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wetpaint — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:58:28 CDT

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Haley Reinhart. The finale is Scotty vs Lauren. If you have any predictions or opinions, express yourself in the thread below:

Alrighty then. It's a Country finale.

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American Idol Season 10 Finalists

chrisco97 — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:35:55 CST

Back to American Idol Season 10

Back to American Idol Season 10

AMERICAN IDOL Top 13 Contestants

AMERICAN IDOL Top 13 Contestants


Ashthon Jones	Casey Abrams	Haley Reinhart

Jacob Lusk	James Durbin	Karen Rodriguez

Lauren Alaina	Naima Adedapo	Paul McDonald

Pia Toscano	Scotty Mccreey	Stefano Langone

	Thia Megia

Back to American Idol Season 10

Back to American Idol Season 10

American Idol Season 10

ChillyMe — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 21:11:43 CST

AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 10

New judges, a fresh group of promising stars...a whole new season of American Idol! Season 10 of American Idol is already shaping up to hold some interesting twists, a lot of drama and even more talent!

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ventboys Power Rankings, Top 24

ventboys — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:36:52 CST

The Ladies:

Lotta Barbie Dolls this year. It’s really hard to separate them by their voices. We just haven’t heard much of them, other than NG (Nigel’s Girl) Lauren Alaina. There are a couple that I like, a couple that I don’t feel can contend, a couple that I like AND I don’t feel can contend, and several that I can hardly tell apart with my eyes closed, and in a couple of cases even with my eyes open. I adjusted the ages, since the listed ages were from last summer. It seemed strange to keep saying that Lauren and Thia are 15, when they are both 16.
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12- Kendra Chantelle, 22- Her voice is really weak and her phrasing is messy for a national competition. Her “blackbird” rendition was almost painful to listen to. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when Randy told Kendra, “I liked your harmony choices”. Choices? She sang the %&#$ing MELODY an octave higher and three times as loud as Paul’s lead.

Wait… was Paul supposed to sing the harmony? Hmmm….. That would explain it. We’ll probably never know. If it’s true, it doesn’t change the fact that Kendra doesn’t have much of a voice, or very good phrasing. It does amplify something else that I noticed about Kendra: Kendra is pretty dammed professional on the stage. If Paul “blowed the Open” on the harmony, Kendra didn’t flinch one bit. It speaks volumes about her professionalism, and it might explain how she slipped into the field despite her lack of vocal strength.

I don’t THINK that she’ll make it to the finals, but the female side of the draw is wide open. She has more going for her than great legs and a pretty face. She won’t shrink from the stage, and we might get her best performance yet. I’m not sure that I can say that for the rest of the ladies.

11- Haley Reinhart, 19- I have loads of respect for this kid, who didn’t give up after being rejected without even getting a Golden Ticket. She used her personal “woodshed” to develop a wide array of skills and vocal tricks, came back, and made it all the way to the big stage. This is a big part of why I love Idol so much. Haley doesn’t have to do anything else to be considered a smashing success, does she? Her bandwagon might get rolling if she’s great on Wednesday, but she is always going to be one less than perfect performance from getting bounced. She will be fun, at least, with her theatrics and that fun, funny Louis Armstrong growl that she does.

10- Thia Megia, 16- She has a ton of voice, one of the strongest voices left among the females. She is years away from completely harnessing it, though. She is getting all that power despite inconsistent breathing, and she is still pretty much a melody singer. She tends to run out of air at the end of her phrases, and she just doesn’t phrase well without having it all blocked out in advance.

She can sound really polished at times, but the fact is that she is a young, wild talent more than a finished product. She’s already been on America’s Got Talent, and now she is in the final 24 of Idol. She ain’t going to win Idol this year, and she didn’t win AGT either. She is still a high school student. Is she going to accept going back to school, and getting her sorely needed education outside of the spotlight? She’s in an awkward spot; too good to be just another kid, but too much of a kid to be good.

This is something that bothers me about Idol. They use these young kids, give them a taste of the spotlight and the good life, make a fortune off of their talents, and when it’s over they just give them a bus ticket. If we are talking about the adults, the 21 and older contestants, I’m fine with that. When they give this false hope of stardom to teenagers who have virtually no chance in hell of getting a recording contract, though, I feel that they can and should do more.

Why can’t they set up scholarship programs for these kids, or even better yet why don’t they establish a junior Idol program? I’ve called my idea the Idol D league before (D stands for Developmental). They could get intense coaching from experts, finish their traditional education, write songs (and learn how to write songs from experts), make records (and learn how to make records from experts) and tour. I’m sure that they can make it pay, and it would give the kids a step below the ledge to stand on, and move forward.

9- Tatynisa Wilson, 21- Has she sung anything impressive yet on air? There must be something about her that the judges love. If they love her so much, though, why did they make her look like such a fool on group night? I’m actually looking forward to hearing her sing a full song. There must be something there, right?

8- Naima Adedapo 25- I love the girl, and I hope that I have her ranked way too low. I don’t know. Michael Slezak, who knows a LOT more about Idol than I do, has her ranked number one. She isn’t polished at all, though she has a lot of voice and the maturity to be believable when she gets emotional.

7- Rachel Zevita, 22- She came back from 2006, when she got tossed in Hollywood Week. Like Haley, I have to admire her drive and her hard work in the ‘shed. Also like Haley, she is working with a limited amount of natural talent. Her voice is reasonably strong, but her phrasing can really get away from her. She does the huh-huh thing sometimes when she is changing notes without a new word to sing. That always sounds really amateurish to me. She also tends to overdo her vibrato, like Madelyn Kahn in a Mel Brooks movie. I ranked her ahead of Naima to get her listed together with the next three singers. More on that later.

6- Karen Rodriguez, 21- Lots of vocal tricks, but not the strongest voice. She will need to be perfect, and not overdo the vocal calisthenics.

5- Pia Toscano 22- I tend to lump Pia, Karen and Rachel together in my mind. They are all dark skinned and dark haired, and they all love to turn a single syllable into a 30 second departure, to the point that they need to leave bread crumbs to go back and find the melody. Julie could be the fourth sister, but she doesn’t get nearly as crazy with the melody. Karen and Pia are old friends, who went to school together in New York.

4- Julie Zorrilla, 20- Burner now on 3. She hasn’t figured out how to fake sincerity yet, I’m sure that she is working on it. She might not be the most emotional contestant, but she might be the hardest worker. In that way she reminds me of Siobhan from last year. Siobhan worked her butt off, but she never really connected emotionally to her songs. Like Siobhan, I think that Julie is focused more on competing than she is on finding her artistic vision. They also share a similarly rough background, and despite the rough background both are surrounded by a strong family. They ain’t twins, though. In many other ways, Julie and Siobhan are barely the same species. Julie could spend the rest of her life playing the slutty girl that gets killed in bad horror movies. Siobhan would be the one wearing the hockey mask, swinging the machete.

3- Ashton Jones, 25- She doesn’t have the strongest voice, or the strongest intonation, but she isn’t a weakling and she sings in tune. She emits more of a performer vibe than the beauty pageant types, though she is every bit as good looking as they are. She has more emotional power. She is more mature, too; don’t forget that. She is 25 years old, older than all but Naima among the female contestants.

2- Lauren Turner, 25- I might be out on a limb alone here, but I believe that this Lauren has the best female voice left in the competition. It sure as hell is the strongest. She is lacking a bit in several other categories, including looks maybe (compared to the Miss Idol pageant going on behind her), though she is miles from ugly. I personally think that she’s adorable. Her main worry will probably be her phrasing and her stage persona. She can sound incredible for long stretches, and then just lose it and go off on some trill when she really doesn’t need to. If I was coaching her I’d tell her to keep it fairly simple, and trust her huge voice to do the impressing. If she tries to out-trill the vocal gymnasts, she will be giving up her natural advantage. Her body language can be very cool while the song is going on, but she tends to just shut down when the music stops like that frog that ate Kenzie Palmer (who? More on her in my wrap-up).

1- Lauren Alaina, 16- She might have peaked too early, and the producers might have overdone it in pimping her so blatantly. If she doesn’t do something fairly amazing on the first live show she could be in for a tumble ala Andrew Garcia. It’s pretty obvious that Nigel loves the hell out of her, but he doesn’t get to vote anymore. Lauren is good, but is she good enough to overcome the inevitable backlash that will come if she blows her performance next Wednesday? I’m not saying that she will, just pointing out that she is in a delicate position. She isn’t in as much danger as most of the lower tiered contestants are of getting bounced, but she really needs a strong performance to get the focus back on her singing, and off of the pimping and the creepy Steven flirting.

The Gentlemen: The male side of the draw is STACKED. At least a couple of singers that would have made the tour last year will be cut right off the bat. If I were to rank Lee Dewyze (who I loved) in this group, he would be closer to Tim than Casey. I’ve heard that they won’t automatically go 6 and 6. If so, it might be as much as 8-4 in favor of the males. The talent separation between the genders seems massive this season. I prefer an equal mix, though, even at the cost of a bit of talent. It’s a TV show. Attractive young women make for good TV, and good ratings. Idol needs to kick butt this year, so that the specter of Simon will go away for good.
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12- Scotty McCreery, 17- He really shouldn’t be here. He is a one trick pony, and his one trick is imitating Josh Turner. We already have a Josh Turner. His name is Josh Turner. Scotty’s future in music might more likely land him in Vegas, on a tribute tour, impersonating Josh Turner. Either that or standing in for Evan Longoria while he chases his hat all over the frigging country.

11- Jordan Dorsey, 22- He is going to get a heaping dose of reality very soon.

10- Jovany Barreto, 23- He has a very strong upper range, and he might get some demographic help to the finals. I don’t like him at all. His music bores me, and he seems like an arrogant ass. I’m being presumptuous, though. He might not be the bad guy that I think he is. I reserve the right to change my mind later, but I don’t believe that he’ll be here long enough for that to happen.

9- Tim Halperin, 24- It gets tough in a hurry for the guys. This guy would have made the tour in 2010, and probably in 2009 as well. In this crowd, though, he is up against it. I said this before, and I’ll say it again. Tim sounds almost as much like Jackson Browne as Scotty sounds like Josh Turner.

8- Stefano Langone, 21- I’ll quit talking about how tough the male draw is. Stefano’s task, if he chooses to accept it: Do a song that gets him noticed for something other than overdoing his vocal tricks. All of the next several on the list (other than Brett) are going to be trilling like crazy and showing off their range. The ones that can move a melody will be the ones that survive the carnage.

7- Brett Loewenstern, 17- The online pundits have Brett breezing into the top 12. I’m optimistic, but I just don’t know how the voting is going to go between the range rovers.

6- James Durbin, 22- He had better be gentle this week, or he might get rejected for the heinous crime of hubris, daring to sing too much like Adam Lambert. He ain’t gonna win that battle. If I were JD, I’d sing something bluesy but high energy, limit my upper range theatrics to a couple of pops in the middle, and only hit the big glory note for a moment at the end. Do NOT overdo it, my man.

5- Jacob Lusk, 24- I love this guy, but I wonder if his act is soooo over the top that it will get old in a hurry? Restraint, my man. Do these guys all have too much voice? Who will bring the musicianship, the polish, the timing, and the restraint to the table? 4-

Clint Jun Gamboa, 27- I ranked him over Jacob and JD because he has a more commercial sounding high range. Their high ranges are theatrical. Junebug’s is more powerful and scratchy. Honestly there ain’t much separation between them right now. It’s going to come down to who puts together a great performance, over who has the most tricks.

3- Paul McDonald, 26- In a night full of vocal calisthenics, Paul’s soft, scratchy voice is going to stand out like soft rain in the midst of a tornado.

2- Robbie Rosen, 17- I didn’t drop him from the top spot for anything that he did. He’s been amazing, and he’s gotten better with every performance. Is he cute, or is he a cross between Jerry Seinfeld and Alfred E. Newman?

1- Casey Abrams, 20- He doesn’t have nearly the best pure voice, but it doesn’t matter. He towers over everyone else anyway, and he is clearly the favorite to take down the title. It’s a long process, though. Will we still love him as much after several weeks of hearing him? His health scare apparently passed without disqualification, but he got a blood transfusion. Bleeding ulcer? David Cook in 2008, Crystal last year, now Casey. Is it required that the best singer in the competition ends up in the hospital at least once? Let’s just hope that Casey is ok.

Ventboys final 61, some research

ventboys — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 02:04:43 CST

AMERICAN IDOL

Sixty One Hopefuls

I normally post a power ranking on the weekend before the Hollywood endgame, but I decided to go another direction this time. Instead of giving you more of my tired opinions, I did some research. I found the full list of contestants this morning, all sixty one of them. I figured that it would be more interesting to take some time, do some digging, and find a way to paint a picture of everyone as best I can. I’ll talk about the ones that we know, of course, but I spent most of my time looking for a way to paint that “best picture” of the ones that we don’t know. I found some real gems. All of the sixty one remaining contestants are in the remarks below, in alphabetical order.

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The singers: Aaron Sanders, 26- I couldn’t find any video. He’s the sideburns guy that shows up on camera here and there on the show. I haven’t heard him sing yet. He looks like a young Walt “Clyde” Frazier, the basketball player.

Adrian Michael, 18- He forgot the words during round three, so the judges must really like him to have kept him in. I’ve seen some video, Adrian playing guitar and singing original material. He’s not all that polished but he is pleasing, with a George Benson style but without George’s signature sing-along guitar riffs.

Alex Ryan, 17- I haven’t seen him, so I took a look at his GTI (Golden Ticket interview, all of the contestants have one on Idol’s main website if you want to look them up). Not having heard him sing I’m just guessing, but he said that he is a huge fan of Adam Lambert and Freddie Mercury. He might be another of those Adam bar-jumpers. He looks the part, and he’s a musical theater member. He claims that he can do a Rubik’s Cube in a minute and a half.

Ashley Sullivan, 25- You know her by now. The 64 dollar question is either “why is she still here?”, or “will she stay composed long enough to sing a whole song?” I have no answer for either question, but I have my fingers crossed for the second one. I am not looking forward to more drama. I just want to hear her sing her butt off, then see her get politely bounced and pointed to the nearest 12 step program. “Hi, My name is Ashley, and I am a fruitcake”.

(Hi, Ashley)

Ashton Jones, 24- I wrote about her in my recap of the round three show. I couldn’t find any outside video of her, but I did find a bunch of Ashton Jones songs from some guy with the same name. I don’t think that she has a strong, polished, or interesting enough voice to seriously contend, but she is in the mix for the live shows at least. She grades out solidly on all three of them, if not amazing on any.

Bekah Boom, 16- Her voice is really sweet, but I’m not so sure that she is polished enough to be a contender.

Brett Loewenstern, 16- We know Brett. I expect him to make the live shows now. He has some potential to be this year’s Alex Lambert, and Brett is a good bit more polished than Alex was. He would be an asset to the tour, I think, with his interesting voice and his geeky charm. I really like the kid.

Brittany Mazur, 21- Miss Tucson has a little girl quality to her voice, and some power. I’m a little bit surprised that she is still in, but maybe she’s been improving. She would have had to. In her videos she gets wildly out of tune whenever she steps off the beaten melodic path.

Caleb Hawley, 25- His voice has a warm natural tone, but he can sound pretty awful at times when he isn’t careful. I think that it’s a breathing issue. He doesn’t save enough breath, and he tries to push high notes out with only a mouthful of air left.

Carson Higgins, 22- I talked about him at length in my last recap. He is a stage actor who sings, not a singer, but I don’t care. His future is obviously going to be on the stage, but can we borrow him and let him entertain us for awhile?

Casey Abrams, 19- How is he only 19? He has a skill set that had to have taken years to develop. He’s not the best singer in the competition, but he has the most electrifying combination of skills and charisma. Oh, and he can sing a little, too.

Casey Schuber, 17- She fingerpicks the acoustic guitar like a champ, and she can play the piano. There is an electric guitar on the wall, promising other abilities. Her singing style reminds me of Joni Mitchell more than anyone else. She is polished as a singer, and polished as a guitar player, but she is a little bit wooden when she combines them (much like Caleb, though without the intonation and breathing problems). I am skeptical of her chances in the competition. Her style is pretty low key, not exactly what Idol looks for. I couldn’t be higher on her for the long haul, though. She is going to have a career in music in some capacity. It’s not impossible that she will end up on a stage someday, accepting a Grammy for best singer, best writer, best producer, something. She does it all, and she’s only 17 frigging years old.

Chelsea Sorrell, 22- She has several videos up on youtube, mostly singing Carrie Underwood covers. She definitely aims for the Nashville sound. Her voice is very sweet and she has a rich tone, and she sings in tune. Her stage presence isn’t much at this point, and that will be hard for her to overcome. She will need to be more animated, I think, to avoid being branded as a karaoke singer.

Chris Medina, 26- I’m a bit surprised that he’s still in, but I sure as hell ain’t rooting against him.

Chrissy Feliciano, 23- She toured with Metal/Rap artist Marz a couple of years ago, filling the role that Fergie fills with the Black Eyed Peas, though more in the background than Fergie is. I can’t really say much about her as an individual singer, but she is far from an amateur.

Clint Jun Gamboa, 26- The only thing working against him is the embarrassment of booting Jacee out on Group Night. Will that kill him? Junebug is on the short list of the guys in the running for “best overall male voice” in the competition.

Colton Dixon, 18- His sister Schyler also made it to Hollywood this year. Colton has a video, on youtube, of an original song. If he wrote it (I think that he did) color me impressed. The lyrics are amazing. He sounds a lot like Elvis Costello. His musical vision is interesting, even if his voice isn’t particularly unique.

Deandre Brackensick, 15- He was part of the stage Mom teenager group that sang so well on Group night. He is the one with the curly hair and the ponytail. I think that he’s Hawaiian. I found a video of him singing a Hawaiian song in (I assume, it wasn’t English) his native language, and playing the ukulele. He has a really good falsetto, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see him make the live shows.

Denise Jackson, 20- She was third in a montage of unnamed auditioners from Milwaukee that I thought I mentioned, but I can’t find in my notes. I wasn’t impressed then, and she hasn’t gotten enough airtime to prove anything. She was in the group with Jacee and Brett, and her two aired lines weren’t anything to go on. She’s here, so big ups to her. Maybe we’ll get to hear her sing next week. I don’t expect to see her continue in light of the competition lined up against her, but she made it this far. 61 left. They all have at least a punchers’ chance.

Erin Kelly, 20- As far as I know this is not Aaron Kelly after the operation. This Erin Kelly is a tiny round ball of enthusiasm and energy, with a wild mane of dark curly hair and a lot of cute/sexy charisma. She plays the piano, and according to her GTI she loves Mary J. Blige. If that’s her style, I am surprised. She looks the part of the rocker chick. I’ve never heard her sing, so who in the hell knows what we’ll get? I really hope that Idol gives all of the anonymous contestants that survived this far at least that one shot at singing on TV. They deserve to be heard, and we deserve to hear them.

Haley Reinhart, 18- She was perfect in round three. She will probably need to be perfect in Vegas too, if she is going to survive. I like her manner, and her energy. I don’t love her voice, and I don’t see enough polish to overcome the lack of power and command. It’s going to be “deep breath, now go be perfect” for her until she is bounced. She is a limited talent, but I am very impressed by her drive. I’ll root for her, but I am realistic. The competition is just incredibly stiff now. She will be up against it.

Hollie Cavanagh, 17- The little platinum haired belter went a lot deeper in the competition than I thought that she would, so the judges see something in her that I don’t see.

Jacee Badeaux, 15- 22.8 million people watched him break up into tears when he was given the pass to round three on Group Night. I would bet that at least 15 million of them were crying, too. I sure as hell was. I would bet my own money that the judges will give America the chance to vote for him. How can you not root for him? Oh, and he can sing his butt off, too. That helps. Somebody told me once that this is a singing competition.

Jackie Wilson, 28- We haven’t seen her since she repeated her audition song on FHS, but she is still here. I look forward to hearing her sing again, and maybe get a better handle on her. It’s possible that she is amazing. It’s also possible that she is a mirage, kept in by the judges because they slurped her too much in her audition. I expect that she is something in the middle, maybe tilted towards amazing if we are lucky. It’s time to find out, isn’t it?

Jacob Lusk, 23- Does anyone out there remember those old seven-up commercials, with the Jamaican guy that kept saying “coola-nut”? Seven-Up. The Un….. Cooola. Seven-Up hasn’t had a major advertizing campaign for awhile now. They are very underrated as an advertizing company. They had the old Jamaican, and Professor Irwin Corey, and recently (well, several years ago now) the “Make Seven-Up Yours” campaign. The best one was the T-shirt that said “Make Seven Up Yours”, with the “Make Seven” on the front, and “Up Yours” on the back.

Anyway, if Jacob doesn’t make the live shows I will be almost as shocked as I would be if Casey Abrams didn’t make it. He could sing “Coola Nut”, and bend it into a three octave trip up and down the scale, and not one note would be out of tune. Every viewer over 45 years old would have a flashback so intense and confusing that they would either start googling like crazy to find out what in the hell they are flashing on, or just go into the fetal position and wait for the guys in the white suits to take them away.

Jacqueline Elliot, 24- I had to watch her GTI to get anything. She is a soft spoken Texas girl that lives in San Jose now; she loves her mother and Tina Turner. She values humility, and she feels like she can turn it on when she is in front of a crowd. Can she sing? 61 left, of course she can sing. Will we ever get to hear her sing? Well…..

Jalen Harris, 15- Another of the stage mom kids. He is the kid with the Michael Jackson tone to his voice. I didn’t hear him sing any high notes, so it’s just the tone for now. He isn’t perfect, and he takes a LOT of chances with the melody. I would be surprised if he wasn’t one of the next few out. The competition is getting incredibly stiff, and he’s a talented but relatively green 15.

James Durbin, 21- JD has plenty of voice, obviously, but I am a bit skeptical about him. He isn’t going to be as unique as I originally thought that he would be, with so many Adam types, even if he has the closest thing to the Adam Voice. He shouldn’t have a problem making the live shows, but he’s going to have to motivate the voting public once he gets there. So far he hasn’t been very motivational. He’s been mostly arrogant and insecure. He needs to get over his, well… need to prove that he sounds like Adam Lambert, and show us who James Durbin is. I still like the kid, but I’m ready to see more than the “hey, look at my range” tricks. Let’s hear some singing.
Jerome Bell, 27- We haven’t seen him for awhile, but he’s still hanging in there. My take on him originally is that he takes too many chances and overdoes his vocal tricks. Since I haven’t seen him for several shows that’s all that I have to go on. The fact that he made it this far is a good sign that he hasn’t gone off the deep end yet. I look forward to hearing him again. He’s the guy that sings on cruise ships, if you remember me talking about that.

Jessica Cunningham, 24- Jessica is a repeating contestant from last year. She was in the first “Bad Romance” group, the one that sucked, though she didn’t sound all THAT bad on her turn. I found a newer video of her singing, and she sounded a good bit better (woodshed?) than she did last year. She’s a pure belter, with very little finesse and a habit of flattening out and spreading her tone (think Fran Drescher) when she is working down a melody. Jessica does fine going up, so I would guess that she’ll get it figured out soon. Soon enough? She has developed some nice vocal tricks, including a bit of a growl, and she moves very well. Overall I’d have to say that she is a long shot, but again we are down to 61 singers. She’s done damned well to make it this far.

Jimmie Allen, 24- He’s another one that we haven’t seen for awhile. His voice isn’t very strong, but it isn’t Lacey Brown weak. He has several other things going for him, and lots of experience. I was very impressed by his live intonation in front of a band. Anyone that has watched Idol over the years knows that staying in tune when you are on the big stage isn’t as easy as it looks.

John Wayne Schulz, 22- He sings in the Brad Paisley style, with a smoooooooth voice. He’s already won the hearts of cowboy lovers all over the country. If he makes the semifinals, he might be hard to get out. He is reader (and friend, of course; my mailing list is all friends and family) Karen Stene’s favorite contestant, and Karen doesn’t even like country music.

Jonathan Ojeda, 21- Interesting wild card. He has his own website, and he’s already self published an album with good production values. He is, to me, a hybrid of Michael Jackson and El Debarge, though not nearly as good as either of them. Who is? His voice isn’t very strong, so he’ll need to have something else to bring to the table. With his experience, he might.

Jordan Dorsey, 21- Junebug and Jordan were both tossed under the bus of public opinion on Group Night. Junebug is so good that it probably won’t matter. Jordan? I don’t know, he’s not THAT good, is he? He might end up being this year’s….who was that rocker chick with the bad hair that kept telling everyone that they weren’t any good last year? Mary Powers, that’s right. I’ll be shocked if Jordan makes the live shows. If he does, I’ll be shocked if the American public doesn’t toss him under the bus as soon as possible. Odds of winning Idol for Jordan Dorsey: Somewhere between Ashley Sullivan (8 trillion gazillion to 1) and Jersey girl Tiffany Rios (infinity to 1 over infinity; only above zero because she is carbon based and under the age cutoff).

Jovany Barreto, 22- I don’t much like him, but he can sing in tune. He has a punchers’ chance.

Julie Zorrilla, 19- I have this weird feeling that I am going to start liking her right about the time that she gets tossed. I’m warming up to her, but the burner is on two.

Karen Rodriguez, 21- I really liked her on Group Night. She might be one of those “lets save her for later” contestants.

Kendra Campbell, 21- I’m surprised that Idol hasn’t featured her. She is almost cartoonishly good looking, and her videos are all over the place. Her voice isn’t all that interesting, frankly, so that might be why. She goes by Kendra Chantelle (Chantelle is her middle name) on stage and on her videos. Let me know when you are back from googling her pictures. I’ll wait.

Is everyone back? Ok, let’s move on.

LaKeisha Lewis, 23- I couldn’t find any video and Idol hasn’t featured her, so I have no real idea of how good she is. She is about as wide as she is tall. I watched her GTI, and she seems personable and nice. If I was to guess, I would go with the stereotype and expect some Aretha or Whitney. Whitney is her favorite artist, and she grew up singing gospel. I’d really like to hear her sing.

Lauren Alaina, 15- We know Lauren. She’s gonna be here for awhile. Colleen Bellcourt backed off slightly from her love of Lauren, picking Casey now, but she was quick to say that she still loves Lauren.

Lauren Turner, 24- I love this kid, just based on the short glimpse of her that we got on Group NIght.

Luke James Schaffer, 25- He is a repeat contestant from last year. He was the guy in the stocking cap that was singing and playing guitar with another guy in the waiting room. He made it down to the final 71 last year, final 61 this year. He doesn’t have a very strong voice. He reminded me of a karaoke Bryan Adams imitator last year. I’m curious to hear him again, and see if he used his woodshed time well.

Matthew Suyat, 24- Another ukulele player. His lower range and his rap voice is like Shaggy, but his upper range is more like a weak carbon copy of Luther Vandross. He is interesting, but I’m not sure that Idol is a good fit for his style. If you are going to sing like Luther, you need to have more power.

Melinda Ademi, 16- She is playing dress-up, I think. My own kid does the same thing when she doesn’t think I am looking, talking like a gangster and playing the part, and I go through the cold sweats before I realize that she is only imitating, not feeling it herself. Melinda is playing the same role that the teenaged mall queens of the 80’s played, like Tiffany and Debbie Gibson. She looks like Kim Kardashion, but she sings like a modern version of Debbie Gibson. She sings so well that she might make the live shows, but it’s going to be several years before she actually feels the emotions that she is pretending to feel. Thank God for that. I call all of these singers kids, but this kid really is a kid. It’s obvious in her body language when she isn’t singing. She isn’t all that different from Jessie.

Molly DeWolf 22- I really want to hear her again. Her audition was cool, but not enough to get any sense of what she can really do. Molly is Harvard Girl, or Long Nose Girl, or White House Page Girl. Just so you know, if you forgot.

Naima Adedapo 25- I had her as a serious sleeper for weeks, and she certainly proved that out by making it this far. Going forward, I just don’t know. I got to hear her on Group Night, and I wasn’t blown away. The song that they sang wasn’t a very good vehicle, so I am not jumping off the bandwagon, but I remain pretty ignorant of her actual talent. All I have to go on is a feeling. I like her. By the way, for background, she is an extremely religious person who takes her cultural roots seriously. Her crazy costumes are based on her African religion and culture. Her husband dresses even more dramatically, and they both talk about their faith every time that a microphone gets within striking distance. They have a couple of children that are totally adorable. If she makes the live shows, we’ll see them a lot.

Natalie Hanson, 20- She sang in the group with Brett and Jacee, and they showed her singing a couple of lines. I like her style, but I have no idea whether her voice is strong enough. Boy is she tall. I know that Brett is short, but she towers over him like a mother to a child. She’s got to be over six feet tall, and Brett might not be more than 5-3 or so. Short People got… No reason… oops, sorry. I love short people.

Paul McDonald, 25- He isn’t getting any coverage. My take is that they have nothing to say to him, other than see you next week. He’ll get his shot sooner or later. He has a ton of experience and he’s very polished, and he has an interesting voice. I am excited to see what he will do to counter the manic Casey, the theatrical JD, and the rubbery Jacob. If he can bring them down, he gets to deal with the insufferably adorable Robbie. I’d tell the girls to google Robbie now (to be fair after the Kendra “incident”), but all I would get is a bunch of condescending email about how Robbie is ugly as hell, and what do I know about what women look for and why are men so shallow we look for inner beauty and care more about what a man is than what he looks like and I dream of a man that takes out the frigging garbage and knows how to make me feel special we love guys that show their feelings oh my God why does he cry so much why doesn’t he act like a man for chrissakes why is he so distant and cold I really wish just one time that a man could show his feelings crap he’s crying again I need to go out to the woods and find a guy that has never seen a woman what do you mean you are checking for ants get away from me you smell bad can I just go find a gay guy and turn him to the dark side this is all too complicated for me I’ll just go find a guy that knows how to put on a condom and doesn’t complain about it oh that’s the best out there this sucks why didn’t I take the first one seriously he cried too much or he wouldn’t get in touch with his inner child I can’t remember I should just find someone that isn’t cynical slap that idiot maybe he’ll grow up I just want to find some warm body with a health plan why oh why are all the good ones taken fog up the freaking mirror and buy me a ring I’ll deal with it I can’t live like this maybe I’ll get some work done and get back in the game why is everybody looking at me funny can I get that old bastard home before he has a heart attack or something Betty White is my hero I need a snickers…. Way too complicated for me. I thank God everyday for outdoor plumbing and a shallow libido.

Phil Brooks 16- He plays the guitar and the piano. I like his voice, and he has good command of the blue notes. It’s a testament to the depth of talent this season that he doesn’t stand out more. He is very smooth for such a young kid, obviously driven to succeed, and very talented.

Pia Toscano 21- She reminds me of Ashley Rodriguez in every way. Ashley has the better voice and is more polished. Pia is probably going to be up against it next week.

Rachel Zevita, 21- First audition of the year, and she has made it much farther than I would have guessed. Her tone reminds me of Janelle Wheeler’s, but she has a bit more power. She needs to control her vibrato, which can get away from her.

Robbie Rosen, 16- Ok, he has a big nose. Sue me. I’m not personally interested, but if I was that way I would think that he’s cute. Dude can sing, and that’s what matters anyway.

Scotty McCreery, 16- Does anyone know what to do with him? He is what he is, even at 16. I remind the baseball fans out there that he looks like he could be Evan Longoria’s stunt double, and he is a baseball star at his local high school. How wild would it be to see him in the major leagues in a few years, on the same team with his doppelganger?

Sophia Shorai, 28- Lilly Scott-ish singer, she changes from blonde to brunette seemingly every week. Most of you know that I spend more time studying baseball history than I spend studying American Idol, and that I have been doing it for almost four decades. I always compare the singers with weaker voices to pitchers without a power fastball. Sophia has no fastball at all. Pitchers with no fastball need to be exceptional in every other way to succeed. Sophia has that problem. She needs to be perfect, because she has no vocal power. I wouldn’t sell her out, though. She might be Jamie Moyer.

Stefano Langone, 20- I want to hear him again, and I really like him. It’s a tough crowd, though. He would be a lock for the tour – last year. This year? He will have to fight for it.

Symphony Music Howlett, 20- That’s her given name, and it’s on her birth certificate. Her mother is a belly dancer, and both of her parents were hippies. I found a ton of stuff on her in that bottomless pit of amazingness that we call youtube. I found her singing (lots of video of her singing), being interviewed (she is very poised and comfortable) and even doing some belly dancing. She also does some circus performing, including the trapeze. She plays several instruments and writes songs. Interesting kid. Oh, and she is cuter than a care bear. Anything else? Her style? To me she sounds like a Jewel type, maybe with a stronger voice. She compares herself to Norah Jones. She ain’t Norah Jones. She has a much stronger voice, but not even a tenth of Norah’s style and finesse. She ain’t Jewel at this point, either. She makes a LOT of mistakes, even in the videos that were presumably edited, and she isn’t really a guitar player yet. I don’t know if she is a contender or not. I’m pretty surprised that Idol hasn’t featured her so far. I mean, common. A trapeze artist that belly dances, whose name is Symphony Music? If you can’t come up with a way to make that interesting, you just aren’t trying. Maybe they are saving her for later, like they did with Sha-Von last year? I would guess that a contestant with her background, talent, looks and name would get their attention.

Tatynisa Wilson, 20- She must be really good, for her to have survived her horrible round three performance when she forgot her words. I found a video of her, and apparently she is a Rhianna wannabe. From a singing standpoint the video was a big nothing. That genre lives and dies with pyrotechnics, dance moves and a huge wall of prerecorded musical tracks. The vocals are an afterthought. All that matters is singing in tune, and most of the time the vocals are canned anyway. They spend most of their time working on their choreography. I don’t hate the kid, but I don’t know why I should care until I hear her sing. Oh, and remember the words.

Thia Megia, 15- If I was her manager, I would tell her to sing “Across the Universe”, and move on. She would kill that song. Don’t sing anything at tempo until you see the whites of their eyes.

Tim Halperin, 23- He was monotone boy from the LA auditions, had a crush on J-Lo. I found a bunch of his videos. The kid has been busy, and his videos aren’t basement tapes. He’s on stages, in front of crowds. What does he sound like? That’s easy. He is an almost perfect doppelganger for Jackson Browne. He might be a contender. He won’t be scared on the big stage.

Tiwan Strong, 28- We haven’t seen him since he did some Sam Cooke at his audition. I really like this guy. I am looking forward to hearing him again.

Wade Brown, 17- No footage of him singing, anywhere other than in the background of a home video taken during Group Night rehearsal. He is the only one from that group that is still in the competition, and he didn’t sing any lead. I took a look at his GTI. He is very soft spoken, and he worships Fantasia and his late Great Grandmother. I get the feeling that he’s a gospel belter, but an understated and humble person. I didn’t get any sense that he is a professional, but I really want to hear him sing. Can we hear him, Idol? Can we hear all of them?

Ventboys power rankings week 4

ventboys — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 19:50:26 CST

40- Tiffany Rios, 21- It won’t be easy for her on Group Night, after she threw everyone else under the bus. I thought that she was at least interesting at first. Now she is just irritating.
39- Ashley Sullivan, 25- Ashley is the skinny girl that looks like a drag queen. She is about as mentally stable as a Manson Family member, though she seems much less homicidal. How in the hell she is still in, I have no idea. She cried so much that they probably had to mop the floor.
38- Jordan Dorsey, 21- I don’t know if he’s in or out. He is an unlikely contender in any case. Likeable kid, though.
37- Hollie Cavanagh, 17- She is the crying kid from the auditions, who blew the doors off on FHS (first Hollywood show). No finesse, but a powerful voice. She is years too early for this level of competition.
36- Briell Von Hugel, 16- Cute kid, still learning how to sing, and I didn’t see if she survived FHS. She has some nice things going for her, if she can use her voice more effectively.
35- Emma Henry, 15- The good news: I saw her on the previews for next week’s group night show. The bad news: She was crying.
34- Julie Zorrilla, 20- Frosting girl. They didn’t air her singing on FHS, but they did mention her by name so she’s still considered a contender. I’m skeptical until I hear her sing something in tempo, with some demands on her range and intonation.
33- Janelle Arthur, 20- Parking break girl. I don’t know if she’s still in or not. She wasn’t mentioned. She has a good number of videos on Youtube, live performance stuff.
32- Chelsee Oaks, 23- The Exe. They keep pimping her, but I am not a fan. She’s ok, just not memorable.
31- Adrienne Beasley, 22- I assume that she’s still in, but I am not positive.
30- Melinda Ademi, 16- I dropped her a lot, because (a) I didn’t see her at all on FHS, and (b) I had her ranked too high in the first place.
29- Rob Bolin, 23- He has the personality of a toad, but his voice might keep him in for awhile longer.
28- Brittany Mazur, 21- Apparently she was Miss Tuscan, might still be. She is an interesting sleeper, but she doesn’t have good command of her high range when she goes all Mariah on a song.
27- Karen Rodriguez, 21- She was the Youtube auditioner from Los Angeles. I didn’t see if she advanced or not. She survived a pretty tough competition just to make it to Hollywood, so I would be surprised if she was gone already. Intuitively she should be a contender, but the producers aren’t showcasing her at all.
26- Emily Ann Reed, 26- I was way too harsh towards her the first time that I saw her. She is very charming, and she has more than just the Lilly voice going for her.
25- Tiwan Strong, 29- Not seen on FHS, not sure if he’s still in.
24- Jimmy Allen, 25- Not seen on FHS, not sure if he’s still in.
23- Scotty McCreery, 16- He’s great at what he does, but can he show any versatility?
22- Clint Jun Gamboa, 26- He’s the kid with the weird glasses, who screamed “No WAY” at the end of the Hollywood Week show.
21- Chris Medina, 26- I dropped him like a rock in the rankings. He just wasn’t that impressive on FHS, and I have serious doubts about his chances of making the live shows despite all the support from the Idol producers.
20- Rachel Zevita, 22- The first auditioner of the season; she sang very well and was showcased heavily on FHS.
19- Naima Adedapo, 25- There is something catty in her manner that might turn her into a polarizing contestant, if she lasts long enough to get some attention. She can really sing, and I might have her ranked way too low. Concerns about her range and experience make me squirrely about ranking her higher. I need to hear her sing again.
18- Molly DeWolf Swensen, 22- Harvard girl. I didn’t see her on the FHS singing, but they showed her face and mentioned her by name.
17- Brett Loewenstern, 16- He is getting a LOT of early attention, and I love the kid’s voice. I have him lower than some others, but his odds for making the live shows are very good at this point.
16- Jerome Bell, 27- Repeated his audition song.
15- Jackie Wilson, 28- Repeated her audition song.
14- Thia Megia, 15- I dropped her a few spots. She is still a contender, but she wasn’t nearly as good on FHS as she was in her audition. She can do better than that, though, and she has in the past. She might jump up several spots with a strong performance next week.
12-13- The Guiterrez brothers- I’ll list them separately as soon as Idol does, as there is no real way to tell them apart at this point. They are both good, but how good? I have no clue.
11- John Wayne Schultz, 23- I assume that he’s still in. He would rank higher if his style wasn’t so pigeonholed. He has the voice to do other styles.
10- Jacee Badeaux, 15- The prepubescent kid made the largest upward move in my rankings of anyone. I have him as short odds to make it to the live shows now.
9- Paris Tassin, 23- Paris took probably the biggest tumble, going from standout to questionable contender. She still has an amazing voice, but it’s hard to be confident when she sang so far out of tune on FHS.
8- Kenzie Palmer, 15- I absolutely love this kid, but I’m realistic. She ain’t going to win. She might have the best tone of anyone in the competition. Her voice is richly textured and naturally emotional. Her intonation and command are years beyond her actual age. Her weaknesses are (a) no fifth gear upper range, which her style of singing demands to be special, and (b) a shy, almost turtle-like stage presence when she isn’t singing. It’s clear to me now what the judges were thinking about when they asked her to move some during her audition. It’s like she has an on/off switch. Does anyone remember that old Warner Brother cartoon, with the singing frog in the briefcase? Kenzie reminds me of that frog; when singing she is animated and dynamic, but once she stops she just stands there, fidgeting, like the shy little teenager she is.
7- Scott Dangerfield, 22- No sight of him on FHS, and I would be flabbergasted if they dumped him without even mentioning it.
6- Paul McDonald, 25- At this point the competition hasn’t really started for him. He has a huge experience advantage over almost everyone else. He is a low ceiling contender, but a safe choice. He is what he is, and what he is should be good enough to get to the live shows. I expect his run to be similar to Andrew Garcia’s from last season; making the tour but petering out well before the end game.
5- Stefano Langone, 21- This kid is much more of a wild card, but his ceiling is much higher than McDonald’s. His intonation could be a real worry, but if he can keep it in tune he could win it all.
4- Lauren Alaina, 15- I only dropped her a single spot, but I’m not completely sold that she will be someone that can keep stepping it up. It’s possible that her audition was her high point. It’s never good to peak early.
3- James Durbin, 21- The ghost of Adam Lambert is going to haunt this kid as long as he’s on the show. He is going to have to find a way to separate himself, and I’m not sure that he will. He went for the screaming high range again on FHS, and sooner or later he will have to get away from that and show another side if he wants to win it all. I’d be shocked if he didn’t make the tour, though. I’m a lot more confident in his makeup now, while I am more worried about him pulling a Sha-Von and getting too carried away with the screaming.
2- Casey Abrams, 19- The more I see, the more I like. I still have Robbie on top, but Casey is 1A. He is going to be a huge asset to the show with his creativity, his manic performances, and his potential to pull of several “moments” along the way.
1- Robbie Rosen, 16- He isn’t perfect, and he can get out of control when he tries to show off his trills and runs. Still, he’s going to be very hard to get off the show once the tweeners start voting.

Season 10 Auditions: Los Angeles

Wild-Kat — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:42:22 CST

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AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 10 LOS ANGELES AUDITIONS

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Season 10 Auditions

Wild-Kat — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:38:02 CST

AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 10 AUDITIONS

AMERICAN IDOL AUDITION EPISODES SEASON 10 - 2011


New Jersey	New Orleans	Milwaukee	Nashville


Austin	Los Angeles	COMING	The Road to Hollywood


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Season 10 Auditions: Austin

Wild-Kat — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:27:48 CST

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AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 10 AUSTIN AUDITIONS

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Season 10 Auditions: Milwaukee

Wild-Kat — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:14:19 CST

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AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 10 MILWAUKEE AUDITIONS

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Season 10 Auditions: Nashville

Wild-Kat — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:50:08 CST

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Season 10 Auditions: New Jersey

Wild-Kat — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:50:01 CST

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Ventboys Handicapping Page

ventboys — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:40:37 CST

Idol Show one, New York and New Jersey

The singers:

Rachel Zevita, 22- Out of control vibrato, and shaky in her intonation. Fodder.

Caleb Hawley, 25- Loved the voice, hated the screeching at the top. Good looking kid, but fodder.

Kensie Palmer, 15- She has a country sort of quality to her voice, but her inflections were more in line with the pop and gospel styles that she is learning in musical theater. She is very poised and polished. Her intonation is very strong, and she has some command. I really need to post a glossary of my buzz words and phrases, don’t I? I’ll get on it this weekend. She smiles easily and she has some vocal chops, most noticeably the ability to “moan” up and down between notes. I don’t know what the guys were thinking when they dunned her for her lack of movement. She’s a musical theater member (I can’t say that she’s a veteran, she is 15 years old for chrissakes) and she moves in a practiced and comfortable way. It’s way too early to call anyone a contender, but she isn’t fodder. She’ll be in the power rankings.

Tiffany Rios, 21- She can sing, but she is more likely to make it to the cast of “Jersey Shore” than the final twelve. I’ll find a spot for her in the power rankings, but let’s not get carried away.

Robbie Rosen, 16- He has an emotional, thrilling voice and the killer nice guy vibe. He’s interesting, very likeable, and memorable. I’m guessing that he’ll be around for awhile. I’m not sure that he’s a slam dunk for the finals, at least not yet, though he seems to be getting the package treatment. His intonation worries me. I want to hear him more before I start calling him a contender. He could be great, or he could lose the ability to sing in tune. There were some shaky notes in between the big ones. Not majorly shaky, but juuust a little bit disconcerting.

Ashley Sullivan, 25- I had to rewind and get her name and age when I saw her waving a golden ticket. I had already moved on, assuming that she was toast when she started channeling her inner Liza Minnelli. She can sing some, but she is total fodder for the next round. I don’t want to make it sound like I hated her. I didn’t. She reminded me of a drag queen more than anything else, but she actually IS a girl; a skinny, dirty-blonde haired girl with a rubbery face, expressive eyes and so much nervous energy that I was getting nervous watching her perform. I don’t think that she has a chance in hell on a show like this, but there is something there that I really, really like. It was like Kelly Ripa started doing a Robin Williams impersonation, and not one from last week. I’m talking late 1970’s, back when he was so full of cocaine that he almost drowned in his own sweat. It was amazingly weird, and strangely cool.

Victoria Huggins, 16- This kid isn’t going to the finals, but she could be cast as Larry the Cable Guy’s daughter in his next movie. Did you see that dress? Rip off the sleeves, and she’s already in costume. The accent is perfect. Let’s roll tape, fellers…. Seriously, she has a very strong voice but her intonation isn’t sharp enough for this kind of competition yet. She might go fairly deep, like Haeley Vaughn did last year, just because she’s catnip for the cameras. She has a potential future as a TV personality if she wants to go in that direction. She is totally natural in front of the camera, and even in front of famous people like the judges. She has a natural sense of humor, and a sense of moment that can’t be taught. I’d love to be her agent.

Melinda Ademi, 16- I didn’t get why they subtitled her mother, and not her father. Both of them, in my opinion, spoke very good English. I had no problem understanding either of them. Melinda is a very good singer, and I can’t find fault with her audition. She sang her butt off. I didn’t feel the kind of relaxed confidence from her that would lead me to expect her to be a serious contender, and her back-story didn’t tell us anything about the kid herself. I’ll stick her in my power rankings, but her grade so far is incomplete. I just don’t know enough yet. She is from a million miles away, but she reminds me more of the girl next door. She is remarkably good looking, which might or might not matter down the road. It’s more important to be able to sing with some emotion. I didn’t get that in her audition.

Devyn Rush, 20- Cute kid, decent voice but no high range. Her experience as a singing waitress might take her past the early rounds, but her ceiling is the semis at best. I don’t expect even that. She will be towards the bottom of the power rankings. She reminds me of Lilly Scott from last year a little, but she doesn’t have Lilly’s range or sense of moment. She is way too normal looking to be a quirky singer.

Briell Von Hugel, 16- Charming Boston accent and huge pipes, but she is lacking at the top end and in her ability to control her voice yet. She’s very green for a competition like this. Probably fodder, with only the big pipes giving her a puncher’s chance. Cute kid, though. Lots of cute kids tonight, actually. It was a very cute show.

Travis Orlando, 16- He is years from being ready for this kind of competition, but he has some nice chops. I don’t see him going deep, mostly because he is all throat when he reaches for his high notes. As with most of the golden ticket winners from tonight’s show, he seems very likeable and nice.

I didn’t hear anyone that I believe can win it all tonight, but there are a few that might make it to the live shows. It’s good to get going again after several months off, and the kick-off show was very cute and nice. Let’s all hope for a terrific season, with terrific singers.

Season 10 Auditions: New Orleans

Wild-Kat — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:23:29 CST

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AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 10 NEW ORLEANS AUDITIONS

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AMERICAN IDOL NEW ORLEANS AUDITIONS EPISODE GALLERY

Season 10 New Orleans Preview

Give your opinion about what happened on the Season 10 New Orleans Auditions!
	Message Board Thread
	Weigh in on New Orleans' finest! Who "blew it out of the park"?
	Sound off on New Orleans' "worst of the worst"! Will the next William Hung please stand up!
	Who's Judging the Judges? How did new judge trio Randy, Jennifer and Steven do in New Orleans? Share your favorite judges' freak-out moments!

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American Idol Season 10 Predictions

Wild-Kat — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:19:25 CST

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Everyone's got their own opinions, but if you were to put money down on this season's superstar-to-be, who would YOUR Top 10 American Idols be? Be sure to base your predictions on star quality and vocal abilities.

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My American Idol Top 10
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My American Idol Top 10
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My American Idol Top 10
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of your favorite Season 10 idols here!

My American Idol Top 10
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of your favorite Season 10 idols here!

My American Idol Top 10
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of your favorite Season 10 idols here!

My American Idol Top 10
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of your favorite Season 10 idols here!

American Idol Blog

Wild-Kat — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:59:24 CST

AMERICAN IDOL BLOG
MARCH 2010

What's Ms. Abdul Up to These Days?

EW's TV expert Michael Ausiello has the scoop:

This just in: Paula Abdul is straight up headed back to TV! Sources confirm to me exclusively that the ex-American Idol judge is finalizing a deal to headline an updated version of Star Search, the great-granddaddy of all televised singing competitions, for ABC. Abdul’s role is still being defined, but I hear it will likely include some combination of hosting and judging. An ABC rep refused to comment.
The Alphabet network had been wooing Abdul since last summer when she officially announced her departure from Idol. There was talk of her joining Dancing With the Stars in some capacity, but a deal never came to fruition. It’s not clear if Abdul’sStar Search gig would preclude her from joining former colleague Simon Cowell as a judge on the forthcoming US version of his UK monster hit, The X Factor, which is slated to debut on Fox in the fall of 2011. (Star Search is being targeted for this summer.)
This isn’t the first time that Star Search, which premiered in 1983 with host Ed McMahon, has been resurrected from the TV bone pile. In 2003, CBS brought the show back with Arsenio Hall in an attempt to capitalize on the massive popularity of the then-new American Idol. The revival was axed in 2004.

Interview with Katelyn Epperly
MTV got a hold of the recently voted-off Katelyn Epperly, who made it this-close to being in the Top 12...

Q: Did you feel that the judges were especially hard on you this season?
A: They were definitely more critical towards me. I'm not sure if it's possibly because I've been performing for so long. Maybe they expected more out of me than what I was giving them. But I started off on a pretty strong note, so maybe I didn't live up to their expectations week by week.

Q: Did you sing "I Feel the Earth Move" to compensate for Simon's "corny" comments the week before?
A: I totally did. I definitely was trying to find a song that would portray me as an artist, which is difficult for a singer/songwriter in this competition, because first of all, I don't listen to mainstream music, and second of all, I don't typically perform covers. So I kind of scrambled around last-minute trying to do something. I brought out the Wurlitzer keyboard. I wanted to do something edgier, and it didn't work out for me, but I definitely don't regret doing it, because I love that era.

Q: You and Lilly seemed especially emotional during the results show. Why was that?
A: Lilly and I have gotten really close, and from the start, we've flocked together. Crystal [Bowersox] too. I don't typically hang out with girls very often, so this was a rare thing for all three of us, actually. To really truly have female friends and to get along so well and to be so supportive of one another and turning and seeing them there — for me, it wasn't over. This is sort of a platform in my career. I wasn't so sad about that; I was sad to see them, and I'm gonna say it was a pretty big disappointment to me to see Lilly go home, because if I were to be at home watching that show, she would, by far, over all the other girls, not be the one going home.

Q: What made you choose "The Scientist" last week?
A: It's definitely a song that comes to mind when I think about anything hard I've had to do, any sort of loss. It's a very touching, riveting song. I covered it a lot this summer and coped with a lot of things that I was going through. This is a song that is sad but also hopeful. When they said it was too slow, that was OK with me. I was waiting for that comment. I wanted to do it slow. I wanted to focus on the lyrics of the song. The song just cries, and I think I portrayed it, despite what the judges might have thought.

Q: Are you especially rooting for anyone now that you're off the show?
A: I wish them all well, because I've gotten to know them all, and everyone's worked so hard. Honestly, from the start, Crystal has been a very true, true friend to me and an honest person. And when she sings, it comes from the heart, and I know you've watched her. It's just natural for her, and she totally deserves it. I'm going to be pushing for her all the way.

Q: Was it comforting to you for there to be so many other singer/songwriters in the competition this season?
A: I think that's very important. That's actually what made me so much more OK with being on the show, because I did have some pride issues with it at first, because a talent competition is not necessarily my thing. I'm the kind of person who just likes to sing and dance and spend time with music instead of making it something competitive. I've seen so many singer/songwriters this year who really are credible and who have been working at it their whole lives and truly deserve it. They didn't just roll out of bed one day and want to be on a TV show and have an OK voice and a pretty face. So it was really fun to sit around backstage while we were rehearsing. We got to just jam out together. We'd all pass around the guitar and sing. It was awesome.

Q: Would you have liked to sing your original songs on the show, if that were an option?
A: That's a tough one. It would be really awesome because I feel like people like Lilly, Crystal and I and others, we would definitely excel in that kind of category. At the same time, it is a show where you get judged. It's really hard, because original music, especially the music I write, is filled with a lot of emotion and it's based on personal experiences, and I think it would be hard for me to get up in front of four people and for them to tell me my personal experiences are invalid and my song that I wrote when I was going through a hard time wasn't good enough. So its mixed and matched, but I definitely think it would be a cool twist to bring to a show and really bring to light some of those true musicians.

Q: What's next? Will you head back to Iowa?
A: I am planning on going back for now, since I'm flat broke. [Laughs.] I gotta go back to Des Moines and start working and continue to pursue recording and writing music with all sorts of different artists. The band called Lovedrug is a band I've been listening to since I was real young. I'm gonna get together with them and hopefully write some music with them as well as other artists. Just getting back in the studio and getting back to what I truly love to do.

MARCH 15, 2010 8:51 AM

POSTED BY KATIA2525

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SIMON ENGAGED (AND HAPPY?!)
Everyone’s favorite snarky judge Simon Cowell recently became engaged to 36 year-old American Idol make-up artist Mezghan Hussainy. So this is Simon Cowell happy, huh? Judging from his comments on the show this season, he seems strikingly similar to pre-engagement Simon, but maybe that’s just me.

Simon’s rep Max Clifford told PEOPLE magazine of the couple "She is someone who is independent and says what she thinks and feels, and he likes that. He's probably the happiest I have ever known him in the nine years I've been working with him. They have known each other for years. They've actually been going out together for the last year. She knows him; she's been around him. So, she knows the person he is, and he knows the person she is. That's why it works so well."

Congrats to the happy couple! It will be interesting to see if Ryan brings this up to Simon on-air.

MARCH 2, 2010 10:11 AM

POSTED BY KATIA2525

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SO YOU HAD A BAD DAY...

I probably don’t have to tell you that the first cuts (of the Top 24 finalists) were made last Thursday night and we said good-bye to Janell Wheeler, Ashley Rodriguez, Joe Muñoz and Tyler Grady.

Each of the former contestants spoke to the press and shared something about their brief but memorable American Idol experience.

Janell Wheeler regretted not using her guitar this week, like she did in Hollywood week with her rendition of “American Boy.” For the first round, she instead chose a guitar-less version of Heart’s “What About Love.”

“In order for me to really have ensured my place in the next round, I really should have gone ahead and brought my guitar out and performed a top 40 hit like ‘American Boy.’ I think I knew exactly what [the judges] wanted from me; I just was choosing to do it the second week.”

“If there is any way to go out, I’m so proud of the way I did. Several of the girls have even texted me and said, ‘Janell, you have so much poise and you’re a class act.’ I kept it together, I sang my song better than the first time and I’m really happy with how it went.”

Ashley Rodriguez, on the other hand, put the blame elsewhere…

“The judges weren’t taking any chances this week! I think a lot of people thought that they would be a little lenient considering it was our first live show but it turns out they were coming in throwing punches! I wouldn’t say they were too hard, but we definitely could have used some love from them. They were very quick to give a lot of criticism but not back it up with anything positive, which is unfortunate, because you always can find something in good from a performance, even if it falls apart. There is always something positive you can take away.”

Click here to tell us what you think about Janell and Ashley being sent home!

Tyler Grady is used to performing with his band, Wailing Waters, his experience on American Idol ”made me really appreciate performers who do television. I’ve never been in that situation before and it’s really a different ballgame.”

“I respect the judges and I think they are very qualified to be critiquing the contestants on the show, but at the same time, when you are building a fan base and your fans are supporting you, they are supporting you because of what you are doing. I’ve been consistent from the Boston auditions until now, and if you’ve ever seen my band play, that’s exactly the style of performance I give every time.”

For Joe Munoz, it was all about the friendships.

“I got to see Tim right before I left the hotel, and he’s a really nice guy and I said goodbye to Todrick Hall also. He’s become one of my best friends. Everybody is so cool! Everybody’s so different but they are all really, really nice.”

Click here to tell us what you think about Tyler and Joe being sent home!

MARCH 1, 2010 11:35 AM

POSTED BY KATIA2525

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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Welcome to the American Idol Blog. This blog provides information about American Idol including videos, photos, and news.

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RECENT BLOG COMMENTS

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What's New in Season 10

Wild-Kat — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:13:24 CST

Season 10 promises a host of big changes for the next American Idol!
Find out what they are below, and then tell us what you think about this new season of American Idol!

No more Simon says!

Simon Cowell has left the room. What will Simon's departure do to American Idol?

New judges.

New faces have arrived on the scene, this time with music experience. You be the judge of Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez and tell us what you think!

No more boy-girl, boy-girl.

In previous seasons, producers committed to presenting an even number of boys and girls to the semifinals, but this time, its every man or woman for himself or herself! What do you think about this new policy?

Semi-finals shake-up.

Reports tell us that 60 will go to Hollywood, soon to be narrowed to 40, then 20 with the viewers choosing the finalists. Nobody knows how many finalists there will be this time around! What do you think about this new twist?

Jimmy Lovine calling the shots.

Simon Cowell is not only gone from center stage, but also from backstage. Long-time music producer Jimmy Lovine takes over behind the scenes. What will this do to Idol?

The competition heats up!

It's not just the contestants who will be fighting hard to win Idol, but this season new shows like X Factor and Platinum Hit (with Kara DioGuardi) are set to air. What do you think these shows will do to Idol?

American Idol Polls

therealdavo — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 01:48:41 CST

Steven Tyler

Wild-Kat — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:12:34 CST

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SURVIVAL GUIDE: ELLEN

If you wanna survive to sing another day, you've got to learn to read the signs..

ELLEN SAYS:	TRANSLATION:

Got more advice for those who'd like to win Ellen over? Discuss more Ellen-speak here!

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Jennifer Lopez

Wild-Kat — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:12:07 CST

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BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT [NAME]

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[JUDGE'S NAME] STORY

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Memorable quotes from the [JUDGE].

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SURVIVAL GUIDE: ELLEN

If you wanna survive to sing another day, you've got to learn to read the signs..

ELLEN SAYS:	TRANSLATION:

Got more advice for those who'd like to win Ellen over? Discuss more Ellen-speak here!

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35abf0