Category: Rock (Page 228 of 241)

Wow, how fast things are moving now that “American Idol” has shifted to Hollywood. Last week, 175 contestants began the second round of auditions and 76 were sent home. The 99 that remained had to do the thing that always separates the real talent from the wannabes: group competition. What this also tends to do is expose the jackasses, and this time around it was no different.

Jackass 1 and Jackass 2, otherwise known as twins Darrell and Terrell, were all over this show. Look, these guys can definitely sing, but the next American Idol is not going to be one that carries emotional baggage. These two have enough of said baggage to weigh down a 747. Terrell was all over his teammates, complaining to the camera that two of them were sleeping while he and one teammate rehearsed. Looked to me like they spent more time complaining than anything. Then, the two guys that were sleeping wound up going to the next round, and so did Terrell. Bear with me, it does get better.

So then later, his brother Darrell competes with his team and he is chosen to move on to the next round as well. Then, he decides to open up his mouth. “My spirit has been broken,” he said. “After how you treated my brother, I choose to leave the competition and go home to record with my brother.” Simon immediately said “Fine, go home.” Little did Darrell know that his brother had not been eliminated, so later on he had to go in front of the judges and eat crow. They eventually accepted his apology and let the jackass twins back in. But not before Simon let him know that he was “sick of the hissy attitude.” Simon and all of America, I can guarantee you that.

All night there seemed to be huge egos colliding. A girl named Tyra switched teams twice and seemed to cause trouble everywhere she went. But in the end, she made the right decision because the team she didn’t end up with kept forgetting their lyrics and were all eliminated.

Another hilarious bit was when cowboy Garrett and two of his cowboy friends were portrayed by the show’s producers as the cast of “Brokenote Mountain” and after they all were eliminated showed Garrett hugging his teammates and crying. Awwwww…..

Still shining through all the crap were three contestants I think everyone should keep an eye on. One is Paris Bennett….I think she’s only 17 but she has quite the pipes and a professional attitude to boot.
I’m predicting her as top 5 material right now. Mandisa (I don’t know if she even has a last name) can also belt it out, and I fully expect her to land in the top 12. Then my dark horse is that gray haired dude…..he’s got this Joe Cocker thing going on that just can’t be ignored.

The judges broke the remaining contestants into four groups, one of which was eliminated. So that left 44 contestants in all to compete for the final 24 spots–12 guys and 12 girls. And those will be determined tonight after solo acapella performances in front of the judges. Please please please judges, do us all a favor and send the jackass twins home.

We’re getting there folks…..it’s been a long ride already but it’s only just beginning to heat up. See you tomorrow….

“American Idol” finally made its way to Hollywood, as 175 lucky contestants from the grueling preliminary rounds across the nation reappeared and got to sing for Simon, Randy and Paula once again. But unlike the initial auditions, this time they had accompaniment in the form of a piano and backup singers. They also had to choose their song from a short list.

The first day, while half of the contestants auditioned, another half went sightseeing, so we got to see these folks walking around Hollywood and being awed by the Hollywood Bowl….I’m sorry, but BIG YAWN.

It was interesting to see how some of these performers fared on a bigger stage with backing musicians. Some of them excelled, while some left everyone (the judges, me, Mrs. Marley) wondering how they passed their first audition.

Kelly, the blond chick who was raised by her grandparents because her mom ran away and her dad is in prison, performed well enough to move on but wasn’t quite as dazzling as in her first audition.

Other highlights were the very young and very talented duo of Paris Bennett and Lisa Tucker…..watch these two, they are going to go really far in this competition.

Ladies man RJ got sent home, and so did the dude who hit on Paula in his first audition….both just didn’t have it this time. Ladies of Hollywood, you are now safe.

Taylor, the gray-haired dude from Birmingham, performed with Bo Bice-like power in his voice. This is another dude that can go far, but only if he makes it far enough for America to have any say. Simon clearly is not a fan of the gray.

The twins, Darrell and Terrell, made it to the next round but they were incredibly annoying for the remainder of the show whenever they got on camera. Um, dudes, we all know you were arrested recently so we know we’re not going to have to watch you much longer.

Also moving on to the next round was the “crying cowboy,” Garrett…..he got to see the ocean for the first time and when he got on stage to performed, proclaimed “holy crap.” He gets my vote just for that. He didn’t sing all that great, but I guess he was good enough to advance.

The show ended with “Crazy Dave”…..how this guy made it to Hollywood must have strictly been for ratings….either that, or Paula and Randy were drunk when they let him through. I distinctly remember Simon saying they were both nuts, and that was proven last night when he got sent home.

In all, 66 contestants were eliminated. We have a long way to go, but we’re finally separating the wannabes from the real talent. Next week things get interesting as the contestants have to perform in groups. That’s always fun to watch because there is peer pressure and the stakes are high.

See you next week….