn around. The thing is, he had a great voice, but then the tornado warning came and I couldn’t tell if he got through. I want to say no, but if anyone knows for sure, please comment below.

JP, who auditioned in Season 4 and said he was two people behind Carrie Underwood in line, really thought he was great. Unfortunately, no one else did. JP sang Rascal Flatts and it was nasally and horrible.

There was then a medley of suck Continue reading »