Folks, I think it became quite clear this week that, unless Freemantle believes in some seriously horrible pranks, this is the season that American Idol jumps the shark. I sat through all three audition shows this week (yes, three), and it appears that God has forsaken the American public of any talent whatsoever. This will be one of the most concise recaps yet, simply because there really isn’t much on the show worth recapping.
– Jacksonville – When Yuri is the best thing coming out of your city, you’re in trouble (and I say that with much love and respect to Olga). The featured singers were really bad for the most part: Jasmine Murray seemed nice enough, but even though Chris Rich called it a style of singing, “nasally” just doesn’t work here. TK Hask has a good voice, but he oversang his song big time. The only person that did impress (Anne Marie Boskovich, above) had to get a do-over, so what does THAT tell you?
– Salt Lake City – Okay, a bit better, but still. Frankie Jordan’s got a good voice, but come on, stop copying Amy Winehouse phrase by phrase! David Osmond…okay, talent. Fine. But boring. It was good to see an episode with two stellar voices, and for once they were both female. Taylor Vaifanua (right) did her thing on “Joyful, Joyful”, and Megan Courkey had a really cool take on “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man”. Although I don’t think he’ll make it far, I did like Austin Sisneros on a personal level. There’s just something about him that’s really likable, and he has a great tone to his voice, even if he didn’t have the best audition.
– NYC/San Juan, PR – So craptastic that they squeezed both cities into an hour. You know it’s bad when you look at your notes, and see multiple names that you started to write down, and then crossed off because they didn’t deliver. Did you catch at the end that San Juan only saw 9 golden tickets? Pitiful. Jorge Nunez (left), though, is one to watch out for. I fear he might flame out early (you can guess whether there’s a pun there or not) like AJ Tabaldo. New York didn’t fare much better, and it’s sad when the most memorable one to get a ticket is the one the producers framed as a freak. Having said that, I do like Melinda Camile, but I think she’s going to end up in the same category as Austin.
Here’s my big beef, though. They splice in a clip of Randy saying “one of the best voices we’ve heard today”, but you don’t get to hear the singer. Is that poor placement, a little foreshadowing, or just a sorry indicator of just how bad things were in these two cities? I guess we’ll find out next week.
So there you have it…so little good news to report, but Hollywood Week looks interesting. Now, there is a list of the Top 50 and Top 36 floating around, and whether they are fabrications or the real thing, it looks pretty much spot on.
– If you can’t get enough of former Idols, Entertainment Weekly has an update gallery with contestants from the previous seven seasons. As you might expect, I was glad to read about 
– Finally, the top 2 from last year’s Idol have both announced tour plans. 
I have gone through several seasons of Idol where I almost gave up at one point or another, but I just might do it this year. These auditions are beyond boring. It’s almost like the show is on prozac…the lows aren’t as low, but man, the highs aren’t that high. [All of this is second-hand info, btw. Just sayin’…]
The sole memorable performance goes to Adam Lambert (right), whose “Bohemian Rhapsody” indeed was a bit musical-ish, but wow. Not bombastic like Von Smith, not overly campy like Danny Noriega, but impressive none the less. Granted, a talent like that is going to need a little refining for mainstream audiences, but I like my Idols distinctive, and Adam seems to have that special something.
Night two brought us to Louisville, Kentucky, and while it was actually better, I don’t know that millimeters count on network TV shows. Three singers stood out to me: Matt Giraud, who hails from Kalamazoo (and who I’m surprised I never saw out at a certain bar in Grand Rapids); Brent Keith Smith (left), who had a great presence as he belted Bad Company; and Joanna Pacitti, who had my favorite performance of the night with “We Belong”. My DVR cut out at 8, so I missed the final performance. Please don’t be offended if they were amazing.
Night #2 of American Idol auditions, and the prospects in Kansas City were definitely stronger than in Phoenix. These folks have a lot to live up to, since last year’s winner, David Cook, is from the Kansas City area, and they didn’t disappoint. I have three stars next to names on my list, where last night, I didn’t have any. One person who didn’t get a star was Von Smith, who I was impressed with several years ago when I saw a video of him hitting the money note on “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”. Check it out below:
So auditions started tonight for American Idol. By far, this is the most painful part of the show for me, but I still watch. Night one…Phoenix. Two words: Pain. Ful. Really a rough start to the show. A lot of the singers they were featuring were 16-year-olds, which really doesn’t bode well for this year’s crop. The night’s hype went to a 20-something singer/songwriter named Scott MacIntyre, who sang a decent version of “And So It Goes”, but honestly, it wasn’t THAT good. There were a few I liked, though. Watch out for Emily Wynn-Hughes, who sang a killer version of “Barracuda”, and Michael Sarver (above), who looks like a bouncer for a rock club, yet busted out a killer version of Boyz II Men’s “Thank You”.
Stumble It!
Pop Music Notes 