Posts filed under 'idol news'
I sound like a broken record this season. Even more than Randy with his “for me, for you, for me.” But I am exploring Europe right now. (I know, tough life, eh?) So I was able to catch the girls’ performances last night, but I haven’t watched the guys, and am unsure of my internet connection for the results show.
I just wanted to let everyone know that I have not broken up with the show. Or this blog. So I am doing my best to keep up!
Intermittent updates to follow.
March 4th, 2010
We have fast-forwarded through the final hollywood round, and see that the contestants have already been divided into the three holding rooms. What are the names for these? Holding rooms of doom? Doom-Rooms? I like that better. Ok, so the contestants are in their respective doom-rooms, and we get to see their performances via “flashbacks” narrated by Ryan.
The first performance we actually see is Angela Martin, who sang American Boy. I still love her! I really do! Perhaps the judges fear that she will fall into the trap of Lil Rounds (i.e. not reaching her full potential).
Casey James, who has never danced a day in his life, sang Bubbly, and it was decent, but in the words of Simon “I’m not jumping out my chair.”
Casey’s groupmate, Jermaine Purifory, sang Brick House. He gets a “pretty good” from me. He gets props for song arrangement idol, but I would like to see him again. Will he make it?
Another Jermaine, this one Jermaine Sellars, sang Man in the Mirror (Kris Allen started a trend last season!) This audition, however, was really bad. He blames it on the band, obvs.
Siobahn Magnus, who was told to “young it up” (better than sex it up, like they told Alexis Grace last year) sang Living for the City. And this is the first time we have really seen her range. She sounds pretty good.
Crystal Bowersox sings Sheryl Crow’s If It Makes You Happy, and MARK THIS MOMENT! The first time a Sheryl Crow song is sung on Idol. Ever. EVER!!! I am officially on the BOW.ER.SOX! bandwagon. #1 baby! Win it all, Crystal!
Oh, wait. Is it too soon for predictions?
Alex Lambert, who is not at all like the similarly named Adam Lambert, is the first of several to sing Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours, along with Big Michael Lynche, and Todrick Hall (who gave the most creative rendition of the three).
Thaddeus Johnson, the one with the nutzo mom, sang Man in the Mirror. Even though the band got him confused. He sang a great rendition of the song, but this song is going to get on the nix list pretty soon.
Both Charity Vance and Tasha Layton sang songs I didn’t recognize. They both sounded decent, but forgettable.
Mary Powers sang Katy Perry’s Hot and Cold and I think she kind of sounds like crap. Her previous auditions sounded much better. I bet she gets cut.
Lloyd Thomas sang Man in the Mirror and was not that great. The problem when all the guys sing the same songs is that they all blend together. SONG SELECTION IS SO IMPORTANT! Even when choosing from a short list (which they obviously had to do).
Hope Johnson, who was another surviving member of the Mary-Powers-group-of-chaos, sang Daughtry’s Home, and it was pretty meh for me. I want to like her, but I doubt she makes the cut.
Shelby Dressel, who is way cuter than in her original audition, sang More than A Feeling. She automatically gets props for song choice! And she is super cute. I am rooting for her! I thought she sounded pretty good, too!
Aaron Kelly, the young’n adopted by his aunt and uncle, sang Angel by Sarah McLachlan. He effed up the words, but recovered pretty nicely.
Ashley Rodriguez sang my fave Jordin Sparks song, and did a pretty good job. Her voice was a bit shaky in some parts, but I think I am just being too picky!
I missed someone in here – damn the editing–too fast for me to keep up!
Joe Munoz sang Man in the Mirror again. I think this is the first time we have heard from him, and it was not that great.
Tori Kelly sang Hot and Cold, and it sounded like a pretty good audition. I like her! I hope she makes it through.
Lilly with the platinum hair sang a song I didn’t recognize, but sounded good. As did Andrew Garcia.
Haeley Vaughn sang a cute but just ok version of I’m Yours, and Janell Wheeler sang an even less ok version of Taylor Swift’s Love Story.
Finally, the judges arrive at the doom-rooms to deliver the news–They either have or have not made the second-to-last cut. Because why stop there, when we could have the elevator/hallway/aisle of doom walk. The room that is cut is very obvious, and the only one I was really sad to see go was Brian Walker, the police officer. All the others, well…it was pretty obvious this would be the room to go.
(An quick note–I won the TV war at my house tonight and get to watch Idol the full two hours rather than shifting to Lost. I will not win this war every week. Mission-DVR-acquisition needs to commence immediately. Also, I just ate five large chocolate chip cookies because this episode is stressing me out.)
First to hear results tonight is Big Mike. I mean the producers had to let him through, because if he went home to his wife having been cut, there may be serious assult charges. And then the show would get sued, etc. So really, it was the only option.
DiDi Benami and Katelyn Epperly are both YESes.
Shelby Dressel doesn’t make it. BOOO – I agree with Simon–that was the wrong decision. She was great in her final Hollywood performance.
Casey James and Aaron Kelly are both yeses. (Remember that there was previously an Aaron Kelly who competed in the Hollywood Rounds in season 4. This one has already made it further.)
Lee Dewyze and Todrick Hall make it through as well.
Whelp, that’s about it for tonight, and a TBC for tomorrow. Who else will make it? So far, as stated previously, I am on the Bowersox Bandwagon. But I think it is pretty obvious that the girls are much stronger than the guys this year.
February 16th, 2010
It’s group night! can anyone top White Chocolate?
The Mighty Rangers, The Dreamers, Neopolitain, Destiny’s Wild. These group names are just too much to handle.
We learn the identity of the mysterious 4th unnamed person from last season Gokey’s hollywood group–Moorah – mystery solved. (I wish Lost would be as revealing).
Team Awesome (love it) including Michael Lynche, who is waiting for his wife to give birth. The group also includes Michael Castro.
The Dreamers, including Mary Powers, is the one having the most problems. Shouldn’t people learn that in group rounds, drama is never good, and generally gets blown proportion? Lay low, and perform well. Learn for next year, peeps. Also, Mary Powers, shut your pie hole. You are annoying.
Charity, Ashley, and Michelle sang some Beyonce, and they are all through.
Michael Castro and Seth Rollins get cut from Team Awesome.
I thought both groups that sang Lady GaGa were horrid. Maybe it sounded different in the room, but it sounded like crap on tv. All eight should have bid farewell right there.
In the Mighty Rangers (with Urban Outfitters glasses girl), two people made it, and three did not.
Most groups struggled singing Gwen Stefani, including Big Dreams, who all got cut.
The group round didn’t cut too much fat– We went from 96 to 77.
So not impressed with group week this year. What a yawn, and tres disappointed.
February 11th, 2010
I would like to preface this post with an apology for my blog slacking. I was silently boycotting the audition round. Or perhaps I just wasn’t feeling inspired enough to write anything. But I’m excited now, so read on!
We’ve made it! Hollywood! Hollywood! And this year is my first season blogging from Hollywood! (Well, Hollywood, Florida, but close enough, right?)
Another first is Ellen sitting at the judges table. I <3 Ellen, but I hope this stays about the singers rather than a stand-up routine. I also think it will be hard for people to take her seriously. I don’t want to make any snap judgements yet, though. I am rooting for her to be awesome.
Hollywood is my favorite part of the whole season. We see front-runners emerge, and I think we get the most raw authentic performances of the whole season.
Will they do group rounds this year? Will we have legendary performances, like “White Chocolate” from last year? Perhaps a Frenchie/K Lo moment? I am excited to find out!
First, we have groups of 8 in a sudden death round. They can sing acapella or with an instrument.
We see Katie Stevens sing “For Once in My Life” and the judges like her.
Skiiboski is up next and sang “Aint Too Proud to Beg.” Ellen thinks heis creepy, and he gets cut.
Andrew Garcia sings Paula’s “Straight Up” which is a brilliant choice! It would have been a good song even before the Paula drama, and even better now. GREAT rendition. Ok, this guy is a front-runner.
Vanessa Wolf sang some Blind Melon, but she didn’t cut it. Too bad, because she had a good story.
Janell Wheeler sang “American Boy” which was another great arrangement. Props to the good arrangements! Idol is going the direction of not only being a great singer, but being a creative song arranger. Some might argue with me, but I think it is a very good thing. It is way more entertaining for me, and produces very memorable performances.
Haeley Vaughn sang Revolution (Is that the name of that song?) Change by Taylor Swift, and how awesome is this little girl? All sorts of adorable.
Mary Powers sang Pink’s “Sober”, and I really like her. But she is probably a one-trick pony.
Lilly Scott sang “Lullabye of Birdland” by Ella Fitzgerald, and she has a very unique tone. She is another one we need to watch.
Michael Lynche sings John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change” and it was another awesome performance! And he followed Michael Castro off the stage. So did Castro make it?
Tim Urban sings David Cook’s “Come Back to Me”, and I think he is just ok.
Justin Williams, aka, 1/4th of White Chocolate, played the piano, but didn’t sound that great. He got cut in round one this year, so no group performances for him!
Maddy Curtis sang a song that I just don’t know about. And kind of blew that audition. Too bad. But my money is on her coming back next year.
Casey James sang some country and rocked out on the guitar. He is good!
DiDi Benami sings “Terrified” as written by Kara, apparently. She is cute, but I feel like I need to see more from her.
Crystal Bowersox, who needs to get her teeth whitened, is really great! She has good range, and sounds a little Kelly Clarkson-ish.
Crystal was the last profiled singer of the day, and tomorrow we get to see the group round! They cut the group form 187 to 96 today ( so how many will they cut after the group round?) Group round is fantastic, and I can’t wait. bring it, kids!!
February 9th, 2010
W e have gone from the fantasy land of Orlando, to the LALA land of Los Angeles. I would assume that the hopefuls would be plentiful considering the amount of people trying to make it in LA. Only time will tell, though!
First up is Jim Ranger, a pastor and family man with three kids! He sings an original song called Drive. I thought he was pretty good. The only objection from the judges panel was Miss Levigne, who said that it was tough in this business when you ahve a family. It was really nice to have her opinion as I can imagine that she understands the reality of the industry much more than anyone else on the panel tonight. Despite Avril’s objection, Jim makes it through to Hollywood, and I look forward to seeing him again.
Mary Powers sang Pat Benetar, and I loved this! She already scores high for having chosen this song for the audition. I think her look was cool, even though Simon thought she was cliche. I think if she picks the right songs, she could go far. So I look forward to seeing her (and her precocious daughter) again, as well.
Andrew Garcia sang Sunday Morning, and also has a kid (three for three so far). his parents were in gangs. I thought his voice was kind of cool, too, but not as good as the other two tonight.
Tasha Layton sang Baby Baby Baby by Joss Stone and I really enjoyed her vibe. I’m not sure how far she will go, but at least she seems to be doing something slightly different. My favorite part of the audition, however, is the Katy vs. Kara bitchfight. Kara needs to be put in er place, and I’m glad Katy was arguing with her. Someone needs to be challenging the ridiculous things coming from the judging panel, such as voting for them because of their backstory (“this isn’t a lifetime movie, Kara”). I only hope that Ellen can be equally as bitchy (she won’t) and I vote for Katy to come on the show again in the future.
The last audition featured was from Chris Golightly, and the only thing that Randy can do was start making fun of his name (“Golightly, Chris!) Honestly, the judges are continually adding nothing valid to these critiques! Anyway, I thought Chris was good, and I think he is one of those voices that can grow in the competition. He has a good Justin Guarini-esque look, and we will see how he does in Hollywood.
I know I do this every year, but my frustration with these audition episodes needs to be bitched about. So be forewarned. I hate that they still continue to put on this sham that the “arena” auditions and the “judges” auditions happen on the same day. I hate that they don’t disclose that there are at least four or five auditions before you even hit the judges. And I hate that in an hour-long episode, you can only feature five of 20 singers that make it through to Hollywood.
I am, however, appreciative of the new audition to the AI website of the little interviews of ALL of the Hollywood-bound contestants. That way, I can at least get a feel for everyone that made it, despite lack of screen time (and find out that Rose Flack and Frankie Jordan made it to Hollywood again). At least it is something.
Also, with Simon’s impending departure at the end of this season, I think they should do a clean sweep of the panel ousting Randy, too. I’m not sure what Kara’s situation is contract-wise, but to shake this thing up might be a good thing. Comments that are valuable and substantive would be preferable.
OK, rant over.
And again, my Wednesday blogging will be really late. I am still dealing with the no-DVR situation.
January 27th, 2010
First, sorry this post is so late. I wanted to wait to watch the whole episode rather than catching clips online…just to see if I could see myself at the auditions. Alas, not so much. However, I did see the crazy girl who was standing next to me…they showed her jumping into a pool at the very end.
But anyway, they spend so much time showing filler that we hardly get to see any auditions. Typical. But here are the few good ones that we got.
Seth Rollins – Someone to Watch Over Me – He’s good, but I want to see him sing something else. Maybe he will make it through to the semi-finals, though!
Jermaine Puriffoy – Smile – I like this kid a lot! He will make it far.
Shelby Dressel – Turn Me On by Norah Jones – She was ok, and sang Jazz, but her voice is more country. If she survives hollywood (which is unlikely) she will need to take the country route.
Jay Stone – beat boxed Come Together – HE was ok, but kind of annoying in his beat boxing, and he dissed like Blake Lewis. Not cool, dude. I don’t think he will be making it too far.
There was a montage of three good girls: Janell Wheeler, Britney Starr James, and Kasi Bedford who sang Something to Talk About.
Corneilus – The Pants Ripper. This was so funny! And the splits was quite the impressive move. Yikes! I don’t even remember what he sang, but he was ok. I would like to see him again when I can focus on the singing and not the hole in his pants.
Bernadette and Amanda Disimone – I already hate these girls. Not thtat they will make it far in Hollywood. The novelty factor will send them back to NJ the day after they arrive in Hollywood.
Matt Lawrence – Trouble – He is awesome! I think he will go far. I am very much looking forward to more performances from him.
I think we are halfway through the auditions. And I need to sort out my DVR situation STAT. Because Hollywood week is coming, and as you all know, that is my favorite episode.
See you all next week – I promise I will be more on the ball!
January 22nd, 2010
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