American Idol Los Angeles Auditions Were Bizarre

February 1, 2007 | 1 Comment

Olivia Newton John said right from the start of the Los Angeles auditions she didn’t know what to expect and Los Angeles wasted no time showing her.

Martik Manoukian thought he was a wild panther and nearly stripped for the judges before his completely bizarre audition. Martik was only the beginning of a freak show usually reserved for the circus. I can’t imagine Simon putting up with another season of this, as he would call, rubbish. Sholandric Stallworth then performed nothing but a bad, weird, screaming audition that destroyed If Ever You’re In My Arms Again.

Grace Pugal added to the Los Angeles circus sideshow by wearing a strange cow costume. And then Marianna Riccio got down on her knees and begged the judges to let her sing another song and then went out and got her former Dean Martin Golddigger mom to assist her. I’ve never seen someone beg like this girl did. It was pitiful. Los Angeles contestants were a far cry from the polite southern hospitality of Birmingham when several of the Idol hopefuls actually thanked the judges for letting them audition, even though they were rejected.

Thankfully, Alaina Alexander put in a performance that earned her a trip to Hollywood right next door. Alaina was good, though she was off pitch a bit and was a heavy breather which she will have to learn how to control better. Phuong Pham then gave us an spastic female interpretation of Taylor Hicks to add to the Los Angeles weirdness. Phuong had a strange, almost male voice coming out of a petite oriental girl.

Another highlight, and possible finalist, was Brandon Rogers who has been a backup singer for such acts as Anastasia and Christina Aguilera. Brandon serenaded the ladies with Always On My Mind and Simon called his audition “the best of the day.” After Brandon’s audition Sherman Pore touched us all with a sad story of his wife who had just died two day previous to his audition. He dedicated You Belong To Me to his wife and had Paula and Olivia in tears and earned a handshake from Simon. Sherman was a winner just by getting on Idol to honor his wife.

Day 2 in Los Angeles opened up with a shot of Simon leaving the limo and zipping up his fly. The cameras don’t miss anything. Cavette Sparkles Carr and Darold Gray (correct spelling) were up next and were quite the love birds, but unfortunately for them, they weren’t actually singers. At least they had each other and Darold also had quite the bling on his grill.

Anthony Adams then butchered You Light Up My Life as he screamed his way through the song. And finally the Los Angeles auditions ended with Eric Mueller who had trained for two years using Paula and Randy’s Ultimate Voice Coach DVD. It was a hideous audition and Simon was trying like crazy to make a big deal out of it by making an example of Paula And Randy.

Next week are on to San Antonio Texas for the final auditions.

Alan

Tags: olivia newton john, martik manoukian, alaina alexander, brandon rogers, sherman pore