The Top 13 Perform - American Idol 2012

Welcome back to another round of American Idol.  This week, the female contestants sang Whitney Houston songs and the males sang Stevie Wonder songs.  They were mentored by Jimmy Iovine and Mary J. Blige. 

The bottom male and the bottom female contestant, according to America's votes, were revealed, and then the judges made the final decision on who was to go home.  But we'll get to that in a few minutes.

First up was Joshua Ledet, who sang I Wish.  He dropped the gospel-ish tone for this song, which was refreshing.  He did a really great job and set the bar high for the other contestants.

Elise Testone was going to sing Greatest Love of All, but Mary J. and Jimmy nixed that and told her to sing I'm Your Baby Tonight, instead.  When she started out, she did NOT have her usual spunk and confidence. It was kind of like someone had made her eat raw liver right before she stepped onstage.  She really picked it up and started performing about halfway through the song, but the judges were not impressed.  I personally thought the judges were a little harsh; at least she stayed in tune.

Next was Knocks Me Off of My Feet, by 6'8" contestant Jermaine Jones.  He really loosened up this week and started performing like a pro.  He put a nice groove to the music, and really got his big sexy on with this song.  He totally made me smile!

Erika Van Pelt was worrying me a little, because Whitney songs do not really seem to suit her voice.  But I guess she proved me wrong, because she was actually superb singing I Believe in You and Me.  There was a great buildup to the chorus, and then she pulled it back at the end for a little touch of softness.  The ending was a nice changeup from her usual power vocals.

Next up was Colton Dixon, who the judges insist on calling "a rocker."  Seriously?  AC/DC is rock. This dude is way too soft to be a real rocker.  He sang Lately, and the last note was really beautiful.  Other than that, I was pretty bored with Colton.

My girl, Shannon Magrane, looked awesome in a short black jacket and sparkly black fitted pants while singing I Have Nothing.  However, she missed one of her biggest notes, which I haven't heard her do before.  I guess it's pretty intimidating to sing Whitney Houston, and her nerves got the better of her.  The rest of the song was okay, but she just never seemed to relax.

Deandre, on the other hand, still looked like one half of Milli Vanilli (go look it up, youngsters!).  He sang Master Blaster with a reggae beat, and showed great timing and rhythm.  He is great onstage for his young age, and this rendition really allowed him to show off his swag.  And his hair.  His gorgeous, gorgeous hair...not that I'm jealous or anything.

Skylar Lane was next, and I'm generally not a huge fan of hers, but this girl brought it with Where Do Broken Hearts Go.  She made a Whitney song country, and it actually sounded like the song was written like that.  I still think the stylists need to get ahold of that tacky ass Loretta Lynn hairdo of hers, though. 

Heejun Han, the funny man of the Top 13, sang All in Love is Fair.  He started out kinda soft and smokey, and honestly, it was a little slow to develop for me.  But by the middle and the end, Heejun was bringing it on home! 

Hollie was next with All the Man That I Need, one of WH's signature blow-your-eyeballs-out classics.  Could cute little Hollie measure up?  *Standing ovation*  Really.  I'm standing here clapping for this chica....which is making it really hard to type.  Needless to say, she was fab!

I'm not really sure why Jeremy Rosado was dressed like Mr. Rogers on his way to the bowling alley.  I was really a bit confused, and slightly disturbed, by his attire.  He sang Ribbon in the Sky, and while it made me want to skip through a grassy meadow, it was not very exciting.  He should join a boy band as the not-so-sexy-but-lovable one in the group.

Jessica Sanchez took the biggest risk of the night by singing I Will Always Love You.  Holy Hell, that takes some guts!  This girl is the real deal, though.  She had the audience (and me) totally mesmerized from the very first note.  She took that song and kicked it right in the ass.  Randy deemed her "one of the best talents in the country," and I must agree, Dawg!

Phillip Phillips rounded out the night with the classic Stevie Wonder tune, Superstitious.  He did a kind of amped up rock verson of the song that really showed a lot of intensity.  He was my favorite male performance of the night.








Ok, they named the bottom 3 guys:  Joshua, Jeremy, and Jermaine.  I guess people don't like contestants with names that start with J.  Of these three guys, Jeremy Rosado was the lowest vote-getter.

The bottom 3 girls were Erika, Elise (something against E's?), and Shannon.  Elise Testone was at the bottom of the pile for the ladies.

When it came down to Elise vs. Jeremy, the judges chose to keep Elise and send Jeremy home.  I think this probably pissed JLo off because she seemed to have some kind of weird crush on Jeremy.  Oh well, she'll get over it by the next episode.

I'll see you fine folks back here then!

American Idol 2012 - Live Semifinalist Round - The Women Perform

The night was kicked off by Chelsea Sorrell, singing "Cowboy Casanova."  Here's today's tip to the contestants:  don't sing Carrie Underwood songs.  Please.  You will only make yourself sound stupid.  Chelsea is a beautiful girl, but she was flat for most of the song, and she wasn't breathing in the right places.

The second lady to sing was Erica Van Pelt.  Her rendition of "What About Love" was belted out with her signature power vocals.  And she sang ON KEY!  Also, I had mentioned during one of the audition posts that she needed a new hairdo, and apparently the show's stylists had their way with her, and she now looks FAB!  I love to be right!

Jen Hirsh went third and sang "One and Only".  There aren't many who do justice to Adele songs, but Jen pulled it off perfectly.  However, the song was very slow to develop and bored me slightly until near the end.  Not that it's a bad song....it just didn't butter my bread, so to speak.

Young Brielle Von Hugel sang an old song, "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay."  This girl thinks she's a lot better than she actually is.  Some of the song was pretty good, but some of it was truly BLECH!  For some reason, she reminds me of the annoying girl who always gets killed first in horror movies.

Hallie Day sang "Feeling Good."  Holy crap, she looked gorgeous!  She sang well with a good mix of spunky and sultry.  On a side note, does that song make anyone else want to do a strip tease?

Li'l country gal, Skylar Lane, was up next with "Stay with Me."  Something about this girl gets on my nerves.  It's not her voice, because she stayed in tune.  Maybe it's the trailer park hairdo.  She was a great performer, though.

Baylie Brown, also in the country genre, tried to sing "Amazed," but she was off key throughout the entire song.  She is a beautiful girl and looks great on camera.  I think she needs to get an agent and try to get into movies.

Hollie Cavanagh was next with "Reflection," and holy hell!  This tiny, unassuming-looking girl blew this song right out of the water.  Fabulous!

Haley Johnson sang "Sweet Dreams," with some kind of spacey-sounding background vocals that were very distracting.  At one point I actually went outside with a gun to shoot the panther attacking a family of kittens outside.  However, there was no panther and no kittens...it was just Haley's screeching.

Next was Shannon Magrane with "Go Light Your World."  I just love this 6-foot-tall beauty!  She was adorable in her little intro video, plus....the girl can SANG!  She's only 16, but she showed so much maturity onstage.

Jessica Sanchez was next, singing, "Love You, I Do."  She said that her voice has been sore and hoarse all week, but I think she's full o' poo, because she was near perfect!  She has wonderful projection and some big ole pipes.  What's up with these young chicks this week?  WOW!

Lastly, we saw Elise Testone with yet another Adele song.  Ok, people...there are other singers out there besides Adele, okay?  Let's move on and find something else to sing, PLEASE!  But I digress.  We were discussing Elise, who started out at the piano and then got up and started working the crowd.  She had a great bluesy feel and sang with a lot of passion.  Overall great job!



And on to the results.  The top 5 girls for this first week were:

For the Wild Card Round, three guys and three girls were asked to sing a song of their choice.  Then each judge got to choose one contestant to save.  The girls who were chosen to sing were Jen Hirsh (who was awesome), Brielle Von Hugel (who was pretty sloppy), and Erica Van Pelt (also awesome).  If you'll remember from the last post, Steven and Jennifer both chose a guy as their Wild Card.  Randy, however, chose Erica as his, unfortunately letting the wonderful Jen Hirsh go.

American Idol 2012 - Savannah Auditions, Day 1

I would like to apologize for being a little behind on this blog.  I've been helping out with a benefit event for some dear friends who lost their restaurant to a fire.  I should get back to normal after the benefit this weekend.

YAY!  American Idol is back, and they started their year out in Savannah, Georgia for the first round of auditions.  Jennifer Lopez arrived looking fresh in a sparkly peach shirt and a sleek ponytail.  Randy was in a white shirt and his trademark cool glasses.  Judge Steven Tyler arrived in his outfit he raided from Rondo the Pimp's closet. 

Hey, Steven!  My grandma wants her blouse back
when you're done with it!

The first auditioner was David Leathers, Jr., age 17 from N.C. - He looked about 12, and actually beat last year’s winner Scotty McCreery in a local competition in 2009!  This kid could sing, and had a kind of Michael Jackson-esque vibe.  He easily got through.  Prediction:  Will experience some drama during the group competition and won't make the top 12.

Then they saw Neco Starr, age 20 from GA.  Cool name, great voice.  Prediction:  Will make it pretty far, but not sure if he's special enough to make it to the live shows.  Will depend on the rest of the auditions.

Next was Gabi Carrubba, age 16 from Connecticut.  She's not stage shy, because she has been tap dancing since she was a toddler.  She is a great singer, but it's not just that.  She truly has a natural ability to just feel the song and go with it.  Prediction:  Possibility for top 12. 


Elise Testone, age 28 from S.C. had a super strong soulful voice.

Prediction:  She will be the token "soul singer" in the top 12.

Bonus Prediction:  This is what Britney Spears will look like in about 10 years.  ------------------------>

Next was the painful musical stylings of one Jessica Whitely, age 19 from Ohio.  She was one of those people who thinks they can sing really good, so they don’t hold back.  And then it’s really terrible…and loud.  It sounded like a goat being raped by an elephant.  (Don't ask me how I know what that sounds like.  It's best you don't know.)

After all three judges turned her down, she said, “I’ll see you in Texas, then.”  Nuh uh, girl!  Don't you bring that shit over here to the Lone Star State!

Prediction:  Someone here in Texas is going to think she's hurting an animal, and they will shoot her.

  

Shaun Kraisman, age 26 from SC was a Ryan Seacrest look-alike.  He even had the mannerisms, timing, and voice down.  He was a decent singer, but didn't make it through to Hollyweird. 

Prediction:  He will end up in the hospital after a disgruntled auditioner mistakes him for Ryan Seacrest in a night club and beats him with a Bedazzled microphone.  After extensive plastic surgery, he will eerily resemble Steven Tyler.



Six-foot-tall Shannon Magrane is only 15 years old and wears a size 11 shoe.  (Just for the record, my daughter, Miss Smarty Britches, is only 10 years old and wears a size 11 shoe!)  Shannon's father is Joe Magrane, who played for the St. Louis Cardinals.  She was a very good singer, and got through.  Prediction:  I liked her a lot, and I think she will make the Top 12 because she was very likable.

Amy Brumfield, aka "Tent Girl," lives in a tent and poops in the wood.  I do have to admire her tenacity for finding a way to live within her means instead of being a whiny ass moocher.  She was a decent singer, but not a superstar.

Prediction:  I don't think she will make it to the live show.  Not marketable enough, though she has a "story," and we all know that AI likes a "story."



Joshua Chavis, age 23 from S.C. likens his sound to Chris Daughtry and Brad Paisley.  Yeah.  He lied, or perhaps was delusional.  He sang with a fervor and enthusiasm that would draw you right in if it were not so horrible. So Mr. Sunshine Britches decided to sing another song, which was as horrible as the first. After he was told “no,” he started yelling at the camera and flipping the bird to the audience. So, now we’ve seen the 1^st hissy fit of the season.  And isn't that why we all tune in to the auditions?  Prediction:  He will go on to record a horrible and insipid song with Rebecca Black and become an internet sensation.

Stephanie Renae, age 15 from FL has been watching Idol and dreaming of being on it since she was 8. She had a very good voice that will win her high school’s talent show. As she was singing, I said, “Gosh she is nasal.” Then Jlo’s first comment was that she was nasally. Damn, I’m good! Steven yes, Randy no, Jennifer yes.  Prediction:  Not a contender.

Schyler Dixon, age 16 from TN (student and face painter) auditioned last year with her brother, Colton
age 19 (musician and face painter).  WTF is up with the face painting in this family?  Skyler was auditioning by herself this year, but the judges recognized her and requested that she bring her brother in too. Then they insisted that he audition this year because he was sooooo awesome, and almost made it last year and oh yeah sister, you were ok too. Schyler had a gorgeous voice, but she pronounced some words weird. Colton can hit some high notes, but I actually enjoyed hearing his sister more.  But the judges gushed over Colton, and oh yeah sister you were ok too.  But they both made it through.  Prediction:  They will put Colton through this year and leave Schyler out in the bitter, bitter cold.  Much ado will be made about the brother vs. sister angle.

 Lauren Mink, age 25 from KY is a director for an Adults with Diabilities Program.  She had a great smile and a lovely country voice.  Prediction:  I think she will make it to the last round before the live show, and then get cut.  I think the judges are burned out on country since the top 2 last year were both country.

There's one more day of auditions from beautiful Savannah, which will be covered in my next episode!