Hello,
Here is a review of Season 8, episode 2, auditions in Kansas City. Yes "American Idol" we know that is where David Cook is from. themusicaddict thinks David Cook is great, but that does not mean there are a lot of other artists from that area like him. Of the 27 who made it through to Hollywood, I would only say 2 or 3 of them are close.
First of all I would like to give a shout out to some of the other "Idol" blogs I read regularly. First of all there is joesplaceblog.com. This is a good site if you really want to get into the nuts and bolts of this competition. Also there is the always good mjsbigblog.com, this site has pictures and links to contestant's myspace and facebook pages. Third, there is always votefortheworst.com. I like this site, it is really funny and takes a cynical, lighthearted look at all things "Idol". Reading this site will help one not take this show too seriously. (An example their nickname for David Archuleta is Gaspy.) Although they do have a blogger nicknamed thefunnystone, he is very mean spirited in the episode recap of his that I read.
Finally there is the first website I always go to after each new episode. That is Michael Slezak's column over at ew.com. He is very funny without being mean spirited. He also hosts the "Idolatry" shows where he and other EW columnists critique "American Idol". "Idolatry" returns tomorrow. His columns and "Idolatry" are some of my favorite parts of the "AI" season.
The blog I wrote yesterday was too long, so I am going to pare it down a bit today. "AI" showcased 13 of the 27 Kansas City auditioners who made it to Hollywood. First up, Ashley Anderson who sang the Simon Cowell co-written song "Footprints in the Sand". Or her version was "Footsteps in the Sand" until Cowell corrected her. She was okay, although she was over emoting.
2) Casey Carlson who sang Vanessa Carlson's "A Thousand Miles". She is a very attractive Minnesota resident. I like her voice though it did take her awhile to get going on this song. I think she has potential.
Next were the terrible Brian Hettler, James Avance, Billy Vinson and two other terrible singers whose names I did not even bother to write down. Take this at face value and go away.
3) Von Smith. This is the kind of contestant I hate the most. Someone who is not very good but thinks he is great and unfortunately the judges agreed. He is one of the singers who followed tonight's theme, for them the formula is loud = good. But the actual formula is loud = loud. He has no personality, wears ugly hats and is very overrated. Randy likes him, what else do you need to know? Even more depressing, according to votefortheworst.com he is in the final 50. To paraphrase Nirvana, "smells like David Archuleta".
4) Jason Castro's little brother Michael. I actually liked him and he picked a good song. I was thinking he could do better than his older brother. But votefortheworst.com has him washing out in Hollywood.
5) One of my favorite performers of the night, welder Matt Britesky. I think he has a good tone as he sang Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine". (His version had me scrambling to iTunes to buy the original version.) I really, really like him. Randy said "no" to him, what else do you need to know?
6) Jessica Furney. You got to give her points for taking on Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby". Again this is someone I really, really like. Every season needs a rocker chick. With Emily Hughes getting eliminated in Hollywood, from what I hear, maybe the rocker chick could be Furney.
7) India Morrison, one half of two sisters, and the one who made it through to Hollywood. I really think she has a great voice. I would not mind seeing her going far.
8) Jamarr Rogers, again loud does not equal good, it only equals loud. He begs his way to Hollywood, again Randy votes him through. Yes, what else do you need to know? He is then shown in Hollywood week whining to someone, the judges? I predicted he wouldn't make it through to Hollywood but he did. His lame personality is going to grow even more tiresome in Hollywood.
9) Then we have Jamarr's friend, Danny Gokey. In spite of his poor choice of friends, he is a very good singer. I really liked his version of " I Heard It Through The Grapevine". He'ss the one with the tragic backstory. His wife died of a heart condition about 4 weeks before auditions. themusicaddict had a sister-in-law that died of something similar at about the same age. Both are truly very sad situations. themusicaddict's sister-in-law left behind two very cute little girls and a grieving husband. Gokey is also a good singer so I will be cheering for him.
10) Anupe Desai: The Chapel Hill resident. (Go Tar Heels!) I like him. He is cool and quick on his feet. Not the greatest voice in the world, but good enough for Hollywood. Like the Phoenix auditioner, Michael Sarver, he sang Boys 2 Men "Thank You". An atrocious song but good performances by both singers who have sang it so far.
11) 28 year old Asa Barnes, I really like him. I think he sounds a bit like Michael Jackson as he sang Jackson's own "The Way You Make Me Feel".
12) Dennis Brigham, sucks but begged his way to Hollywood. Now can I beg him to go away?
13) Lil Rounds: best name of the competition so far. Great backstory and a pretty good voice. I was not as overwhelmed by her as other bloggers are. But I really like her and she also received great praises from the judges. According to votefortheworst.com she is also a Top 50 contestant. Bonus points for her for singing a Stevie Wonder song and doing it proud. (So did Sanjaya and we all know what happened to him and then to us.) I predict she will last longer than the boring, overrated Von Smith.
Then Ryan Seacrest closed out the show by referring to this as the "most talent packed" season ever. That is something he says about each season though. Remember this is the same man who tried to high five a blind man.
themusicaddict
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