Month: January 2009

American Idol 8 Episode 2 and Kansas City brought us Ashley Anderson, Jason Castro and his brother Michael Castro, Matt Breitzke, Danny Gokey, and Lil Rounds.

Tonight we head to San Francisco, where Katharine McPhee and, more importantly, William Hung auditioned.

Tatiana del Toro from Puerto Rico (Simon points out they’re going there and she could have saved the airfare) is… confused. She rattles off a bunch of job titles which may or may not be jobs she actually does. To help her through her confusion, she went to a psychic who said she’ll be in the top 12. She sings Aretha Franklin’s Never Loved a Man, among other songs. She’s not as good as she thinks she is, but she’s good enough to proceed. Simon and Randy warn her she doesn’t have the big voice she wants to have. Randy says yes. Kara doesn’t think she has the vocals but likes the vibe. Paula says yes. Simon doesn’t vote, but Tatiana wants him to change his mind anyway. Hopefully when she gets to Hollywood she’ll pick up a new laugh.

Dean Anthony Bradford is in the wrong decade. He sings Stars by Simply Red. What the bloody hell is this?

Jesus Valenzuela is trying out for this show since it’s a family show and his kids are really into it. He sings a couple lines of something before Simon stops him. Paula kinda likes him, and the opportunity arises for him to bring his kids into the audition room. Simon says no regardless, but the others say yes. Somehow Simon gets a hug out of this.

Dalton Powell finishes his Rubik’s Cube pretty quickly. He should probably stick to that.

Akilah Askew-Gholston is studying anatomy, which she believes will teach her how to sing gospel. If only she could pronounce any of the body parts (or anything else). She doesn’t know the difference between Simon and Randy either, although she somehow knows who Kara is. She sings an original song Make Sweet Love. Simon tells her that her song sucks, so she sings A Natural Woman, which convinces them she’s not a singer. Her argument is that the bad high note came from the wrong rectum and she should be given another chance. Oh, and Paula makes her nervous because she had a hit song in the early 80s when she was a child.

Annie Murdoch plays instruments and scats. She could quite possibly be possessed.

Adam Lambert from Hollywood has been singing since he was about 10. He’s been in the cast of Wicked for the past year and a half. He sings Bohemian Rhapsody, Simon’s favorite. Paula calls him one of the most diverse singers they’ve seen. Simon thinks he’s very theatrical. Randy says yes. Simon agrees. Kara reluctantly sides with Simon. After his story about how he had a crush on Paula back when she was famous, she says he’s the best they’ve seen.

Closing out the show is Kai Kalama, who’s been taking care of his sick mother for about a year. He sings Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by The Platters. Simon likes the voice but not the ship singer personality. The others have the same line of thinking, but everybody says yes.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of American Idol Season 8 episode 4, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

American Idol kicked off its eighth season last night, down about 3 million viewers (a lot of people will make a big deal about this) but still easily the reigning TV champ nonetheless. American Idol 8 Episode 1 brought us Phoenix hopefuls Arianna Afsar, Stevie Wright, Michael Sarver, Scott Macintyre, and some chick in a bikini.

Returning to David Cook’s home turf, tonight the judges are searching for talent in Kansas City, which is apparently in Missouri.

Chelsea Marquardt finally decided to take the plunge and come on Idol. She sings Without You by Mariah Carey, proving that her family lied to her. Simon says it sounded like a cat jumping off the Empire State Building.

Ashley Anderson picks a song co-written by Simon Cowell, Footprints in the Sand (if only she got the name of it right). She sails through to Hollywood, and Simon likes her since she knows he (partially) wrote something.

Casey Carlson sings 1000 Miles by Vanessa Carlson. She’s through to Hollywood. Good to see them devote a whole 30 seconds to a decent singer. Now let’s see if they can give 15 minutes to a trainwreck or two.

Brian Hettler sings Aretha Franklin’s Think. The judges don’t need to think long about rejecting him.

Von Smith sings Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I was struggling to figure out whether this was good or not, but ultimately he got through.

Jason Castro, who stayed on the show last year a month longer than he wanted to be there, is back with his brother Michael Castro. He sucks at interviews just like his brother. Pink haired Michael says his brother is more girly than he is. He just started singing 20 days ago. He sings In Love with a Girl by Gavin DeGraw, and it turns out he’s got a good voice. He’d have been better off getting some lessons first, but it’s still enough to advance to the next round.

Matt Breitzke can’t sing for a living with a young child and wife, so he’s a welder instead. He sings Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine. Randy tells him he’s probably just like a cool bar singer and says no, but the others say yes. Simon likes his heart and ambition.

Jasmine Joseph is a wee bit creepy, and her rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow doesn’t help change that any. The judges just stare in silence.

Jessica Paige Furney is from Oz, literally. She sings Crybaby by Janis Joplin. Simon likes that she stands out. Randy calls her a natural.
Sisters Asia McClain and India Morrison are rappers. Their rapping is entertaining but not overly good. Asia’s singing falls apart from there, but India’s not bad and makes it through.

Jamar Rogers sings California Dreaming by The Mamas and the Papas. Over the top but good.

His best friend Danny Gokey is there with him. He’s being weighed down by his grieving, as his wife passed away four weeks before the audition, but he hopes people will be able to get to know her through him. He sings I Heard it through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. Paula calls him soulful, and Randy thinks he’s one of the best so far.

Anoop Desai is wearing his Saturday morning best. He sings Thank You by Boyz II Men and is surprisingly good. Simon thinks he needs a makeover and is too geeky.

Andrew Lang arrives with some faux cheerleaders who may be somewhat obnoxious but are probably more memorable than he will be. He sings My Girl by The Temptations. There’s a good voice in there somewhere. Randy lets him through. Then he sings Ain’t Too Proud to Beg (does he know any other groups?), which causes Randy to change his vote. Simon wants to say no to all of them. Andrew out.

Asa Barnes is a father and band director. He sings Michael Jackson’s The Way You Make Me Feel quite well. Simon doesn’t get the song choice but likes Asa. Paula is happy that this wasn’t a disaster, unlike most people who sing Michael Jackson.

Michael Nicewonder (is that a real name?) is mad as his mother for telling him he can’t sing, which we know already he can’t. He says he’s related to Hank Williams, Jr. He sings an original song. Yeah, it’s a waste of time. So Simon asks him to sing another.

Dennis Brigham had a dream last night. Simon told him he’s the best they’ve seen all day. We know this one isn’t going anywhere either. He sings With You by Chris Brown. Simon didn’t get it. But Paula says yes, as does Randy. It seems the begging worked, though having a dream about Simon didn’t.

Mia Conley dozes off in the holding room, but she unfortunately wakes up to sing Loving You. She warns the judges that God will make them pay for this.

The last contestant of the day is Lil Rounds, mother of three. Still trying to recover from a tornado that hit her apartment, she has decided to give Idol a shot. She sings Stevie Wonder’s All I Do. Paula says she’s one of the best, Simon calls her fantastic, and Kara also thinks she’s one of the best.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of American Idol 8 episode 3, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.