This week, American Idol goes to the cities of Chicago and Orlando.
More than 12,000 hopefuls showed up in the Windy City with dreams of being the next American Idol. The guest judge was country/pop Grammy Award winning singer Shania Twain. Where has she been? I thought she was pretty good. With only 13 selected to move on to Hollywood, the pickings in Chicago were really slim. I nearly didn't have much to write about. Here are my standouts:
- Charity Vance, the 16 year old from Arkansas sings George and Ira Gershwin's bluesy, "Summertime". She was pretty good too. Different.
- Angela White, a 3rd time contestant and a naturally gifted singer sings Mary J. Blige's "So Fine". Angela has had to overcome some personal challenges and I'm happy she made it through. I hope she goes far in the competition.
- John Park, a college student sang Blood Sweat & Tear's, "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" very well. Shania really liked him and we could all tell by her twirling necklace. :)
I think Angela White is the strongest contestant from the Chicago Auditions hands down.
Next up, nearly 10,000 Idol hopefuls auditioned in Orlando and only 31 were selected to move on to the Hollywood rounds. The guest judge is Kristin Chenoweth. Who? Apparently Kristin stars in a show called Glee. I thought she was pretty funny. And the standouts in Orlando went like this:
- Seth Rollins sings Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me". I thought he was fantastic. He has a great soulful kind of voice. He also seems to be a genuinely nice guy. Just the kind of guy you want to pull for in the competition. And I will.
- Jermain Purifory sings "Smile". This was his second go around on Idol and I thought he was one of the top contestants in the Orlando round.
- Cornelius Edwards sings Proud Mary. He wasn't my favorite, but after doing the split and ripping his pants in the process, he's through to Hollywood. :)
- Matt Lawrence who at age 15 was arrested and sentenced for robbing a bank with a BB gun sang Ray Lamontagne's "Trouble". He had the highest praises from all the judges. I thought he had a fantastic voice. The judges called his voice authentic. I really liked his story because it shows that people can and do change. He committed a crime and paid the price with 4 years of his life. This is one of the reasons why I love this show. It can give someone like Matt a chance to follow his dream and turn his life around.
My top pick from Orlando is a tie between Matt Lawrence and Seth Rollins. I hope they both go far in the competition.
Now . . . . can I really do an auditions recap post without mentioning the duds? Yes I can!
And that's my Recap. Keep on Rocking AI . . .
Great recap Kathy! Good for you, skipping the Duds. They got their 15 minutes already. :) I really enjoyed this week's shows (and actually got to watch all of both of them this week).
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of that Orlando guest judge either. Also thought Shania did a great job. Kara is growing on me, she seems less verbose this year plus I like the fact that she's wearing less make-up and her hair is more natural looking. She looks much better.
So far, my favotite contestant is Seth. What a great voice (and the story about his autistic little boy was so sweet).
I am not crazy about beat boxing at all, but that guy was impressive and I guess deserved to move on. I didn't think those sisters from Jersey were good at all and was surprised they both made it thru.
Idol will never ever be the same when Simon leaves so I guess we need to savor his last season!
Hope you're having a great week! Two more days until Saturday and meeting Elizabeth!!!
Hi Annie, yes 2 1/2 days until my Meet & Greet with Elizabeth. I'm very excited!
ReplyDeleteI liked Shania too and I'm glad that Kara is growing on you. I'm beginning to like her now too.
I thought Seth's story was really special as well. And I really hope that he does well in the competition. I think its going to be so hard on the both of them if he is selected to move on in the competition and they are separated, but if all goes well this experience will really open up opportunities for them in the long run. It's nice to see good things happen to good people.
I'm not a fan of beat boxing either. He does have a descent voice with just straight out singing. I hope he does more of that. The sisters were okay, but it's funny because I liked the sister in the yellow better than the blue but Simon liked the sister in the blue better. I'm glad they both made it together tho. It's always sad when one makes it and the other doesn't.
Yes, I agree with you. When Simon leaves it will be completely different. Who knows if I will like it then? It just won't be the same without him.
Thanks so much for your comments and thoughts on the Idol auditions. I'll let you know what happens on Saturday. Hopefully, I'll have good news to share. :) Have a great day today.
Thanks for the recap, K. I didn't have a chance to see it this week so I'll have to keep an eye on your hopefuls. Do you know how many they choose from each location? They don't seem to have many at this point - unless they are making more stops in the US.
ReplyDeleteHi M, you're welcome. They really didn't select a lot from Chicago & Orlando. And from what I can see they don't seem to have a set amount for each city. I do wonder however if they have a set combined total amount.
ReplyDeleteThey did say that they will be in LA so it sound like they have at least one more city to go. I thought I saw San Francisco too. I'm looking forward to the Hollywood rounds.
Thanks so much for your comments M. Have a great day today.
Hi Kathy, after reading your recap I feel that I am in the American Idol Loop.
ReplyDeleteMissed most of this week's show. So, I thank you for the recap.
ReplyDeleteI caught the one with the story about a child with learning disabilities. I think he made it through also. Just can't remember his name.
Hi Maya, thanks so much for your comments. Glad to keep you in the loop. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Eden, you're very welcome. The contestant's name with the son who is autistic is Seth Rollins and he did make it through to the Hollywood rounds. That was a very touching story. I thought he was one of the best contestants that they aired for the Orlando show. I liked him a lot and I also hopes he goes far in the competition.
Thanks so much Maya and Eden. Have a great Friday!
Thanks for the recap, Kathy. I again missed the show last week.But I enjoy reading your impressions and analysis.
ReplyDeleteHi Candi, glad you enjoyed this post. I enjoy writing it. :) And I love readind comments from everyone too.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
Great recap, Kathy! I'm intrigued by Matt Lawrence's story. I'll have to go now and look up a video of his AI audition.
ReplyDeleteHi Maria, Matt's story was interesting. He has a great voice and i think you would really like him. If you haven't found a video on him yet, here a link to one if you want to check him out.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOqeLmqh8-E
Thanks again Maria. Have a great weekend!