THE D.L. ON THE ATL AUDITIONS: AMERICAN IDOL "SEASON 7; EPISODE 7" RECAP
Before I get started recapping tonight's Atlanta auditions, let me first apologize for my lazy AI "recap" last Tuesday, and my total absence a day later for the 6th episode of the season. Derrick and I still don't have DVR installed, and we had plans that evening that prevented us from viewing the show.
Anyway . . . tonight's episode of AMERICAN IDOL, though still short of the "bad auditions" we used to love, was probably the best of the season, with some truly great auditions full of a mix of talent, emotion, and heart-warming moments.
Derrick and I both agree that self-described "small town country girl" Asia'h Epperson is our favorite contestant of the season by far. Her emotional and passionate performance of "How Do I Live" literally gave us chills and brought at least one of us to tears (guess who!). Asia'h dedicated the song to her father who had died in a car accident just TWO DAYS before her audition!! She claims she went through with the audition instead of returning home to grieve because it was her father's dream for her to succeed in doing what she loves . . . singing. Paula was so moved, she had to leave and compose herself after Asia'h left the room. WOW! Asia'h has an amazing singing voice . . . a little raspy (which I love) . . . and she is sure to go far in Hollywood. Keep your eyes on this one folks! You heard it here first.
We were also very moved by the story of 18 yo Tennessee-boy Josiah Leming, who has been living in his car for the last year after dropping out of school to pursue his musical dreams. He has a very unique singing voice which takes on a bit of an English accent when he his performing, but he has a great personality combined with infinite drive and ambition. Josiah chose to perform an original composition entitled "To Run" . . . a choice which had me nervous at first . . .but he pulled it through and proved that his musical talents involve more than just being able to sing.
Another attention-grabbing audition was that of Amanda Overmeyer of Mulberry, Indiana. This nurse had a thing for motorbikes, and she knows how to rock too! She took on Janis Joplin's "Mean Woman" and didn't look back. Her streaked hair and goth-chick wardrobe combined with even a mediocre voice would probably have been enough to send her through to Hollywood as this season's token "rock chick", but we are very happy that this chick can really sing. The "rock chicks" usually don't make it far past the initial top twelve, but Amanda might prove to be an exception. Could she be a female Daughtry as one judge predicted? Time will tell!
Pageant girl/beauty queen . . . "Miss South Florida Fair" herself! . . . Brooke Helvie had a great audition as well, but as Simon so aptly put it, she is "possibly the most annoying person he's ever met". We, along with him, were hoping that her audition would be bad after watching the seeming airhead priss and primp in the waiting room, but she proved us wrong with a surprisingly strong voice. Unless she gets a personality transplant, though, she's not likely to get very far in the competition.
I'm sad to report that Atlanta did not live up to its "HOTLANTA" rep tonight in the man department. There was very little guycandy to speak of, which is surprising. I've been to ATL several times, and there are at least as many cute boys in the city as there are streets named "Peachtree" (and trust me . . . that's a LOT!!). The afore-mentioned Josiah is certainly a cutie, and the floppy-haired glass-worker Joshua Jones was pleasant to look at as well . . . despite the "scary-eye stare" he brings out while performing. Even if he can get past the odd ocular maneuvers, he probably doesn't have a strong enough voice to get very far in the competition.
All in all, 20 Atlanta contestants were sent through to Hollywood. If I'm not mistaken, the nation-wide auditions are now complete. Tomorrow's episode looks to be a recap/highlight reel of the previous seven shows. Not sure I will need to review that one, so until Hollywood week . . . Warren out!
-
The first thing I did this morning when I woke up was check dialidol . Really. It’s an illness... Read Full Story » -
I'm not quite sure what to make of tonight's episode of AMERICAN IDOL . . . it was a night of... Read Full Story » -
I know I am now a little johnny-come-lately to this, but I wasn't able to compose a posting last... Read Full Story » -
It was showtunes night (or more specifically Andrew Lloyd Webber night) on AMERICAN IDOL this... Read Full Story » -
WOW! It's been a while since I've blogged about one of our favorite shows... but this has been a... Read Full Story »
