Gotta admit, last night, my expectations from the Idol premiere were pretty low.
I mean, I was among the members of the media who participated in a conference call interview with Randy Jackson last week.
He left us with the impression the Boston auditions were nothing special. Hmm.
Tell that to Justin Williams, who looks and sounds like a semifinalist and comes with a pretty decent back story (cancer survivor). Or tell that to Ashley (Makaliah) Rodriguez, who has the Idol voice and look. (blog here)
They were my favorites from last night’s show, but hardly the only singers to impress.
And tonight should be even better. Randy indicated the Atlanta auditions proved among the most fruitful on the judges’ talent tour.
But before we get on with tonight’s show, some other Idol news …
1. Nearly 30 million viewers tuned in last night. That’s down just slightly from last year, so I guess not too many people boycotted because of Paula’s departure.
2. Adam Lambert taped his Oprah segment today and will appear on her show next Tuesday. Perhaps one day Adam’s songs will spend as much time in the top 20 on the Billboard charts as Adam spends on TV. Just saying, he hasn’t had a hit yet.
3. Jason Castro used the “best smelling bathroom” earlier today. “Winter mint fresh flavor.” Gee. Isn’t Twitter a wonderful thing. Oh, and Jason’s EP was released yesterday.
4. Casey Carlson — remember the dark-haired beauty from last year’s semifinals — rehearsed with her new band for the first time today. Hey, last year’s semifinalists didn’t get a fair shake, so I’m going to keep readers posted on their musical progress, whether you’re interested or not. (Update on others here)
5. A former dark-haired beauty, the now-blond Katharine McPhee, will sing the national anthem to open Sunday’s NFL playoff game between the Chargers and the Jets.
Now, on to the business at hand, the Atlanta audition.
Hmm, we start off with a guy who wants to sing his own song. That’s almost always a bad sign. I can’t remember anyone ever getting through singing an original.
Oh, well, Randy promised up great things in Atlanta. I’m sure our patience will pay off.
Keia Johnson gets the first golden ticket of the evening. She’s apparently a former Miss America contestant who won Miss Congeniality. And we also welcome to Hollywood Miriam Lemnouni, Tisha Holland and Noel Reese.
And now we hear from Jermaine Sellers, 26, of Joliet, Illinois, who has been caring for his mother since age 17. She suffers from spina bifida. He thrilled the judges with a rendition of “What If God Was One of Us.”
Gee, now a contestant you can’t help but root for: Vanessa Wolfe of Vonore, Tenn., who says she tried out for Idol because she doesn’t have much and feels “trapped” in her hometown.
Here’s a guess. She doesn’t have a MySpace music page. So you have to worry about how she’s going to hold up against the other contestants headed to Hollywood.
I checked the list of 31 golden ticket recipients from Boston on the American Idol Web site earlier today. There are several experienced performers we weren’t even introduced to.
OK, now we get to hear from Holly Hardin, a 20-year-old who shows up dressed like a human guitar. She says people keep saying, “Let me strum you.” Simon says she looks “like an insect singing country and western music.”
Well, the gal from Rockmart, Georgia, is Hollywood bound after singing “You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man.”
Next up, Mallorie Haley of Winner, S.D.
OK, folks. If you read yesterday’s blog, I mentioned how there were some spoiler blogs pointing to fantastic female singer/songwriters. Mallorie was one of those gals.
And she just might be the female country singer the competition was so sorely lacking last year when the finals offered a shocking lack of variety in terms of talent.
Head to Mallorie’s MySpace page and check out “Pretty Smile” and “Young At Heart.” She’s the real deal.
Welcome to Hollywood, Antonio “Skii Bo Ski” Wheeler, even if you can’t get the “Skii Bo Ski” right on your own shirt. And welcome to Hollywood Carmen Turner.
Prediction: Neither lasts long once the Hollywood round begins (it’s actually taking place this week, Idol fans. We just won’t see the shows until next month.)
OK, after passing through a couple of marginal contestants, we get Bryan Walker, a police officer who just displayed a great voice. Wish I had some background on him. Unlike Mallorie and some of the others, I don’t.
I’ll be providing more info on Ms. Keia Johnson and Mr. Jermaine Sellers a little later on.
And tonight’s show ends with our obligatory too-old contestant. Hey, but he’s one of the more talented and funnier we’ve seen in recent years.
Funnier than Nick Mitchell, huh? Or was that Normund Gentle?
Hey, neat way to end an audition show, Idol.
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