Louisville-Kara gets mean

I have a nice glass of Pinot Noir, my note pad, and my PJ's on and I am ready to watch Wednesday's installation of the Idol auditions in Louisville Kentucky. (I was at Legally Blonde during the original airing, "Oh my God you guys", it was good!)Ryan shows us much footage of the most exciting 2 minutes in sports, and then the judges arrived, the boys looking terribly under dressed in comparison to Kara and Paula.
Tiffany Shedd arrives first, with her stage parents in tow, and proceeds to destroy "Hero" by Mariah Carey. She looks all strange with the blue eye shadow and a really bad dye job. The judges do not let her sing something else, so she sings "Because of You" in the lobby to a mom who can only be described as deaf. I almost choked on my wine.
Johanna Pacitti 23, has been trying to make it in this business since she left home at 16 and signed with A & M records. Something that didn't work out, but we aren't given the details of that. She impresses with "We Belong" and is sincerely moved that the judges "find her worthy". She sounds and looks great, but she is pretty emotional and this is just the beginning. I hope she can get a handle on all of that, because she has a great voice.
Mark Mudd, the unluckiest guy in Kentucky, almost died 5 times. He sings "White Lightening" (?) and Paula tells him it is not the right competition for him. He then makes a remark like "be careful" which the judges turn into some big threat drama.I think it was pretty silly for them to read threat into it.
Brent Keith Smith sang "I can't get enough of your love" and Simon told him he should have sang a more emotional song. Kara for some reason found this so embarrassing that she started to crawl under the table. Simon defends his comment saying he is just trying to give constructive criticism. I don't care because it give me time to enjoy this cutie's dimples for a little while longer. It was 4 yeses for this talented handsome man.
We then were subjected the montage of horror. Irene Argueloba's "Somewhere over the Rainbow", Obianiyu Omwurah, Wil Heuser, Ryan Benningfield (the Mr. Zebra guy with the childlike face paint) and finally a large Patrick Warner's impression of Michael Jackson (complete with the dance moves)all were sent packing after their tortuous audition's.
Matt Giraud, the dueling piano player, changes the mood after his audition. He picks a Gavin DeGraw song and he has a really unique voice. He is likable guy and I am anxious to hear him again.
Ross Bradley Plavsic is the nerd for the night. This bizarre Chinese character man taught himself to sing with physics or something.He has a scratchy throat that just kind of came up, and is not successful, despite drinking all of Paula's water through HER straw. Some of you who know me well, understand how disturbing this was for me. I couldn't even focus on his bad singing of "Love me Tender" after that.
Only 10 get through to Hollywood after day one, but thankfully day two starts off with Alexis Grace. She is a 21 year old stay at home mom. She sang Dr. Feelgood, and it was unexpectedly good. She gets positive comments and a golden ticket, despite Simon's reservations. Kara tells her that pink is not her color and not to wear it in hollywood. I thought this was a singing competition?
Aaron Williamson gets the judges all riled up. WOO! They don't care for his singing but they love the energy that he brought back to the room. (Well, all but Simon, he seemed mildly annoyed by the entire exchange). After a lot of unnecessary screaming, he slinks out of the room with a broken heart.
Rebecca Garcia from Churchill Downs has cheat sheet written on her arm,just in case her nerves cause her to forget the words to "Before he Cheats". She sings and dances pretty badly, and Kara stops her and says "you were voted the funniest in your class-so I get the joke". It was mean, because there is no way this girl is joking and Simon and Paula know it. She fights tears, and Simon tries to kindly kick her off the ledge by telling her "don't ever sing again, but I like you as a person". Like that nugget of kindness is going to make this poor girl feel better.
We then barely get to see the good auditions of Kris Allen (fantastic), Felicia Barton, (beautiful voice), Ryan(? it was too fast) Johnson (dreamy),and Shera Lawrence, who fakes out her family. She has a really interesting voice and a great smile.
We do get our manipulative tale of the evening in Laneshe Young. She has struggled with homelessness and poverty. Her confidence is infectious and she sings an original song (usually the kiss of death) called Natty and blows the judges away. She is absolutely original and I find myself pulling for her. (You see, if the contestants are TALENTED we don't need the extra manipulation.)
Have you noticed there is a bit of an Extreme Home Makeover theme to idol this year? Night one we had blindness, night two, a widower and a displaced family, night three a sick mother, and finally night four homelessness. Why all of this before we get to Hollywood where they may be eliminated in the first 5 minutes and ultimately forgotten?
All that being said, I am enjoying Idol more this season than last season. Kara has made all of the other judges raise their game. It is amazing how much more entertaining the show can be when the judges aren't bored. Tune in next Tuesday for Jacksonville Florida. You know I will probably watching it via Tivo the next day. I have St. Joan at the Rep Tuesday and bunco on Wednesday-so don't count on a timely blog, but I do promise to eventually deliver!