Idol Chatter & Voice Views

After that horrendous L.A. audition episode, American Idol made up for lost time Wednesday night.

Wow, we met a slew of talented singers. For more on show-ender, James Durbin, go here.

Among the highlights:

Julie Zorilla: She told the of how her family fled their mountain-top home in Colombia in the face of guerilla warfare on  Idol. Here’s how the dark-haired beauty relates it on Facebook:

“I grew up in a beautiful country home in the midst of the Colombian Rainforest. We had countless animals: Chickens, roosters, turtles, cats, dogs, & my favorite… Porqui Pumba! The sweetest pet pig that ever lived.

“Back then, if I wasn’t dancing along to Michael Jackson’s Thriller video or practicing Chopin on the keys, I was either giving the animals music lessons (yes, music lessons) or running around outside. … The Andes were our playground.

“With time however, the senseless war desecrating our country brought the tanks rolling up the mountains, the explosions, and the threats which kept us behind closed doors fearing for our lives. On December 11, 1998, we moved to Colorado chasing an American Dream. Every day has been a struggle, but it’s been worth it!”

After sharing her story, Julie demonstrated one of the better female voices we’ve heard this season. But she’s not exactly a newcomer to music. In fact, she released a five-track EP, “About Us,” in May 2008. You can check out the title track below.  Anyone who can make it to Hollywood on Idol singing “Summertime” — a song Fantasia owns on this show — is someone to watch out for.

Clint Gamboa: He’s the guy who called himself June-Bug on Idol and said he’s been hosting karaoke at a bar for four years. Friends keep asking him why he isn’t doing something better. Well, now he’s Hollywood-bound on Idol.

On MySpace, this lad from Long Beach describes his music as acoustic/alternative/soul. Beside “sounds like,” he writes: “a bunch of noise that evolved into some great music!” Go here to listen to some of that music. And check out the video of  “Faithfully” below.

Stefano Langone: This is the guy we met early on in Wednesday’s audition episode, the one who was in a bad accident in May 2009, still has the scars on both arms to prove it and was told he’d never be the same after the crash.

Well, he’s singing again, and made a tired-ol’ Idol tune, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” sound just splendid. The singing, by the way, pre-dates the crash. He placed second among tenors in 2007 in the Washington State Solo and Ensemble contest for high school students and was nominated as best supporting actor for his role in “Guys and Dolls” at Kentwood High in a statewide theatrical awards program.

Below, you can check out Stefano singing “Right Path.” Remember, this is the guy who was complimented on his looks by J-Lo, who said Stefano has “star” written on his forehead.

Brittany  Mazur: We only caught a rapid-fire snippet of Brittany during Wednesday’s episode, but her vocals have helped carry her to a slew of titles already. She was named Miss Outstanding Teen in Arizona in 2006. She’s the current Miss Tucson Valley. Oh, and she was also the first-ever Tucson Idol.

In her bio for the outstanding teen pageant, she listed as her career ambition: to become a “prominent designer in both the interior design and fashion industries.” But it was what she listed behind “secret dream” that’s more telling about why she wound up in front of the Idol judges. Her secret dream:  “to be a professional recording artist, and to be an accomplished actress and model.”

Below is a clip of Britanny performing in a 2010 dance showcase.

Editor’s Note: For more bios, photos and videos of Hollywood-bound season 10 contestants, click on the Contestants AI10 link at the top of the page.

Julie Zorrilla singing “About Us”

Clint Gamboa singing “Faithfully”

Stefano Lagone signing “Right Path”