Welcome back. As we mentioned yesterday tonight is the last Audition episode of Idol. It would be remiss of this blog not to mention the importance of the auditions, thus the above picture of the original crew Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. The auditions were one of, if not the biggest talking point about the show for many years. Simon Cowell's blunt honesty during the auditions is one of the big reasons the show became a sensation. He never held back and Randy, Paula and all the other judges that have come and gone, including the special guest judges, never held a candle to Simon's reactions to these crazy contestants. All of this was just never seen on TV before, it was never done before. Over the years, especially when the original judges were leaving, the auditions became a lot less crazy. It went from the William Hung, Pants on the Ground guy, Bikini Girl auditions dominating episodes, to really standout, real performances, with only a sprinkle of ridiculousness. The auditions were a big part of the American Idol process and although it became a lot less funny over the years it still was and is an important part of the show.
After tonight one of the people that we have either seen or went to Hollywood because of the auditions will win Season 15. With that being said, let's get to the last audition episode of the series:
Auditions #6 Atlanta, Philadelphia
& San Francisco
Jessica Cabral(21) Right out the gate Jessica sounds amazing. Her voice is ready right now. She has a lot of soul, strength and talent. It's really one of the better ones I have heard the past few weeks.
Notable Comments-Jennifer-Beautiful, low, lush tone voice. Inklings of Kelly in there. Keith-So beautiful and great control. Harry-One of best voices I've heard. Great talent.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 send her.
Cody Ostrenga (23) Is a on a horse gun shooting at target, something World Champion and belly dancer. Interesting combination. He decides to sing and dance. It's good he does all those all those other things because his voice is very bad. It's a crazy audition when he tried to do all those other things. Notable contestant but not for his voice.
Notable Comments- Harry-Singular most collection of talent ever seen in his life. Singing would be the third highest rating. But very entertaining.
Going To Hollywood? Nope
Brian Dale Brown (27) He tried 10 times to make it to the judges. This is the first time he got through, of course Lee DeWyze was one of the guys that allowed him to make it through, given he was helping with that part of the process. He does impressions of Scooby Doo and Keith Urban, not so great. He is a big guy with a big voice. He isn't the worst ever, but it's all over the place. There were parts that were okay. I don't know if he should be going to Hollywood.
Notable Comments- Jennifer- Powerful, all over the place. Tiny bit confused. How he performed it through her off. Gotta pare it off. Harry- Doesn't need to do all of that. Is a talented guy. It's too over the top.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 send him.
Gina Naomi Baez (27) She brings her little tiny dog Tinkerbell into the audition with her. I don't like her voice here. It is loud and is not in tune.
Notable Comments- Harry-There is a lot of interesting characters in Pop, and on surface that was interesting, it wasn't deeply interesting. Didn't take him anywhere.
Going To Hollywood? Nope.
Melany Huber (17) She was diagnosed with Stage 3 Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She is now cancer free and auditioning with the judges. That's great to hear. Another thing great to hear is her voice. Just really sweet and easy. There wasn't anything fake or affected, she just is herself and going for it. It's refreshing to see.
Notable Comments- Keith-Good storytelling aspect to her voice. Got this easy presence about her which makes it easy to listen to.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 send her.
Rachel Karryn (20) She brings her grandfather in to play guitar for her while she sings. She has a nice, different voice. Caroline Bryne (25) She brings her brother in to play guitar for her while she sings. It's a nice, solid voice. A lot of nice dynamics. Bianca Espinal (22) She brings her Dad in to play guitar for her while she sings. She actually blanked out and her Dad was able to quickly bring her back and helped her remember the lyrics. It was a cool trick. I like her voice a lot. It's fun and easy.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 judges send all 3 ladies.
Justin Sullivan (22) He is obsessed with Kelly Clarkson, wants to marry her. Harry and Keith bring the large picture of Kelly Clarkson over to where he is performing so it looks like they are singing together. This was tricky, I didn't like a lot about his voice, but then I waited a little longer and I did kinda like it. Not really enough good to combat the not great moments.
Notable Comments-Harry-Some moments to really enjoy. Then couple times it sounded like he was really singing. Downside is this is the 15th season is that Kelly was biggest way to kick start this show, looking for a bookend, doesn't seem like he is the guy to do it.
Going To Hollywood? Nope.
Chynna Sherrod (16) She is from Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Harry kind of teases her that it's tough to get "down" about Connecticut because of all the mansions, he's a bit off about where she lives. But anyways, Chynna has a very pretty voice. It's very soulful, and groovy and like an indie singer. Really nice audition. She has a lot of maturity for a 16-year old.
Notable Comments- Keith-Sings like she is, laid back, chill. Full of life.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 judges send her.
Lillian Glanton (15) She lives/works on a poultry farm. She is a singer/songwriter so she sings one of her originals. The song is cute, the voice isn't as much. Just very young and not a lot of dynamics.
Notable Comments- Harry-Seems like she'd be fun to hang out with, but her voice isn't quite on the level of what he is looking for. Jennifer-Likes her, and her song. Keith-Likes her voice because it's legit and her.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. Keith and a very reluctant Jennifer send her through.
Kayce Haynes (23) He is a recovering addict for almost a year. So that's great for him. I liked a lot about is voice, it has some potential there. It's not all there yet, but there's something.
Notable Comments- Jennifer-Likes everything that is going on. Sang from his experiences. Keith-Lacking power, didn't come to get him. Wasn't enough.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. Jennifer and Harry send him.
Zach Person (18) He is a full-time musician. So he has some talent for sure, especially his guitar playing. He definetly has that blues/rock thing going on. His guitar playing right now is far superior over his singing, but his singing is still very good.
Notable Comments-Jennifer-Likes his style, super unique. No one in the world sounds like him. Harry-Nice and refreshing to hear his own thing. Confident in that. Enjoyed it.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 send him.
Collette Nash (19) She is a red head, and loves all red heads. That's her story. Another part of her story is that she has a very pretty voice. Very sweet, but there was some power there. It was very natural, very very good.
Notable Comments-Jennifer-Wow. Very surprised. People are born to sing, she doesn't have to try. Like Carrie Underwood walked in the door, really easy for her. Harry-Terrific. Showcased so many aspects to her voice.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 send her.
Avalon Young (21) She is who she is, she doesn't care how she is dressed or anything, she just wants to sing. And she can sing, very nice job by her. I don't see a lot of power, but there is something nice and tender there.
Notable Comments-Keith-Plays guitar to her vocals really well. Harry-Has a very different voice, in a good way. Great thing for her because it forces her to look inward to make herself even better.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 send her.
Usen Isong (23) He is a background actor. Just in the background of notable TV shows, like Law and Order, Orange is the New Black, things like that. They show a montage of him lurking in the background of scenes of people getting ready for their audition, kinda funny. His parents are from Nigeria, that's where his name comes from. He has a good voice. He does a little too much with it at times, and overacts it, but there is a voice in there.
Notable Comments-Keith-Can sing. Harry-He is trouble, the people behind him are gonna be upset that he went in front of them.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 send him.
Jaci Butler (19) She is in a rock/grunge/battle band. She has green hair and face paint, it's cool. Plus her voice is really good. There hasn't been a lot of rock women so far this season, so I think she would be a good addition.
Notable Comments- Jennifer-Really strong voice. Sings it in her voice. Harry-Looking and listening, she can sing, pulled against her. Didn't cheer for her at one point, but then it switched when it sounded just like her.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 send her.
Stephany Negrete (21) Her family is from the heart of Mexico. I really love her voice. Pure and simple. She has amazing control, power, intensity and she is smart. She does a little too much with some notes, but her voice is really quite good, I can't wait to see what she does with other songs.
Notable Comments-Jennifer-Wonders if she could just think less how it would have went. Just wants her to think about she is singing rather than notes. Harry-Right in there with great singers. Wants her to be really confident. Keith-Likes her voice, vibe, and can see her singing other voices.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 send her.
Manny Torres (20) He is the last contestant to audition for the show. Weird...Anyways, he is cool. He has a cool vibe, and is very cute and has a nice voice to boot. Got it going on for sure.
Notable Comments- Jennifer-Digs him. Sounds great. Performance energy is present and joyous, lots to love. Harry-Doesn't wanna hear another song and that's a big compliment. Keith-So much energy, but kept it focused, not all over the place. Stayed in the zone.
Going To Hollywood? Yep. All 3 send him.
Best of the Night?
Almost too many to name tonight. Jessica Cabral, Melany Huber, Chynna Sherrod, Zach Person, Collette Nash, and Stephany Negrete. I mean that's insane. 14 people went through tonight. I would say at least 8 or 9 were really good, and these 6 were just fantastic. After a two hour show they were still memorable to me.
Final Thoughts
*The show did a nice job giving a little respect to the audition process and showed a montage of some great auditions and how a great audition turned into a win for 14 prior contestants, we will see who is the next and last one to have that journey.
*So many great contestants tonight. I feel last week was sort of a let down in terms of some stand out talent, I guess they were holding it back for this week. Because between yesterday and today there were almost a dozen really great performances. If they keep that up it will be a great season. So far it seems the women have outshone the men, but that can always change.
*This was a nitpicky thing, but that's what this part of the blog is for. Ryan was around beforehand with some of the contestants prior to their audition, but was not there when they came out for 95% of the people, especially the ones that had family there. I am sure it's been happening all season, but I really noticed it tonight when they showed a montage of notable times that contestants have hurt Ryan over the years in their excitement when they went to Hollywood. Him not being there was noticeable, he was a part of every audition episode, so when he isn't there it's a big thing, even if he is still doing the voice overs and all that. Wonder why this changed? Guess we'll never know.
That's it. Auditions are over. Next week begins the dreaded, yet very important Hollywood Week round. Right now there over 190 contestants, so next week will separate the pretenders from the contenders. So stick with us and we'll get through it all together. So until next time, see ya!
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