Welcome Back!

Hello my Idol Friends! It seems like ages since last May when we crowned David Cook the 7th American Idol. As I wait for the auditions to begin, I am anxious to see how all of the format changes will reinvent one of my favorite shows. While Idol has been keeping most of the changes under wraps, the press surrounding Kara DioGuardi has been intense for the last week. It would appear that I am the only person who had not heard of the brilliant super star. The audition cities this year were Phoenix, Kansas City, Louisville, Jacksonville, East Rutherford, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and San Juan. Supposedly the focus will be less on horrible auditioning and more on Hollywood week, where the real drama is. They are going to have a top 36 instead of a top 24, and they will go back to the wild card pick for the judges. This allows an eliminated contestant a chance at the show. If you remember, Clay Aiken was a wild card pick.

As the hype builds and the crowds scream, “I am the next American Idol” I am on the edge of the couch ready to bring you the highs and lows of the season. “What a Wonderful World” plays in the background as we revisit memorable auditions from seasons past. All of this culminates in some pretty distraught junior high girls screaming in distress as David Cook is announced last year’s winner. I have to admit, it is pretty funny. As Ryan leads us through a series of teasers of the fun to come, I am completely aware that I am being manipulated and that I love it!

After some confirmation of Kara’s qualifications to judge (she writes for Jewel, Pink, Celine and Kelly Clarkson for goodness sake), we don’t waste any time doing exactly what Idol said they weren’t going to do. We see a pointless audition. Tuan Nguyen sings “The Way you Make me Feel” in several different keys, but adds to it some amazingly bad tap. Lest you think I am unqualified to judge this, you don't need to have a dancer in the family to know that this performance was uninspired. They send him and his very large hair away disappointed.

Emily Wynne-Hughes turned things right back around with her rendition of Heart’s Barracuda. Her performance was able to finally distract me from the gauges in her ears. Luckily, despite having more ink than Carly Smithson (if that is possible) she is as likeable as she is odd. She definitely beats season 7 rocker Amanda in talent. Paula actually predicts a top 5, but we know it is way too early for that.

Randy Madden, Phoenix’s own “pretend” rocker is crying before he ever gets to audition. He sings “Living on a Prayer” but Simon tells him it is a wimpy version and calls him a drama queen. Thank God this crybaby didn’t make it through.

J.B. Ahfua receives the gold ticket next, with his soulful r & b sound. Unfortunately he is followed up by Michael Gurr who is frightened, strange and completely unintelligible. I am noticing that the judges are a little kinder this season, although Randy has to hide behind his paper from time to time. Despite the promise of mostly great auditions, we are then subjected to Will Kunch’s “Mad World”, D.J. Bradley’s “It’s All Coming Back to me” and Shawn Vasquez’s “I’ll never Love this way again” and finally Aundre Caraway’s song “Cactus”, music and lyrics written spontaneously while moaning and laughing and bouncing around mid audition. The powers that be at Idol may want to consider drug testing.

We then meet Arianna Afsar, who has a million dollar smile and a great personality. She is almost a little too much sweetness, with her adopt a senior project, but once the she starts singing “Put your Record on” she has won me over.

Day 2 starts the second hour, and both Paula and Kara look gorgeous and perfectly at ease with each other. I think that Kara is a great addition for the panel and we are seeing a more lucid Paula, but this is a very long competition, so there is still hope for some crazy antics from our resident crazy girl. We open the day with Elijah Scarlett, 22, and the minute he starts singing I am remembering “Let my people Go” from last season. It is almost that bad. Paula even tells him he could do voiceovers for monsters. Leah Marie Golde is a high strung teenager that is crazy about Kara. (Really?) She is on key, but sings almost entirely through her nose and she is, in Simon’s words, “annoying”. She takes the
rejection with a smile.
Stevie Wright, age 16, is next and her take on “At Last” is something special. This girl is my favorite of the 2 hours and has crazy potential. Simon thinks she needs to get a little meaner. I will be shocked if she isn't in the top 36.

Michael Sarver, the roughneck on an oil rig is next, and although I haven’t heard the song, “Thank You” before and don’t really care if I hear it again, Michael has Simon’s likeability factor.

We are next treated to bikini girl who has a horrible audition but the boys put her through for her rear end. With this girl’s attitude, it is perfect that she makes it through only to be cut in a more humiliating and public fashion during Hollywood week. On a side note, I did enjoy Ryan’s awkward kiss.

I have no words about Sexual Chocolate.

Brianna Chiandra(?) attempts “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” and “Killing Me Softly” and gets through strictly because they like her. I actually think she is pretty cute too. Let’s just hope she gets some vocal training before she comes to Hollywood. She at least sang better than bikini girl.

Deanna Brown blew the room away with her “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”. Her voice was sultry and original, and here is one that I think we will see in our top 10. She looks like she has been banging on doors for a while, so when the competition
gets tough, hopefully she won’t get all Brooke White on us and want to start songs over.

Cody Sheldon sang Wonderful World, and spoke of his horror film aspirations, but although he had a strong audition, I am not sure if he will be able to handle different genres of music. Alex Wagner-Turner sang “Baby Come to me” and while he sounded good if you close your eyes, I am reliving Chicken Little. Simon echoes my concern.

We are now treated to a brief montage of horrible singers attempting “Dead or alive”.

We close the evening with Scott MacIntyre, a sight impaired singer-musician who inspires the judges with his take on Billy Joel’s “And so it goes”. He sounds good, and he has a great back story, and let’s face it-Idol loves the original “American Story” to go with the music competition.

To all of you that have sent emails asking if I would resurrect Idol Chat now that I am in a new job, I thank you for the kind words. I will do my best with this thing, but while you can usually expect a post on Tuesdays, Wednesdays will be a little trickier for me. I will shoot for publishing the Wednesday show on Thursdays. I look forward to sharing the season with you, and if you are ever in the area, there is room on the couch. I am always looking for a little side drama to serve up with my idol opinions.

Who knows what cute little number will cause my Gary to get a big old foot cramp this year? Tune in tomorrow…