In
the first group were Dennis Brigham and Lil Rounds, both of whom
auditioned in Kansas City. Lil Rounds performed a soaring version of
the Whitney Houston classic "I Will Always Love You." She
got applause from the judges, who send her on to the next round. Dennis,
who had split the judges at his audition, gave an uneven, nasal performance
and was cut. Not to be deterred, he argued with the judges: "Nobody
can take me seriously. I disagree." As he left the auditorium,
his tirade continued, as he fumed about what he called Simon's cheap
shirt.
Nathaniel Marshall, who has facial piercings, was in the next group,
performing
"The Anchor Holds" by Ray Boltz. Judge Paula Abdul didn't
like song choice, calling it very repetitive. In response, he began
to cry, saying, "I want this more than anything. It's on my skin.
Like, it just bursts out of me every time I'm on-stage, and I don't
know why."
Also
in that group was Anoop Desai, Jasmine Murray and Rose Flack. Anoop
gave a fierce performance of "It Fills You Up," Jasmine Murray,
who showed both control and power. Paula said she has raw, natural talent.
Rose Flack, who had cried when she met with vocal coaches, sang a decent
version of "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay." While she was
pretty good, her nervousness was evident. Nonetheless, all the competitors
in this group were put through to next round, including Nathaniel Marshall.
Stephen
Fowler, Jorge Nunez, and Von Smith stepped up in the next group.
Stephen Fowler showed his vocal skills with a pitch-perfect rendition
of a Stevie Wonder song. Paula said, "You nailed it." And
judge Randy Jackson added, "You slayed it." Not to be outdone,
Jorge Nunez gave a performance Paula called beautiful. Finally, Von
performed, sounding a bit off-key and embellishing his performance with
a lot of runs. Simon called it indulgent nonsense, adding that it was
horrible and annoying, "the sort of thing a child would do... when
they're learning to sing." Despite the tough criticism, hose all
made it to the next round. Von told the camera he was grateful for the
second chance.
Next
up, Nick Mitchell, a.k.a Norman Gentle, had been cautioned to tone
the comedy down and be serious, but he showed up still wearing his weird,
shiny shirt and red headband. He started by playing a note on his pitch
pipe and then gave an over-the-top, ridiculously prima donna performance,
including a call-out to Seacrest. He is certainly very much the ham,
but the judges said he has a good voice and was entertaining. He made
it through to the next round.
Scott McIntyre, the blind piano player, and Frankie Jordan, the new
mom, also made it through.
Female
rocker Jackie Tohn seemed to be channeling Janis Joplin, singing
in a smoky voice but pulling weird faces, including gnashing her teeth.
The judges told her she'd be moving on, but many of the people she'd
befriended in her group were cut.
Best
f riends Danny Gokey and Jamar Rogers had better luck. The two had
auditioned together in Kansas City, Jamar offering emotional support
to Danny, who has recently lost his wife. Jamar sang a jazzy version
of "California Dreaming," and Danny did a moving rendition
of Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" showing both power and control.
Both moved on.
One
of the most controversial contestants, Katrina "Bikini Girl"
Darrell, had irritated the female judges at her initial audition
by showing up in a bikini and gotten into a vocal showdown with new
judge Kara DioGuardi. Taking the stage, she proclaimed, "I'm the
next American Idol because I am" before launching into a surprisingly
good version of Faith Hill's "Breathe," despite some poor
mic technique and some flat notes. When the female judges criticized
the performance, Simon called them catty. Despite their reservations,
she made it through.
Several contestants who had been featured in the audition shows were
cut, including Jessica Furney, who had auditioned with a Janis Joplin
tune (badly, I thought), Sharon Wilbur, who had brought her dog to her
initial audition, and Patricia Roman, whose large family had joined
her in San Juan.
Both
Jeremy Michael Sarver and Jesus Valenzuela had left families behind
to come to Hollywood. When Michael performed, Randy called it one of
the best. Jesus's song, by contrast, was very nasal. Michael made it
through, but Jesus was told he was leaving. He didn't take it terribly
well, clearly irritated and saying he was going to catch the first flight
home.
In
the last group were David Osmond from Salt Lake City, Erika Wesley
from San Juan, and punk rocker Emily Wynne-Hughes from Phoenix. Instead
of the song she'd rehearsed, she did the No Doubt song, "Excuse
Me, Mister," which was kind of harsh. The judges said they were
disappointed with the song choice but put her through, along with David.
Erika, however, was cut.
Erika was the only one in her group cut, and she
came back to argue with the judges, saying she didn't want to be
the one person out of the line sent home. She begged for another chance.
Paula told her that "I was a fan but I was beaten out by the rest."
Simon pointed out that Paula had written "no" in her notes,
and Paula claimed she'd only written that because that was the final
decision of the judges. After more squabbling, Simon said he was standing
by the decision. Finally, Erika thanked them and exited the stage.
Also making it the next round were stay-at-home mom Alexis Grace, musician
Brent Keith Smith, Anne Marie Boskovich, and Adam Lambert. By the end
of round one, 104 contestants were still left.
Tonight is group day, which is usually full of drama. The promos promised
more drama than ever before. Sounds like fun!
More on American Idol:
Musings
on American Idol Season 8
