Ellen + Hollywood Week + Lots of Surprises from the Contestants!

One hundred and eighty-one hopefuls met in Hollywood last night at the Kodak theater. In the first few minutes we meet Ellen and she is super sweet and funny. She seems to not waver from her true personality for the show and I love that. Along with Randy, Kara, and Simon, the first day of Hollywood rounds begin. This year the contestants were put into groups of 8 and were given the opportunity to sing acapella or with an instrument. Many chose instruments and many more did not. My favorite performances of the night definitely came from those with instruments. In just a few minutes the in and outs began. I've listed below what I took away from the show as far as who's in and who's out for the next rounds.

Katie Stevens - In
Skiiboski - Out
Vanessa Wolf - Out
Andrew Garcia -In ( Loved his cover of Paula Abdul's Straight Up. Paula would've gone crazy )
Cornelius Edwards - Out
Janelle Wheeler - In
Haeley Vaughn - In (Very surprised by her voice and I like it!)
Toddrick Hall - In
Ashley Rodriguez - In
Jay Stone - Out
Justin Williams - Out
Tim Urban - In
Maddie Curtis - Out
Casey James - In ( Bluesy & adorable. What more can you ask for? He reminded me of Jonny Lang but will he be able to sing in a group and do all the other songs in later rounds)
Michael Lynche - In
Barney Dominatrix Erica Rhodes - Out
Didi Benami - In ( loved the song Terrified that she sang. She is definitely different. Kind of reminds me of last year's Brook White but with stronger vocals)
Crystal Bowersox - In
Lilly Scott - In
Lacey Brown - In
Mary Powers - In
Paige Dechausse - Out
Amanda & Bernadette Desimone - Out

Overall, I was surprised in both good and bad ways. I was hoping Vanessa Wolf would've been better but OMG she was awful.I felt so bad for her. And what about Justin Williams? Just take a moment and watch anything of him on Youtube. He is one talented guy. Yet the very weak singer Tim Urban got through?? Are they going for the younger guys this year regardless of talent to boost viewings?

My favorites of the night were Andrew Garcia, Michael Lynche, Didi Benami, Haeley Vaughn, and Casey James. I didn't see my fave, John Park, so I'm hoping he's showcased in tonight's Hollywood rounds.

Who was your favorite last night? Are you liking Ellen as the new judge?

Dallas Auditions : The Barney Dominatrix+Neil Patrick Harris

So far this season the auditions have been disappointing. I've come to expect it, and the Dallas auditions were no different. It was all blah... Maybe it's me or is it?

Neil Patrick Harris and Joe Jonas were the guest judges in Dallas. Neil Patrick Harris had a bit of personality but Joe Jonas was pretty much useless. Did he say anything? Obviously he was put there to get a few more viewers than usual. However, I'm not sure it worked. Look at these ratings according to MJsBibBlog. Anyway, I, for one, was not impressed!


The interesting auditions of the night were:


Erica Rhodes AKA The Barney Dominatrix - Erica was originally one of the Barney kids and now she's a full blown dominatrix with a whip and spiky heels. She's pretty and she can sing but that something "special" is missing.

Christian Spear - At only 16, She's a cancer survivor; beautiful and an awesome singer. I love her mannerisms. She kind of reminds of me of a young Beyonce. Hope to see lots more of her!

Todrick Hall - definitely a good singer and quite interesting to watch. All these rumors of scams are a bit disappointing, however. :(

Dave Pittman - Dave has Tourette's Syndrome which seems to not really affect him while he's singing. Overall, he was a good singer. Would do well singing country. Go Dave!

Maegan Wright - While watching her back story I was getting kind of worried that she'd be awful but it turns out that I was totally wrong. She can sing!

My favorite of the night: Christian Spear

Here's Christian's AI audition video on YouTube just in case you missed her or want to see it again! She also has a YouTube Channel.


Who was your favorite of the night?

LA Auditions Recap Roundup

Since I didn't get a chance to watch the Los Angeles Auditions last night I'm going to do a roundup of my favorite recap posts from various AI fan sites. enjoy...

The following folks always have lively posts that are a mix of fun, snarky, and informative:

Rickey.org's L.A. Auditions Recap

Mj's bigblog L.A. Auditions Recap

Idol Stalker's L.A. Auditions Recap

MTV's L.A. Auditions Recap

EW's American Idol Recap: California Screamin'

VFTW's Recap: Please Stop, I'll Have To Throw Coke In Your Face!

Tonight's auditions are in Dallas and we'll get to see guest judges Neil Patrick Harris and Joe Jonas from the Jonas Brothers. Looking forward to those.

Other Plans...

I have other plans tonight so I'll be missing the auditions and won't be sharing a recap. In the meantime check out USA Today's Idol Chatter for their always entertaining live blogging tonight! I've done live blogging the past few years but haven't had a chance to get into it yet this year. Maybe soon..

Orlando Auditions Episode Recap: Matt Lawrence And Hilarious Pants Splitting!

Despite a few gems, the Orlando episode has probably been the dullest episode to date for American Idol. How many more of these episodes do we have to endure? 3? Oh well, thankfully it all ends soon and we can get down to the good stuff.

Tonight's guest judge was the very cute Kristin Chenoweth. I had no idea how she was qualified to judge AI until they shared a bit of background on her. Of course I think I've only seen her as the homeschooling Mom in the movie RV. Loved that movie, BTW! ;)

Out of 10,000 hopefuls only 31 got through in the place where dreams come true or in this case, the place where most dreams got shattered. Here are a few of the contestants that got through.

Seth Rollins: A sweet family man who has a son with Autism... and he can sing! Wow! Kristin said, "I like everything about you!". Randy said, "Beautiful voice". I love seeing when contestants like this get through!

Jermaine Purifoy: I liked his voice but I wasn't blown away. Simon said, "Chicks will like you".

Shelby Dressel: Shelby sang Turn Me On by Norah Jones. She has a nice voice. Kristin said, "Good potential". I look forward to hearing more of Shelby.

Jay Stone: one word - beatboxer. He claimed he was bringing something new to American Idol but Blake Lewis did this a few years ago and Blake Lewis did it way better. Unfortunately, I don't think Jay will make it through day 1 of the Hollywood rounds.

Cornelius Edwards: This guy split his pants and gets the sympathy (well, I don't even know if you can call it a sympathy vote ??) YES vote! Huh? So, next year more people are going to pull this stunt in hopes of getting a yes. It was hilarious, however! Funniest moment on idol so far. You can see it here . Thanks to MJ's big blog for the link.

Bernadette & Amanda Desimone: They were fun but vocally not strong at all. Personally, I don't think they will go far in the Hollywood rounds.

Matt Lawrence: This guy was in jail for 4 years after robbing a bank with a BB gun. I was a bit hesitant about him..until I heard his voice. Whoa! This guy is going to go far in the competition. Kara said, "top 12". Do you agree?

Who was your favorite of the night?