American Idol is Back!

January 18, 2008


American Idol is back and true to form, we witnessed a very entertaining season premiere! While the auditions are not everyone’s cup of tea, for some people, it is a chance to get a glimpse of the future American Idol or at least, to pick out an early favorite. For others, it is about the bad auditions. You know the ones – those poor souls who have been told they sound great, who have obviously been lied to by their families and friends. Many people will argue that American Idol is too cruel to those without musical ability, exploiting them in front of millions. Simon Cowell’s response is “We are not drowning kittens!” To try to rectify this, I have come up with my own awards, spreading some love even if I am not related!


Philadelphia Auditions:

Best Actressing: Alexis (The Janis Joplin Sparkly Girl – don’t laugh, I liked her voice!) Yes, she went off in an extreme temper tantrum and because it is supposed to be family friendly, she should have been edited more. Prior to her ranting, I thought they made a mistake not putting her through.

Best Actor in a Comedy: Ben Harr. He underwent chest hair removal on national TV!

Best Supporting Role: Ben Harr’s Hair.

Best Lyrics: Paula’s Stalker. He was a little creepy when he went too close to Paula but I was laughing at “If she was a bath tub, I would caulk her.”

Best Church Song: Kristy Lee Cook sang an incredible “Amazing Grace.”

Best Nerd: Star Wars Girl, Christina Tolisano. Duh. She thought all the people who were making it through looked the same. She had a point.

Best Hottie: Chris Watson! Someone please sign him up! He had dreadlocks, a beautiful smile and sang “Follow Me!” I didn’t expect him to sound they way he did. Loved him!

Best Loser: Joey Catalano – Dropped 204 lbs! Wow! He sang a Maroon 5 song and was good!

Best Story Line: Angela Martin and her daughter, who has Retts Syndrome. She is in this competition to get her daughter the care she needs.

Best Crying Girl: Temptresse Browne. Not a good singer but gosh darn it, her heart got broken and the tears flowed freely. The judges showed their human side (What?) and gave her a group hug, even walking her out to her family.




Dallas Auditions:

Best audition that didn’t make it to Hollywood: Bruce Dickson, the guy with the key necklace, who has never kissed a girl. I could write an article just on his audition but I won’t. Paula had commented that his look didn’t go with the R&B song he sang. I thought he sounded better than a few who were put through.

Best Tractor: Drew Poppelreiter. Honestly, his audition was not the strongest but he sure was cute on that tractor! Definitely a country singer!

Best Original Song: “We’re Brothers Forever!” A cult phenomenon has been created! Renaldo Lapuz, dressed up in an Angel Pimp costume, with Simon’s name spelled out on his hat, sang his original composition. Only a couple of lines long, it has become ingrained into the brains of millions of people! It has been put on youtube, watched more than 400,000 times and has now been remixed, with more than 200 different videos surfacing of it.

Worst Collection: I was prepared to love Brandon Green. I have been to his myspace and he has some great music up. But, when he unveiled his collection of old fingernails that he had peeled off over several years time, it made me go “ewwwwwww!” I have to work on getting rid of that visual because I like his voice a lot.

Best Blake Lewis Look Alike: Colton Swon. He is a prettier, 2008 version of Blake. He is a rocker, not a beatboxer, and can really sing! He is high on my list.

Best Impressionist: Kady Malloy. She sang a Britany Spears song, then Carrie Underwood before Simon stopped her and had her sing something where he could hear her own singing. She is a cross between Katherine McPhee and Carrie Underwood. She is being touted as Kady McPhee.

Best Candidate for President: Kyle Ensley, a frat boy who will undergo a major transformation ala Clay Aiken, if advanced from Hollywood.

Standouts so far: Kristy Lee, Alaina Whitaker (another girl who looks like Carrie Underwood) Brooke, Colton, Brandon, Kady, Chris and Alisha Dixson, who was shown only getting her ticket. She was the girl in Philadelphia who had the guitar strapped behind her back. I saw a video of her and she is a pretty good rocker. Maybe she was so good they didn’t want us to hear her audition!



Bring on San Diego!