Mar

8

Antonella Barba and Sabrina Sloan were both voted off American Idol tonight, but for two vastly different reasons.

Let’s start with Sabrina Sloan - I picked Sabrina to be in the top 3 contestants at the end of the show and possibly be the final winner, so what happened? Here’s a theory. Sabrina is the only contestant of the top 24 that we didn’t get to see her audition tape and I don’t believe we got to see her at all during Hollywood week, except for when she was picked to be in the top 24.

Most every other contestant we saw their audition, we saw them during rehearsals at Hollywood week and we started to identify with them and we became followers of theirs. In other words, all the other ladies had a following building for them from the first time we saw them at the original audition. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen for Sabrina, no audition, no Hollywood week exposure, not following. And that’s a serious bummer, because she had the talent and the looks and the special “it” to win it all.

I don’t believe a contestant that the public doesn’t get to see their first audition will ever win American Idol.

And now for the reason Antonella Barba got voted off American Idol - She can’t sing.

Alan

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Feb

10

If you remember the Birmingham American Idol auditions you might remember Chris Sligh. He had a great sense of humor and his American Idol goal was to make David Hasselhoff cry (David was seen shedding a tear at last year’s Idol grand finale). I came across Chris Sligh’s Idol Audition and thought I’d post it just so you can see what a funny and likeable guy he is.

I also found his band’s mySpace page and was quite impressed. Half Past Forever as they are called has four songs posted on their page and In A Moment was playing when the page loaded. Wow, it was really good. I hardly ever go to MySpace because it irritates me so much and when a song starts playing I turn it off because it irritates me even further, but I actually listened to In A Moment. They sound a little like an updated version of ELO (I’m showing my age here). You should go check out their music.

Chris’ American Idol audition is below as well as a band video of Know.


Alan

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Feb

7

Baylie BrownBaylie Brown graced us with a beautiful rendition of Faith Hill’s Stronger last night at the San Antonio auditions. But Baylie is not just “another kid singer” as you might think already, she is a “seasoned professional” as proclaimed on her web site.

Baylie has been singing for many years according to information on her web site and has been the opening act for Janie Fricke, appeared at many music venues, sang the National Anthem at many a sporting events and has also won Entertainer Of The Year for the 2003 Main Street Country Music Showcase (that’s quite a name for an event).

Miss Baylie Brown also has a country music CD out and has quite a list of musical accomplishments. She is a country girl at heart, attends her local First Baptist Church in Krum, Texas and apparently loves her country music.

All this to say, how well do you think she’s going to do on American Idol? Pretty darn good I imagine, compared to what we’ve experienced so far. As long as she’s not under any contract per the Idol rules, she’s got a great shot at beinig in the top 12 at least.

There’s a clip of her over at Youtube.com, but I’m sure it will be gone soon. They’re removing most American Idol videos shortly after they’re posted.

Alan

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Feb

6

We saw the last auditions on American Idol tonight in San Antonio Texas and they proved to be just as weird as every other city on Idol’s 7 city tour this year. There is a show tomorrow night, but I believe it’s to let us see the best and the worst from all the auditions.

San Antonio opened up with a Billy Idol wannabe that claimed he had won a mock Idol competition in the city. Oh really? Brian Kyrish belted out a Rebel Yell that I believe probably contributed to global warming. It was loud and obnoxious, end of story. Halley Scarnato was up next singing I Can’t Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt that was just okay. She did fair, but there wasn’t anything unique about her. However, it was enough to earn her a trip to Hollywood as all the judges believe she could use a second chance.

Jasmine Holland then gave us a lethargic, lifeless rendition of something? It was so dull I don’t remember what it was. And then she proceeded to argue with the judges, as if she had a chance in the first place. Some people just don’t get it, and when the wakeup call comes, they choose to go back to sleep.

Fortunately we got to see a real talent in Baylie Brown that Simon said was Commercial with a capital C and a record label’s dream. She sang Faith Hill’s Stronger that was quite impressive and with her personality and presence is sure to earn herself a spot in the final 12.

As a funny bit, we were then treated to a montage of Idol contestants having immense trouble with choosing the right door to go out after their audition. Several people crashed into the wrong door and someone even broke one of the doors when she, yes she, went out the wrong door. I’m wondering if the producers of the show did this on purpose just to mess with people and get a laugh. I don’t remember this on any previous season of American Idol.

Two cousins the serenaded us with Amazing Grace that was really bad by William Green and then Akron Watson was thankfully the better half of the singing cousins. He sang Sam Cook’s Change Is Gonna Come and the judges weren’t convinced so he belted out Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On and convinced them. On he went to Hollywood.

Deborah Tyler who had sung for the Mayor of Houston was up next and the judges made her cry after her unintelligible version of Black Velvet by Alana Myles. I can understand the judges being a little harsh on some of these contestants after suffering through hundreds of bad auditions and wannabes that just don’t have a clue. Simon sort of apologized to her and was at least gentle enough so she could regain her composure, though it sounded like she was singing in a different language.

Ashlyn Carr was up next with Feeling Good. She said she was beat up in high school because she had a good voice. She did, but she also had strange facial expressions and was told no. But, as a first time to see this on American Idol, the judges thought they had made a mistake and invited her back in and she sang a Gladys Knight song which I thought was worse than her original audition. She toned down the facial expressions, but I didn’t think her voice was that good. The judges let her go on to Hollywood with the stern warning to work on her “bad habits.”

Jacob Tutor, known as Jake The Snake to some, then brought a dark cloud over the competition with a dark tune in the likes of Kurt Cobain or Axel Rose, but was just weird and off key. Not good dude, just weird. Please leave.

Thankfully Jimmy McNeal closed out the audition with a very, very good Cupid and earned himself a trip to Hollywood. He was the last to audition and was great. Simon called him a fun Ruben Studdard.

Tomorrow night we get to see the best and the worst of this year’s auditions. It’s pretty scary to think we haven’t seen the worst yet. Then it’s off to Hollywood for a week or two, I can’t remember. I think they get it all over in a week.

See ya tomorrw and then at round two.

Alan

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Feb

6

We certainly love watching the weirdest people audition for American Idol. They come in all shapes and sizes and they are wearing all sorts of costumes these days. Some of the Idol wannabes just can’t sing, others have a bit more personality if you will. We now refer to these Idol wannabes and American Idol Rejects. I think I really started to get into Idol during the 2005 season and one of the first reject and most bizarre auditions I saw was Mary Roach singing Carole King’s I Feel The Earth Move. Sometimes I feel sorry for the contestants, but this girl was just weird because she was so sure she was good and had the strangest personality of any contestant I’ve seen.

Alan

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Feb

1

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

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Jan

31

Katie Bernard American IdolIt looks like Katie Bernard and her squeaky voice have been around for some time and she may have even tried out for Canadian Idol back in 2004. I found this article written on 6-2-2004 where a Katie Bernard was described as “a rock chick extraordinaire.” With all that Katie has done according to her MySpace page and her web site, I’ll assume it was her auditioning for Canadian Idol.

Katie’s web site also says she has been singing for more than 12 years and has entertained thousands in this country and internationally. She has also sung at Walt Disney World and Sea World. None of this disqualifies her for American Idol though. As long as she doesn’t have a contract for talent representation, recording, modeling or merchandising she’s in the clear.

I wonder if her voice is really squeaky, or if its just an act. It seems kind of weird for a semi-professional like her.

Alan

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Jan

30

We are down in Sweet Home Alabama this evening and a nice looking Erica Skye opens the auditions for Birmingham with Unchained Melody that wasn’t melodious enough for the judges. But then she kept going with a Dixie Chicks song and then after the judges said no again she made like the Eveready Bunny and you guessed it, kept going. Finally she got the point and left.

Then we had another voice and singer combination like Paris Bennett. Katie Bernard looked like just a wannabe (see post below), Randy liked her, Simon didn’t and it was up to Paula and she said yes. So she’s off to Hollywood.

Tatiana McConnica then sang her way to Hollywood in a unanimous decision by the judges although I thought she was a bit of a screamer and was just okay, but all three judges let her through so what do I know? We were then graced by a visit from aptly named Margaret Fowler imitating Big Bird in a yellow costume. Margaret claimed to be 23 but later confessed to being 53.

Paula seemed to be having a hard time holding it together during the first day of the Birmingham auditions and didn’t show up on day two. In a rare occurrence she decided against Bernard Williams II singing Michael Jackson when Simon actually voted yes. Randy made it two and off to Hollywood he went.

The sad story of the evening, if not the whole competition thus far, went to Jamie Lynn Ward with a paralyzed father who had shot himself. She sang fairly well and earned a trip to Hollywood, but needs a little work. American Idol has a comedian this year in Chris Sligh who was funny and likeable enough to charm Paula to vote for him to go to Hollywood.

We then had the long haired, I mean really long haired Victoria Watson who was a really nice girl, but just didn’t have enough to be an Idol. She had been growing her hair all her life and it reached to the floor even when she wore high heels. She sang a decent version of You Raise Me Up made famous by Josh Groban.

There weren’t any really strange auditions this evening and even when the judges were a bit rude, the citizens of Birmingham showed polite southern hospitality. Brandy Patterson rounded out the evening with a bad rendition of Madonna’s Like A Virgin. She had a bit of an attitude, but what do you expect when Simon says such terrible things. Brandy thought the wooden floor was a problem and tried to sing on the carpet hoping to make things better, but it didn’t work.

Twenty contestants made it through from Birmingham and we are on to Los Angeles tomorrow evening for the final round of auditions.

Alan

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Jan

30

Katie BernardTonight we saw sweet Katie Bernard audition in Birmingham Alabama as a girl with a strange speaking voice but a nice singing voice and while I was checking online to see if I spelled her name right, I found these two videos of her on Youtube.com looking like a very professional and polished singer. Was the Idol audition just an act?

The first is from Dimples, a karaoke club, in Burbank California and the second is from the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando Florida about an hour away from where I live.


She is looking pretty professional from these two clips and her pictures at her website www.katiebernard.com Check out her pic above the two videos. Her bio at her web site states:

“With hip-hop and jazz training as well as performance classes to compliment a strong foundation in pop vocal technique, Katie has been a favorite since the year 2000 at Walt Disney World and Sea World Florida as both an ensemble member as well as a featured soloist. She has also appeared as a special guest at Universal Studio’s Nightclub “Groove” one of CityWalk’s most notable attractions.”

Is American Idol auditioning professional singers or is this just a fluke?

Alan

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Jan

30

This one was from the Seattle auditions of American Idol and I realized I had only mentioned Darwin Reedy briefly in one of my posts. Darwin sings Don’t Cha by the Pussycat Dolls and it is one of the strangest auditions I’ve ever seen. How anyone could watch American Idol from the beginning, as Darwin claims, and think that this is what the judges want in a singer, is beyond me. Darwin’s mom was with her and really believed in her singing talent. I just don’t get it!

After Don’t Cha Darwin starts to sing Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd and her rendition of the song had no life at all. There wasn’t even any life in her voice when she was talking, how did this girl and her mom think she had even the slightest chance to be an American Idol. Watch the video.


Alan

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