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We were initially heading towards Memphis, because an Elvis song came on the iPod. We were going to Graceland to check out the jungle room and eat some BBQ. Amazingly we changed our minds before we crossed the Minnesota border into Iowa, and decided that 14 more hours in the car didn't sound that fun. Instead, the additional 6 to Kansas City was a much better idea! Did I mention that we started this voyage at 1:30am, with the snow coming down in blizzard like conditions?! Yeah, we were idiots!
We stopped at a gas station on the Iowa border and Donny grabbed a hot dog covered with onions and sauerkraut, and proceeded to get it all over the passenger side of the car. I wasn't lovin' that! By 7:00am we had traversed the ice covered roads of Iowa and were about 30 miles from the Missouri border. We were dead tired so we stopped and got a hotel room in Osceola, Iowa. We tried Sneaky Pete's Casino first, but 6 cars in the parking lot meant they didn't have any rooms free??? We found a spot at the Americ Inn across town and slept for 3 hours before eating breakfast and heading back home. Ahhhh... Memories...
If I haven't lost you yet, here's my review of tonight's American Idol auditions in Kansas City.
The show looked really promising in the first five minutes! 19 year old waitress, Chelsea Marquardt, opened the show with her angelic eyes and radiant smile. The only problem was her voice! As Simon so eloquently stated, it sounded like the sound "a cat would make after being tossed off the Empire State Building!" I had big dreams for her. She was genuinely hurt, but she's probably accustomed to people telling her how great she is because she's beautiful.
The season's first true hottie was denied acceptance into Hollywood week. Am I going to be left cold in respect to this season's eye candy?! Wowzers! Ashley Anderson saved the day! The 20 year old singer from Clarksburg, New Jersey is smokin'!! She sang Footprints in the Sand by Leona Lewis, a song which Simon helped co-write.
Not only is she gorgeous, she's a really good singer. The upper part of her range is more pure and resonant than the lower third, but I think we'll see her for awhile. That's a biased and hopeful opinion! As ZZ Top sang, she's got legs!
Minnesota has our first known representative after 20 year old, Casey Carlson, of Minneapolis wowed the judges with Vanessa Carlton's 1000 Miles. Her singing reminded me of the Reflections song from the Pocahontas movie, which my daughter was in love with when she was 3. Oddly enough, someone else sang that song (terribly) later in the show. She may be able to sing Disney and Broadway songs, but I'm not sure that will translate to American Idol success.
The little guy with the Michael Jackson hat was very peculiar. Stevie Wonder wannabe, Von Smith, 22 of Greenwood, Missouri theatrically belted out Over the Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz. His over the top performance started out with him singing a few words and then stopping to mumble something about phlegm. *EWWW* He yelled too much, but when he controlled the power, he was pretty good. Kara laughingly said that he has a "really big instrument." Really?? I didn't think judges and contestants were allowed to have that type of relationship!
Season 7 Stoner, Jason Castro's little brother is in the house! In past seasons, the siblings of Kelly Clarkson and David Cook couldn't make it through. What could this kid, who claims to have been singing seriously for a whole 20 days, have to offer? That is, besides the pink faux-hawk?! Pink hair and he's less of a girl than his brother...? Interesting!Michael Castro is a 20 year old college student from Rockwall, Texas. He's cocky, but a fun and good cocky. He figured if his brother could sing, he could too. That swagger, coupled with a "goodish" rendition of Gavin DeGraw's In Love with a Girl, was enough to earn him a golden ticket. Kara felt he had a secret vibe. Not sure what that means, but Kara's sexy, so I trust her.
Last night an oil rig roughneck advanced, so why not a welder from Bixby, Oklahoma? 27 year old Matt Breitzke came across very likable and genuine. He has an adorable little boy and a supportive wife. He gave up his singing dreams to support the family and be a responsible father. Great story, but does he have the voice to go with it? Yes, he really does! A very nice raspy tone, that is controlled and never forced. His bar scene days may pay off after all.
"Those are my crazy pills," proclaimed Jessica Paige Furney's 93 year old grandmother. Grandma is hilarious! The 19 year old care giving birthday girl sang Janis Joplin's Cry Baby for the judges. Nothing that blew my socks off, but she's likable. We'll have to wait and see how she does in Hollywood.
Great! Another pair of screwball sisters trying to get 15 minutes of fame. Annoying, flamboyant and overconfident! Somehow 22 year old India Morrison was awarded another chance in California. She wasn't terrible, but I don't think she was deserving. I think her sister singing with her ahead of time was probably what gave her the edge.
Tonight's show has been refreshing. As promised before the season, much less attention is being paid to those that have no shot. The next two auditioners made the trek from Milwaukee together. Jamar Rogers is a 26 year old bartender who is super nice and energetic, but he's too over the top and corny for my liking. If he can reel that in a bit and make up his mind on the mini-hawk hair do, he may do alright. I think he was riding his friend's coattails though. Makes for good television.
The other half of the bosom buddy tandem was 28 year old Danny Gokey. This church music teacher sadly lost his wife, Sophia, just four weeks before the audition. He lamented that the grief is still very intense, and he never got to tell her goodbye. I'm sure he intentionally picked the upbeat song Heard it Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. He got through it effortlessly, portraying throwback, soulful qualities. I'm pulling for this guy.
"Rollin' down the street, smokin' indo, sippin' on gin and juice." Snoop, I mean Anoop Dogg is up in here! 21 year old Anoop Desai from Chapel Hill, North Carolina is very well educated, having done his thesis on BBQ. If you're able to overlook the Sesame Street Burt eyebrows, this kid can blow! He may dress geeky, but I think his intelligence may give him an edge with the other 20-somethings.
28 year old Asa Barnes kept the cute kid train rolling tonight with his drum playing little girl. As a middle school band director, Asa uses his voice everyday in class to supplement his teachings. He pulled off Michael Jackson's The Way You Make Me Feel with promise. He can really bang out those high notes.
19 year old floor maintenance dude, Dennis Brigham of Glen Carbon, Illinois, was tonight's WTF addition to Hollywood week. Come on! Was it because he was funny? Only if by funny you're referring to his looks and the way he talks! After destroying Chris Brown's With You, he resorted to begging, and sadly enough, it worked. Ok then!
The final auditioner in Kansas City, MO, was 23 year old Lil Rounds. No way that's her real name. She picked that out of a hat to be her celebrity name, right? Regardless, she's got talent! This customer service representative from Memphis is a wife and mother to 3 young children. Her soulful and spunky interpretation of Stevie Wonder's All I Do was "retro" and "classy."
Last night an oil rig roughneck advanced, so why not a welder from Bixby, Oklahoma? 27 year old Matt Breitzke came across very likable and genuine. He has an adorable little boy and a supportive wife. He gave up his singing dreams to support the family and be a responsible father. Great story, but does he have the voice to go with it? Yes, he really does! A very nice raspy tone, that is controlled and never forced. His bar scene days may pay off after all.
"Those are my crazy pills," proclaimed Jessica Paige Furney's 93 year old grandmother. Grandma is hilarious! The 19 year old care giving birthday girl sang Janis Joplin's Cry Baby for the judges. Nothing that blew my socks off, but she's likable. We'll have to wait and see how she does in Hollywood.
Great! Another pair of screwball sisters trying to get 15 minutes of fame. Annoying, flamboyant and overconfident! Somehow 22 year old India Morrison was awarded another chance in California. She wasn't terrible, but I don't think she was deserving. I think her sister singing with her ahead of time was probably what gave her the edge.
Tonight's show has been refreshing. As promised before the season, much less attention is being paid to those that have no shot. The next two auditioners made the trek from Milwaukee together. Jamar Rogers is a 26 year old bartender who is super nice and energetic, but he's too over the top and corny for my liking. If he can reel that in a bit and make up his mind on the mini-hawk hair do, he may do alright. I think he was riding his friend's coattails though. Makes for good television.
The other half of the bosom buddy tandem was 28 year old Danny Gokey. This church music teacher sadly lost his wife, Sophia, just four weeks before the audition. He lamented that the grief is still very intense, and he never got to tell her goodbye. I'm sure he intentionally picked the upbeat song Heard it Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. He got through it effortlessly, portraying throwback, soulful qualities. I'm pulling for this guy.
"Rollin' down the street, smokin' indo, sippin' on gin and juice." Snoop, I mean Anoop Dogg is up in here! 21 year old Anoop Desai from Chapel Hill, North Carolina is very well educated, having done his thesis on BBQ. If you're able to overlook the Sesame Street Burt eyebrows, this kid can blow! He may dress geeky, but I think his intelligence may give him an edge with the other 20-somethings.
28 year old Asa Barnes kept the cute kid train rolling tonight with his drum playing little girl. As a middle school band director, Asa uses his voice everyday in class to supplement his teachings. He pulled off Michael Jackson's The Way You Make Me Feel with promise. He can really bang out those high notes.
19 year old floor maintenance dude, Dennis Brigham of Glen Carbon, Illinois, was tonight's WTF addition to Hollywood week. Come on! Was it because he was funny? Only if by funny you're referring to his looks and the way he talks! After destroying Chris Brown's With You, he resorted to begging, and sadly enough, it worked. Ok then!
The final auditioner in Kansas City, MO, was 23 year old Lil Rounds. No way that's her real name. She picked that out of a hat to be her celebrity name, right? Regardless, she's got talent! This customer service representative from Memphis is a wife and mother to 3 young children. Her soulful and spunky interpretation of Stevie Wonder's All I Do was "retro" and "classy." 
In total, 27 performers advanced from KC. That's 54 total for the first two stops, meaning only 93 more will advance from the next six cities combined! Did they get more stringent in East Rutherford, Louisville, Salt Lake City, New York, Jacksonville, and San Juan, Puerto Rico?
Random Thoughts:
Did anyone else notice how they are playing music from similar type artists over "golden" performers after they get their tickets? For example, Lil Rounds had Fantasia singing over her success, while Von Smith had Stevie Wonder.
Is flannel / plaid back in now? Ryan was wearing it on Wednesday night. Has it been 20 years since 1990 already? Wait, I guess it has! Damn I'm getting old!
Running Top 5 Rankings, in no particular order:
Scott MacIntyre
Deanna Brown
Lil Rounds
Anoop Desai
Danny Gokey
Ashley Anderson (Honorable Mention: Hottie)
Season 8's Upcoming Schedule:
Tuesday, Jan. 20 (8:00-9:00 PM) Auditions Episode
Wednesday, Jan. 21 (8:00-9:00 PM) Auditions Episode
Tuesday, Jan. 27 (8:00-9:00 PM) Auditions Episode
Wednesday, Jan. 28 (8:00-9:00 PM) Auditions Episode
Thursday, Jan. 29 (8:00-9:00 PM) Auditions Episode
Tuesday, Feb. 3 (8:00-9:00 PM) Hollywood Round, Part 1
Wednesday, Feb. 4 (8:00-9:00 PM) Hollywood Round, Part 2
Tuesday, Feb. 10 (8:00-9:00 PM) Hollywood Round, Part 3
Wednesday, Feb. 11 (8:00-10:00 PM) Hollywood Round, Part 4 (Top 36 Semifinalists Announced)
Tuesday, Feb. 17 (8:00-10:00 PM) 12 Semifinalists Perform
Wednesday, Feb. 18 (8:00-9:00 PM) First LIVE Results Show Finalists Advance
Tuesday, Feb. 24 (8:00-10:00 PM) 12 Semifinalists Perform
Wednesday, Feb. 25 (8:00-9:00 PM) LIVE Results Show Finalists Advance
Tuesday, March 3 (8:00-10:00 PM) 12 Semifinalists Perform
Wednesday, March 4 (8:00-9:00 PM) LIVE Results Show Finalists Advance
Thursday, March 5 (8:00-9:00 PM) Wild Card Round Top 12 Finalists Revealed
Tuesday, March 10 (8:00-10:00 PM) Top 12 Finalists Perform
Good lookin' out dog!
Posts
I love your blog, it's hilarious!
ReplyDeleteJason-really big thanks for the up-coming schedule! I'll certainly agree that this show was refreshing. Also I loved the promo they did for the upcoming shows (they pumped me!)
ReplyDeleteDid you catch the bit about David Cook's rise to the win? It was just plain cool.
I'm glad to finally have some uplifting t.v. to watch and follow.
The new yellow is perfect! :-)