Thursday, January 17, 2008

"American Idol" Recap & Review - Dallas Auditions

American Idol Season 7
Dallas, TX Auditions (Round 2)


Original Air Date: January 16, 2008

Janelle - TwoCents Staff Writer

Hello again AI fans! Tonight we are in Dallas, TX and we start the show off being reminded that this is the home state of AI's 1st season winner, Kelly Clarkson. While we see all the pretty Texas flags waving about and different attractions that really only mean something to hometown Texans, we hear the theme from the show “Dallas” playing in the background. How fitting. We are also told that it is very hot in Texas during these auditions AND we have our first AI baby. Yes, a girl went into labor during the auditions, but if you are a tabloid junkie like me, you probably already knew that.

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[Photo: Michael Becker / FOX]

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  1. American Idol Season 7
    Dallas, TX Auditions (Round 2)


    Original Air Date: January 16, 2008

    Janelle - TwoCents Staff Writer

    Hello again AI fans! Tonight we are in Dallas, TX and we start the show off being reminded that this is the home state of AI's 1st season winner, Kelly Clarkson. While we see all the pretty Texas flags waving about and different attractions that really only mean something to hometown Texans, we hear the theme from the show “Dallas” playing in the background. How fitting. We are also told that it is very hot in Texas during these auditions AND we have our first AI baby. Yes, a girl went into labor during the auditions, but if you are a tabloid junkie like me, you probably already knew that.

    Onto the show… 1st up is a stay-at-home-mom who used to party heavily and became addicted to crystal meth- she is in good company, wasn’t that Fergie’s drug of choice? Anyway, she sings The Pretenders, “I’ll Stand by You.” And what do you know, this girl can sing! My little mini me, my daughter, gives her a 5 out of 5. Our stay-at-home mom rocked it and is our first contestant off to Hollywood for tonight.

    Next up is some VERY joyful guy who cuts grass. He is also a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts club or something like that. We, as the audience, know that he isn’t going to sing well and he does not let us down. He tries to sing Elliott Yamin’s “Wait for You” and as he finishes lets out this big deep breath and I have to say that moment did make me laugh.

    We are introduced to Beth who wants to BE Kelly Clarkson. She is a singing waitress and I have to guess this girl will be able to sing given her “day” job. I WAS WRONG! This girl cannot actually make money with her voice, NO WAY! She “sings” “Beautiful Disaster” by Kelly Clarkson and I could not tell what in the world she was saying/singing and neither could Simon. It was horrifying.

    Ryan then informs us that the next hour of auditions is “disastrous.”

    Our next constant is someone who claims to be a Carrie Underwood look-alike. The girl is pretty, but I don’t see where outside of her blond hair she looks like Carrie, but I won’t hold that against her. She sings “Stronger” by Faith Hill and she is good! She will be moving onto Hollywood.

    AI shows clips of different, terrible singers but the one that stands out the most is a duet, Gregory and Mia. They are singing in the same room and singing next to each other, but not singing the same song and I couldn’t really tell if they were even singing English or not. It was at this moment I felt bad for the judges having to have to sit there for this.

    We will move onto Bruce and his girlfriend, err, I mean Dad. I say girlfriend because Bruce has a key on his necklace and his Dad has the heart on his own necklace. No, I’m not kidding. Bruce tells us that he has never kissed a girl or gotten “romantic” with a girl and that he is 19 years old. When Bruce does meat his future wife, his dad will give her the heart necklace and Bruce will continue to have the key and well you get the idea, right? Oh and during all of this, AI is playing Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting” in the background, perfection AI, perfection! Bruce treats us to “Aint No Sunshine When She’s Gone.” Bruce does not make onto the Hollywood round, but as he leaves he asks for some advice. Randy tells him to kiss a girl and Simon tells him to kiss Ryan.

    Pia is up next and Pia has a Mohawk, but don’t let the hair fool you. Pia can BLOW!- as Randy would say. And she is off to Hollywood. Simon actually smiled during her audition, always a good sign.

    We then meet Brandon. Brandon peels his fingernails and saves them in a baggy. Yes, it’s as gross as you’d imagine. Brandon sings “Rich Girl” by Hall and Oats and is good, real good. He too is moving on to the Hollywood round. As he leaves, Paula does her famous Paula clap- you know the one with the open fingers and only the palms are actually touching. It’s the first time I’ve seen it this season.

    Kayla is up next and she has 8 horses, 2 kids and was in a near fatal car accident that damage half of her face. She is a super positive person and we are all hoping she can sing because after her story is told, we of course want her to go Hollywood. As she is talking to the judges you can tell that she is very, VERY nervous. She starts to sing Janis Joplin’s “Piece of my Heart.” I, as a listener, did not think she did well. However, Simon LOVED her! He said that he wished he could be her for one hour a day because she is such a positive person. Simon says yes- to my surprise. Paula says no. Randy says yes and with that she gets a golden ticket and is off to Hollywood. However, she will not go far I am sure of it.

    Onto more quick shots of bad auditions and several classic Simon looks.

    Now we are onto Kady. She claims to sound like Britney and Carrie. She does sing some of their songs and is good but the judges want to hear what SHE sounds like. She sings “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers and she is great! The judges love her and she is also off to Hollywood. Simon even says that she is super, super talented.

    That wraps up the end of day 1 in Dallas.

    The start of day 2 brings us contestant # 13839 and AI will never be the same! We first get a lesson on how to warm up our vocal chords. He tells us his dad hates him because he can sing. He gets into the judges’ room and of course has to warm up as not to do permanent damage to his vocal chords (his words, not mine). He warms up and warms up some more. Then he goes into Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer.” Ok, now this was my first “real” favorite song. I am very emotionally attached to this song and AI contestant #13839 almost ruined it for me! Despite the fact that he cannot sing, he is doing this crazy thing with his arm and keeps making an X like motion with them. Simon has to ask him, “What in the bloody hell was that?” He says that he needs to warm up again and so he does, but this time he starts rambling some incoherent words and won’t shut up! All the while, still doing that wacky thing with his arms. AND to top it off, he is sweating and I don’t mean he is a little damp, no this guy could ring out a towel! He goes into “Living on a Prayer” again and after repeated attempts to warm up some more, sings again and ignoring the judges repeated requests to stop and leave. AI contestant #13839 is escorted out.

    Angela Rylie is next up and she tells us that she her husband, Chad, is a professional model and the judges ask her to bring him in for moral support as he helped her to pick out her songs to sing. She sings, “Baby Love” by the Supremes. Her husband thinks that she is AWESOME! But she is not. She does not get the treasured golden ticket.

    Kyle, our AI politician is up next and sings, “Somebody to Love” by Queen. I do not love Kyle, but Simon does. Randy thought he was “academic” and after promising not turn into Clay Aiken, Paula says yes and he gets a golden ticket and moves on to the next round.

    One word for our next female contestant is: depressed. AI shows all the screaming shinny, happy fans and then shots of Kady being…depressed. She says that she sings a mixture of R&B and pop. She sings, “Power of Love” by Celine Dion —wait no it’s “If You Ask Me To” by Celine Dion. This girl scares me and like really scares me and not just because she doesn’t know the title to the song she wants to sing. She does not get a pass to move on but tells us that she will continue to sing, good for her.

    Colton is up next and sings Little Big Town’s “Boondocks.” He does the song justice and moves on to the Hollywood round.

    Ok, shots of more AI weirdo’s.

    Now we meet Drew. He is a farmer and sings George Strait’s “Check Yes or No.” He does well and gets a golden ticket.

    Up next is Kyle, a 20 year old “Rock Sensation” who wears “guy- liner” not eyeliner. It looked like the same thing to me. He sings “Never Again” by Kelly Clarkson. He sings very angry AND with a pretend microphone! He seems nice enough, but does not get to move on to the next round.

    Now we see more clips of people singing, ‘Since You’ve Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson and they are ALL horrible, terrible, but slightly funny at times.

    We are introduced to a girl from Kelly Clarkson’s hometown and she sings “Run to You” by Whitney Houston. At first she is a little shaky and the judges say no, but then she turns it around with another song and gets her golden ticket. This sparks a tiff between Simon and Paula as Simon still did not want to give this girl a chance, but Randy changed his mind and Simon knew that Paula would follow Randy’s lead like she always does.

    Lastly, we meet a guy in a white feathery trash bag outfit. He is speaking, but I can’t really understand what he is saying. He has a white feathery hat that has Simon’s name on it and talks about how Simon is a great guy. He wants to sing his own song, “I am Your Bother.” I think he means for this song to be about Simon. This guy REALLY gets into the song, a very bad song. He gets into the song, which only has one verse, so much that the judges get up and sing and dance with him and even bring Ryan from outside to sing with them. Simon isn’t impressed and says no. However, Simon did give him a hug as he was leaving and the white feathery guys thanks Simon for giving everyone a free chance to sing in from of him and goes on about how he thinks Simon is Heaven sent.

    That wraps it up for tonight’s show. We are told that 24 contestants from Dallas, TX have made it onto the Hollywood round. Next week we are off to San Deigo, CA. See you there!

    [Photo: Michael Becker / FOX]

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  2. Rendaldo is the guy in the "trash bag" outfit and he is a really sweet guy. I thought he was very sincere and not as horrible a singer as AI made him out to be(not that he was particularly good). I thought it was really sweet how he was so grateful and enamored with the show.

    This morning he was on a radio show that's based in Dallas and he couldn't have been sweeter. He seems like just a genuine kid. That particular radio show is even going to try and get his song recorded. I'm interested to see how that turns out.

    --Shannon S.

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