American IdolJacksonville Auditions
Original Air Date: Jan 27, 2009
PMB - TwoCents Reviewer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com
Let’s get something straight right now: Jacksonville, Fla. was NOT named after Randy Jackson. Nor is it his hometown (he was born in Baton Rouge, La.), as alluded to by Ryan’s voiceover.
But I will admit, I didn’t know that Randy played bass for Journey. I bet I’m not the only one.
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American Idol
ReplyDeleteJacksonville Auditions
Original Air Date: Jan 27, 2009
PMB - TwoCents Reviewer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com
Let’s get something straight right now: Jacksonville, Fla. was NOT named after Randy Jackson. Nor is it his hometown (he was born in Baton Rouge, La.), as alluded to by Ryan’s voiceover.
But I will admit, I didn’t know that Randy played bass for Journey. I bet I’m not the only one.
I will also admit that the Jacksonville auditions were far better than last week’s weak auditions in San Francisco and Louisville. However, it was also filled with hits and misses.
The Hits
We actually saw an equal amount of good singers as the bad ones. What a shocker!
The producers started with a fake out as Joshua Ulloa, who announced that he looked just like Justin Guarini, which usually signals a bad audition. And his singing style had definite Blake Lewis influences as he felt the need to sing all the instrumentation as well. But that didn’t hide the fact that he has an interesting, solid voice and the judges passed him on to Hollywood.
Then the producers surprised us again with a second good singer — in a row! Sharon Wilbur brought her dog with her, but her smokey voice earned her a golden ticket. We were also treated to Miss Florida Teen USA Julissa Veloz, complete with her crown, a decent singer who probably won’t make it past Hollywood, but had a pleasant audition. (Although all the attention to her donkey laugh? Embarrassing!) The very pretty Jasmine Murray, who came with all her sisters, is someone to watch as she has real star potential.
Good call on Darrin Darnell, who was far too emotional when a person he met in line (Devon Cates) didn’t get a golden ticket — showing that he didn’t have the fortitude to go on. George Ramirez’s toneless audition may be one of the worst, ever, but the results were hilarious, and — for once — not in a painful, embarrassing way.
Kudos to T.K. Hash who auditioned last year and didn’t make it, but came back (with David Archuleta’s arrangement of “Imagine’) to score that elusive invite to Hollywood.
The Misses
Kara and Paula’s fake make-out session was stupid, but it did cover up that Kara was on the verge of a “costume malfunction.” Is she gunning for the cover of Playboy with all these low cut shirts?
What is it with inviting contestants’ friends and family in? The judges asked 16-year-old and tone deaf Kaneswa Finnie to bring in her mother, then chastised for the mom for deluding the daughter in thinking she had a good voice. Naomi Sykes tried to sing Minnie Riverston’s “Loving You” — a song that no one should attempt, even by those with a good voice — which she didn’t have. Naomi begged to have her friend come in and meet Randy, who offered her his lap (which led Paula to sit on Simon’s lap and Ryan to sit on Kara’s). Randy called this season bizarre and this audition proved his theory perfectly.
What was it about Anne Marie Boskovich that prompted the judges to say she had a great voice but not a star presence — and asked her to come back “different”? Is this just adding drama? It just felt stupid because it was obvious from the first that she has a major voice and that’s all it should take at this point.
Michael Perrelli showed immaturity by not realizing he couldn’t audition with his guitar, but he had a good voice. So why did Simon call his voice “uninteresting” and pass? Boo. (And where did Simon get off telling him not to beg — when we know that several contestants have begged very successfully this season?).
All in all, Jacksonville faired better than other cities, with 16 tickets awarded. Did you think showing more of the good auditions than usual helped? Or did you crave more of the crazies?
Only one more audition show and we’re on to where it really gets interesting — Hollywood Week. Yay! I can hardly wait. Am I right that the audition rounds proved a little too painful this season?