Goth chick Tara Matthews had no such famous family connections. She
showed up for auditions with dyed red hair, black gloves, a black mini
skirt, and thigh-high stockings. While she claims to have ESP, she claimed
to have not received a clear read on the audition. If she had, she probably
wouldn't have warbled
"Some Day I'll Fly Away" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack
in a way reminiscent of The Fly. Then she wouldn't have needed
to flip off the camera.
You know how some people carry a lucky rabbit's foot? Well, Chris
Kirkham showed up with an entire "good luck rabbit," namely
his friend, Greg the Rabbit (a.k.a. Grabbit), who wore a pink Eastern
Bunny suit. As if that wasn't enough of an attention getter, Chris also
wore a stylized Simon Cowell T-shirt and carried a paper Simon Cowell
fan. His
rendition of “Roll To Me” by Del Amitri" failed to
impress the judges, although Randy said he liked the bunny and Simon
accepted a huge bear hug from Greg the Rabbit.
Frankie
Jordan, dressed in layered tank tops, jeans and stilettos, proved
that all you need is a great voice to capture the judges' attention.
A stay-at-home mom, she performed
a jazzy version of the Amy Winehouse tune, "You Know I'm No Good"
and received four yesses. According to mjsbigblog
(WARNING: Site has spoilers), she's also no stranger to the music industry,
with a song on the Win a Date with Ted Hamilton soundtrack called
“Once Again." You can find a live performance of it at the
House of Blues here.
You can listen to two more songs on her
MySpace page. Also, her song "Good Time" appears on the
compilation BYou.
Another mother, this one in the middle of a divorce, Megan
Corkrey has a colorful tattoo sleeve on her right arm. Her
version of "Can't Help Loving Dat Man" was also a little
jazzy, but she talked part of it. Simon liked that she's different,
and this was apparently enough to get her a Golden Ticket.
Next up was another geeky guy, Andrew Gibson, who demonstrated a very
deep voice but little musical talent when he
sang “Oh Let Me Fly” by Harry Belafonte, at the end of
which he tried unsuccessfully to go up an octave. The judges told him
it wasn't going to fly.
Spiky-haired high school student Austin
Sisneros is the senior class president and said he hopes to inspire
people to follow their dreams. He sang
two songs, "When I Look to the Sky" by Train and "It
Takes a Village" by Raffi. Randy criticized his strange song
choice. Simon added, "We haven't quite joined the fan club yet."
But Randy added that "you've got a voice" and said he likes
the perseverance. He got sent to Hollywood with four yesses.
Twenty-four-year-old Jarrett
Burns looked pretty old school in a black newsboy cap, white T-shirt
and black vest. He sang
“Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae, impressing
the judges, though only a short clip from his audition appeared on the
show. His single "This Life" is available on iTunes.
Taylor
Vaifanua, 16, started singing in the islands and moved to the mainland
in order to pursue a musical career. The 5'11" woman received praise
(and four yesses) from the judges for her
rendition of the Christian song, "Joyful Joyful." Her
CD, Timeless, is available at CD
Universe.
Last on the program was Idaho resident Rose
Flack, whose father died when she was 13 and whose mother was killed
in a car accident two years later. Sporting short dreds and braids,
a colorful baggy minidress, and bare feet, the earth child channeled
Carole King as she sang "I Feel the Earth Move," demonstrating
some potential. She hugged the judges after receiving her Golden Ticket.
Among the strangest briefly shown auditions was Rich
Kagel, a hair metal guy with crossed eyes who did a weird thing
with his tongue after the judges turned him down. Randy's reply: "Next!"
Tonight: New York and Puerto Rico. Next week: Hollywood, baby!
More on American Idol:
Musings
on American Idol Season 8
