Welcome back. Tonight is the final night of Auditions. I'm ready to get moving on with the shows, as great as this season's audition episodes have been, it's time to really cut down on some of the contestants. We have had almost 200 contestants going to Hollywood so it's time to really start moving. But before we do we have one more round. It is a one hour show so the episode should fly by. So let's get to it:
OMAHA AUDITIONS:
Quaid Edwards(21). He is the son of a band that performed with Keith Urban many years ago. He sings "A Change Is Gonna Come". He probably does a little too much with the song. He never fully settles in to the song and his voice never gets comfortable in it. I do think he has a good quality to his voice, he just needs work. Jennifer, Keith and Harry all think that he does way too much in the song, despite sounding good in parts. Quaid listens to the judges and takes it all in. The judges like him just enough and want to see where he can go and send him to Hollywood.
Notable Comment: JENNIFER-"You Look Great, You Sound Good, There Are Some Inconsistencies...You don't hit all the notes all the time..but I do like you".
Madisen Walker (15). When she first walked in I thought she was about 20, not 15. She goes for Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats". I think she has a nice voice, but it is still inexperienced at times. The judges are indecisive about her and doesn't know if she make it that far. Despite their thoughts that she isn't quite ready they do give her another shot and her a Golden Ticket. I think another year or two would help her.
Notable Comment: KEITH- "You sang a nice karaoke version...There's nothing that made it stand out, and made it really you".
Alyssa Siebken (20). I don't really know what she sang but she sang it super quick, I couldn't really tell what song she was singing, nor could I tell how her voice sounded. I think it's a rap song that she made into an acoustic song. Harry doesn't think her voice is strong enough, Keith wants to see where she will go and Jennifer says Yes, like always. I really wasn't impressed with Alyssa's audition. I think she could have a voice, but I couldn't tell based on that audition.
Notable Comment: JENNIFER-"What got me was the towards the end when the pace picked up and you had the breath to do that...that was what was impressive".
Tyler Gurwicz(25). There was a few moments in this audition that I liked, but it was inconsistent. He decides to sing Adele's "Set Fire To The Rain". The judges don't really know what to think of Tyler. He has a big voice, and in parts was good, but then there were parts that weren't. Keith says "No" and Jennifer says "Yes" and then Harry says "No". But it doesn't end there. Harry tells him that if he can sing another song and sing it well then he'll send him through, he doesn't believe he can sing any way other than how he sang that song. Tyler has a tough time figuring out another song to sing and goes with "Grace" by Jeff Buckley, it's a little better, and with that Harry sends him through. We'll see what happens to Tyler.
Notable Comment: HARRY- "I don't know where I would try to place you on American Idol...it's hard to describe.
Tyler Marshall (23). Jennifer thinks that Tyler goes to church with "Proud Mary". I liked it, didn't love it, probably want to hear more to give a definitive answer. But for a 10 or 15 second audition it was nicely done.
Notable Comment: HARRY-"We don't want to waste your time...you were great...it was entertaining and nice to hear".
C.J Jones(20). Harry asks C.J what song he is gonna sing and when C.J says "Stand By Me", Harry says "No I have to stay here" in return C.J says "No, get over here". Then Harry hilariously decides to stand next to C.J during his audition and is his back up dancer. What's even better than that is that C.J actually has a good voice, and isn't intimidated by Harry Connick Jr standing right next to him during the whole thing. It's a pretty fun audition. The judges send him to Hollywood.
Notable Comment: KEITH-"It's a pleasing voice to hear".
Paula Hunt (20). She is part of the Air Force and sings for the Air Force Heartland Band.They travel to different places around the country, singing for families who's relatives are overseas. It's pretty awesome and just a nice thing to do. Paula decides to sing Etta James' "All I Can Do Is Cry". I don't love the song choice, but I really dig her voice. It has a great melodic sound to it, and you can tell she knows how to sing.Harry thinks she knows what she is doing with her voice. The judges love her voice and everything about her and send her to Hollywood.
Notable Comment: JENNIFER- "You sing so naturally...you have such a talent and hasn't even begun to blossom".
Andrina Brogden (18). She has just a classic, nice voice while sing Beyonce's "Halo". It doesn't blow you over, and doesn't make you jump up and down. The judges sense a lot of fear and shyness in her voice. Harry thinks that she has a nice voice but not strong enough for the show. The other 2 believe that she is holding back, and is scared and has much more. I tend to agree with Keith and Jennifer on this one. I think her quality of voice is there and she can maybe get a little less nervous and more confident as the show goes on. All but Harry send her to Hollywood.
Notable Comment: JENNIFER-"You are singing from fear...you have shy moments...are you gonna be able to be fearless?".
Christian Scholl (20). He is a square dancing caller and should probably stick with that. He sings "On The Road Again". He does about 12 seconds and it's a brutal one. He just kinda talks through the song. Really not good. The judges are speechless in a bad way. A No Go for Christian.
Notable Comment: None, they just kinda stare at him.
Tessa Kate(25). She decides to sing "Folsom Prison" by Johnny Cash . She has a very Dolly Parton quality to her voice. It's really fun, and you can tell she has a fun personality. She also plays the guitar really well.
Notable Comment: KEITH: "Half of me is worried that it was light and you'll get crushed by the other contestants...but the other half is [glad] that she has her own lane".
Also Going To Hollywood
Dajontae Lenear(16). He has a great personality and great voice to match it.
Dylan Becker(17). He is an enjoyable,and pleasing sound to the ear.
Casey McQuillan(21). I think she sounded like Demi Lovato while singing one of Demi's songs. That's a good thing, but not a great thing.
Also Going Home
Simon Hauck (17). I don't think this was good at all. He sang it really quick, but that was the good part of it.
Favorite Of The Night
Paula Hunt. It was a professional sounding voice, and I like her personality and her story. She has the complete package for me. I can't wait to hear her sing a different song, because despite not liking the song she sang she still sang it really well. It takes a lot of talent to do that.
HOLLYWOOD TOTALS
21 from Omaha +193 from the other nights=212 Going To Hollywood
Final Thoughts
*I wasn't really excited by a lot of these contestants tonight. There was definitely some talent out there, but only a couple of them really stood out for me tonight. Paula Hunt, Dajontae Lenear and maybe Tessa Kate. Each of them were really good, but I feel they still don't even match up to some of the talent we saw in other auditions. I am excited about a ton of contestants that we have seen, just not sure how many from this particular audition will make it very far.
*I think the biggest sign of this year creating a big change in the show's dynamics and quality is the reduction of back stories. This was most notably featured or not featured during Paula Hunt's audition. Paula's mom has MS, and instead of showing us her backstory and a 3 or 4 minute video package on that they instead focus on Paula's voice, and then she tells the judges about her Mom. It's a nice subtle change in the storytelling on the show. They used to show us these really long and sad stories and you almost got guilt tripped into liking someone, but now they let us enjoy the singer and then we learn all these things about them. Paula is great and I hope we do learn more about her and her Mom as the season unfolds.
*Next week's format is a bit different. We will get into it more next week, but before the contestants get to Hollywood there is a new aspect called "Hollywood or Home". But there won't be any live tweeting. It's an impromptu audition before some of the contestants get to Hollywood. It'll definitely weed out some of the more questionable contestants. But we'll get to the format next week.
That's it. I'm excited to be moving on to the next round of this competition. The beginning of finding the next American Idol is eliminating everyone else, and up until this point we were adding people, now it's time for some narrowing down. Come back here next Wednesday after the next episode for our recap and review of the show and the new format of the next round. So have a great week, enjoy the Superbowl and until next time, see ya!
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