Category: american idol 7

The judges decided the top 24 in American Idol 7 Episode 10, so now it’s time for the top 12 boys to perform for America’s votes. It’s 60’s night.

David Hernandez is up first. Simon was not so sure about letting him through to this round. He sings In the Midnight Hour and has a really nice tone to his voice, with a particularly strong opening.

Randy-Liked the beginning of the song, watch the long phrasing.
Paula-Brilliant vocals, something about colors or something… hey, it’s Paula.
Simon-Better than I thought. Beginning of the song was teriffic. Loosen up a bit.

Chikezie Eze, who for the top 24 has dropped his last name, is second. He sings More Today Than Yesterday. Mostly a flat performance that’s going to have difficulty standing out from the crowd. He blames the genre.

Randy-Pretty good but old fashioned.
Paula-Loves Chikezie’s singing and thinks he looks great.
Simon-Hated the whole performance, from the hideous suit to the winking to the old fashioned/corny/cheesiness.

David Cook is still trying to figure out Simon’s vocabulary. He sings Happy Together, a sort of rock version of the song. I’m having trouble buying it.

Randy-Impressed he turned it into rock song.
Paula-A bit worthy, borrowing a word from Simon that didn’t make much sense.
Simon-Weird song but almost believable.

Jason Yeager is a singing server with an 8-year-old son. He sings Moon River, a song hard to not make sleepy, even if he has a good voice. He dedicates the song to his grandmother.

Randy-Pretty good job but lost concentration in the middle.
Paula-Agrees with Randy but did her first ballet recital to that song, for whatever that’s worth.
Simon-Wants to know how old Jason is. Reliable but not exciting.

Robbie Carrico, who is a boy bander turned rocker, or so he says, sings One Is the Loneliest Number. I don’t get it.

Randy-Very nice.
Paula-Perfect song choice. Vocals right where they should be.
Simon-Only performance of the night with any semblance of making sense because it’s the only current performance. Struggling to figure out whether he’s a rocker or a pop singer.

David Archuleta sings Shop Around. Finally we’re getting things started here. Not only is he a great performer regardless of the genre, but he’s got the kind of guy next door charm that worked so well for Kelly Clarkson.

Randy-Really brilliant, so mature for somebody who’s 17.
Paula-Brave, bold choice. Unbelievably confident, older soul.
Simon-When you got it, you got it. By a comfortable mile, best performance of the night.

Danny Noriega made it through after being cut the first day in Hollywood last year. He sings Jailhouse Rock. Seriously? Simon won’t be happy.

Randy-Knows how to have a good time. Okay vocals.
Paula-Something about colors and a safe performance. Then she starts slurring her words.
Simon-Verging on grotesque. Destroyed the song. Awful. Danny gets a bit sassy with him in response.

Carpet cleaner Luke Menard was cut in season 6 but managed to get through this season. He sings Everybody’s Talking, a song that drags and never takes off.

Randy-Pitchy throughout.
Paula-Not the best song choice. She’s happy she heard him sing before, but the problem is the audience hasn’t.
Simon-Forgettable.

Colton Berry, who believes he looks like Ellen Degeneres and sings the Teletubbies theme song in his head whenever he’s nervous, sings I Love You Too Much. It’s just okay.

Randy-Started rough but pretty good overall. Agrees with Simon it was a bit karaoke.
Paula-Nice to see a different side. Not his best performance.
Simon-Okay. Not quite as bad as the other Elvis song. Got nothing from the performance. Might have a career in musical theater.

Garrett Haley sings Don’t Take Your Love Away from Me. This is the type of performance we expect from someone this age, which is probably why a lot of people were initially shying away from David Archuleta.

Randy-Didn’t do anything with it to make it his own. Kinda boring.
Paula-Needed to make it his own.
Simon-Boring, whiny, looks terrified and haunted.

Jason Castro grew up playing drums and will be the first person in this round to play an instrument, the guitar, while singing Daydream. Without the guitar, I’m not sure how well this would have worked, but he sounds good.

Randy-It was alright.
Paula-Was blown away.
Simon-In the top two performances of the night.

Michael Johns gets the final performance of the night. We’ve seen quite a bit of him this season. He sings Light My Fire, and he obviously knows what he’s doing up on that stage.

Randy-Like a true legend rock performer.
Paula-Set everyone on fire.
Simon-Most consistent contestant but didn’t like it as much as Bohemian Rhapsody.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of American Idol 7 episodes 12 and 13.

The judges narrowed it down to 50 in American Idol 7 Episode 9. Now that Hollywood round is over, it’s time to narrow it down even further to the top 24.

Ronald Hodge, who we haven’t seen yet, is up first. He’s eliminated. Multiple others we haven’t seen proceed to be eliminated as well.

Carly Smithson, whose first album sold 378 copies with the backing of $2.2 million from MCA, is next. She’s the first one to make the top 24. Maybe if she wins Idol, her next album will sell 379 copies.

David Cook, who Simon said he wasn’t so sure about without a guitar, also makes it through.

The judges were concerned that every time Amanda Overmyer sings it will sound the same, but she was obviously going to get through.

Simon tries to scare David Archuleta, but we all know he’s going to be in the top 24.

Kristy Lee Cook has stood out each time she’s sung Amazing Grace. So what more is there to her? She gets through.

Brooke White says she was nervous the whole time she was on the stage. It didn’t come across that way when we saw it the first time. She’s already crying on the elevator ride up. She makes the top 24.

Danny Noriega, Jason Castro, Luke Menard, and Alexandrea Lushington are the next to get through, as does Ramiele Malubay.

Michael Johns shined in Hollywood, and that momentum carries him through this.

Syesha Mercado had a difficult Hollywood week and lost her voice, but she managed to get it together enough to be able to go forward.

Robbie Carrico also goes through to the top 24.

Garrett Haley, Kady Malloy, Chikezie Eze, Amy Davis, Alaina Whitaker, and Jason Yeager get through.

Asia’h Epperson, who recently lost her father, also makes it to the next round.

David Hernandez makes it through, but it’s not unanimous. Simon said no.

Josiah Leming, who also had a tough week in Hollywood, gets the boot, based largely on his final performance keeping a bad lingering vibe. He tells them he got overconfident, interestingly enough. Despite the rejection, he’s the first success story of the season, as he’s been getting quite a bit of attention and selling his songs on his Myspace page. Of all the people eliminated, this is the one that makes the least sense.

The final spot for the guys is between Colton Berry and Kyle Ensley. It’s no surprise that Colton, whoever he is, makes it through. Simon says he disagrees with the decision and that Kyle should have been given a chance.

For the girls, it comes down to Joanne Borgella and Cardin McKinney. Joanne, who says she’s had problems in the industry because she’s overweight, is the last person to make the top 24.

The top 24 contestants of American Idol season 7, who will move on to compete for America’s votes, are:

Alaina Whitaker
Alexandrea Lushington
Amanda Overmyer
Amy Davis
Asia’h Epperson
Brooke White
Carly Smithson
Chikezie Eze
Colton Berry
Danny Noriega
David Archuleta
David Cook
David Hernandez
Garrett Haley
Jason Castro
Jason Yeager
Joanne Borgella
Kady Malloy
Kristy Lee Cook
Luke Menard
Michael Johns
Ramiele Malubay
Robbie Carrico
Syesha Mercado

Half of these people we either don’t know or barely know, which is one of the things I’m not thrilled about with the start of American Idol. They spend so much time on disasters that they can’t give most of the more deserving people enough attention.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of American Idol 7 episode 11, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.

After eight episodes of auditions, some good, some… whatever… it’s time now for the Hollywood round.

Ryan Seacrest starts off the show by promising us a brand new Hollywood week. Simon has his own warning for the contestants. Only 50 are going through, and about 110 of them are going to have a really bad time.

Brooke White was on episode 1. She’s the sweet nanny who Simon hoped to bring over to the dark side. This year, they’re allowed to play instruments (a silly twist since they won’t be able to use them after this), and she decides to play the keyboard while singing Beautiful. Very good performer. All three judges are impressed, giving her a pass to the final day.

Lorena Pinot is not as lucky, nor is Amy Flynn (the abstinence supporter from episode 4). Leo Marlowe, who was promising in episode 5, can’t even remember the words.

After a montage of people bombing with instruments, Jake Mellema decides to play the drums anyway. Decent voice overpowered by bad drums. Simon finds the only redeeming thing to be that they stopped it early.

David Hernandez had a good audition in the earlier rounds, and he shows why he got through in Hollywood as well. He’s obviously an already established performer.

Rocker Amanda Overmyer from episode 7 was in a car accident a week before Hollywood round. She sings a song from The Doors. Good, but as before, can she do anything else?

Ghaleb from episode 6 is back again. Not sure why. Disaster.

Josiah Leming, who we met living in his car in episode 7, will play the keyboard. I like him better than the audition round. Simon says he’ll remember him the most out of all the auditions.

Danny Noriega, Ramiele Malubay, Carly Smithson, and Michael Johns get lumped together in a good performances montage, but at least they get a little camera time.

David Cook sings Everything I Do while playing the guitar, and he’s the first guy to actually make the song work for him. Simon’s worried what will happen without the guitar and says no, but the other two say yes.

Kyle Ensley, the guy from episode 2 who seriously needs a makeover but anyway just wants to be governor, gets a room with two most likely hot chicks. Simon calls him abysmal, which is accurate. Paula talks about amazing spirit blah blah blah.

48 of the 164 have gotten a free pass to the final day, but 116 others were rejected and have to try again on day two. They will sing a capella for a few seconds and will be cut right then and there if the judges don’t think they’re good enough.

Suzanne Toon and Perrie Cataldo are in the first group. Both are cut. David Swope and Paul Anthony Daniels, whover they are, get through.

Amy Catherine Flynn is in the next group. Her voice coach made it to Hollywood in season 4 and is there with her. She sings Love Will Bring You Back at the suggestion of her vocal coach even though she’s never heard it before. She’s eliminated. Given a few more years, she’s got potential.

Kristy Lee Cook sings the same song she sang for her audition (Amazing Grace). Jeffrey Lampkin’s as annoyingly over the top as he was at his audition and is in Kristy’s group (his sister Michelle was eliminated earlier). Single mom Angela Martin is also in this group and just recently lost her father. Of the three, Angela is the one who does not get through.

The final day is singing with a band and three backup singers, essentially the same setup as the top 24.

David Arculeta is one of the more obvious finalists ever, despite his young age. He sings Heaven by Bryan Adams and impresses as much as he has previously. Randy says he’s the best since they’ve been there. He’s got the looks, voice, and personality to win this thing. Unlike the previous 16-year-old guys we’ve seen, this kid’s no joke.

Kyle Ensley sings You Raise Me Up. And he’s actually good. Not only that, but Simon apologizes for walking out on him the day before.

Jeffrey Lampkin is cut, followed by Joey Catalano.

Despite almost losing her voice earlier in the week, Syesha Mercado gives a strong performance and gets through.

Australian Michael Johns sings Bohemian Rhapsody, an interesting choice. Simon tells him it’s the best audition of the day.

Carly Smithson, whose visa has now cleared, is allergic to her dog but hopes she’s better now thanks to the mask she’s been wearing. The judges are impressed by how much she’s improved over the audition.

Asia’h Epperson really impresses Simon and is through.

Miss South Florida Fair Brooke Helvie gets a yes from Simon but a no from the other two, apparently based on one sour note.

Josiah Leming has been up all night and is unable to get along with the band, and he eventually breaks down at 3:30 in the morning. He performs with less than two hours of sleep, unrehearsed. When he gets on stage, he asks for the band to leave. If I hadn’t seen him before, I’d say to get rid of him. Simon suggests he’s way overconfident, obviously missing the mark. Regardless, he gets through.

It’s here we get the first listen to the goodbye song for season 7, Hollywood is not America by Ferras.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of American Idol 7 episode 9.

The auditions wrapped up with a stop in Atlanta last night in American Idol 7 Episode 7. We were treated to perky Miss South Florida Fair Brooke Helvie and 16-year-old Alexandrea Lushington. Fairly uneventful, but still one of the better showings we’ve seen recently.

Tonight it’s a mix of auditions from all the cities, before we head to Hollywood next week. They’ve saved some of the best and probably about 45 minutes worth of the worst.

Amy Davis grew up lower than lower middle class, which I’m not sure exactly what that means. She sings Blue Bayou. Decent voice. The judges think she can learn to get better once she gets over her nerves.

Ryan Seacrest tells us Tiffany McCambell has a voice that’s a gift from God. He didn’t say which one, though. Simon wants to know if he has a return policy.

Twins Cory and Chris Lang say they have pretty much the same girlfriend, Ashley Lawing, a blonde with a purse dog. She believes she knows which one she’s in love with. They, meanwhile, believe they’re hiphop artists. Then it’s her turn to audition with her pomeranian Panda. I bet the dog’s the most talented one of the four. The dog gets through to Hollywood.

Carden Lee McKinney sings One Night Only. Good voice, but Simon’s afraid she’s too theatrical. She gets two yes votes (as usual, not Simon).

Plus size model JoAnne Borgella sang the national anthem at the college basketball championships at Madison Square Garden, so the judges expect her to be a good singer, and she delivers, if not overly convincingly (Simon says no, though the other two put her through).

Alesha has been singing since she was 8, and she sounds the same now as she did then. They dismiss her so she can go learn Dolly Parton and come back. She learns Islands in the Stream. Actually, she does sound okay with this song. Simon refuses to vote, but the other two let her through. This is the first time they’ve sent someone off to learn a new song that it actually worked out.

Jay Smoove (seriously?) thinks he’s an R&B recording artist. He sings an original song, Beautiful Lady. After hearing his nickname, I wasn’t expecting much, but he’s surprisingly actually not bad. Not quite good enough, though.

Chikezie Eze was cut last year. Not real clear why. Unlike the people who get rejected for having no talent at all who just can’t take the hint, this guy’s got a good voice.

Danny Noriega is another returning reject. He sings Proud Mary. He’s one of those guys with a voice that doesn’t sound like it’s actually coming from him. I was surprised that he sounds good.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 7 episode 9, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.

Miami was better than Omaha, but not much happened there in American Idol 7 Episode 6 either. We got a glimpse of a boy bander who thinks he’s a rocker (Robbie Carrico), single mom Suzanne Toon, and excessively perky Syesha Mercado. For some portion of the evening, the judges were all sipping out of Paula’s cup.

Tonight’s stop is Atlanta. Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson, and Fantasia Barrino auditioned here. Ryan Seacrest’s parents show up, but they’re not there to audition.

Josh Jones is in love with glass. He sings Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen. He’s decent, but Simon again fears he’s found a demon. They make him sing with his back to them. For some unknown reason, Simon doesn’t think someone who has to perform not facing the audience could win. He gets two yes votes (not Simon).

JP Tjelmelano auditioned two people ahead of Carrie Underwood. Yet another one of those people who can’t take the hint. At least this will be the last we see of him, though, as he’s gotten some camera time. Simon gives him a no. Randy gives him a no. Paula gives him, well, I can’t really tell, which leads to a montage about how nobody can understand what Paula’s actual vote is since she doesn’t have one half the time.

Asia’h Epperson lost her father two days before the audition, as she got a phone call about a car accident half an hour after talking to her dad to inform him she was making the trip to Atlanta. She sings How Do I Live as a dedication for her father. She’s a good singer with a unique voice, making it enough of the way through the song before crying to impress the judges.

Brooke Helvie is Miss South Florida Fair (yeah, that’s apparently a real thing). She sings Who’s Loving You by the Jackson Five. In addition to being really perky, she’s got one of the better voices we’ve heard. Also, she gets her wish and hugs Simon, who calls her possibly the most annoying person he’s ever seen.

The introduction for Eva Miller tells us she’s got a lot of attitude. Don’t even let her sing. We know this is a waste of time already. Despite the belief that it’s all an act, the judges just let her keep singing on and on, something they don’t allow some borderline singers to do.

Alexandrea Lushington sings My Funny Valentine after Ryan gets done hitting on her great grandmother. It only takes a couple lines before the judges stop her and let her through. I don’t remember this girl, but she got beat out by David Archuleta (who we saw in episode 3) about midway through Star Search in 2003.

16-year old 9th grader (I don’t want to know how often he’s stayed back) Nathan Hite plans to show the judges his wit, which means he suspects that he sucks and is just doing this so he can yell at Simon. Simon gives him a choice whether he wants to listen or be a smartass. He pretends to listen before going into smartass. Mildly amusing but not worth showing.

Nurse/biker chick Amanda Overmyer sings Janis Joplin’s Mean Woman. Simon’s got the same concern I do: how much variety is this girl going to be able to deal with? She’s definitely good enough to go through, though.

Josiah Leming quit school and has been living in his car for nearly a year, which he says he loves. He sings a song he wrote called To Run. Simon thinks he’s picked up an English accent when he sings. He’s iffy but good enough to go to Hollywood.

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

Omaha, Nebraska turned out to be as uneventful as could be expected in American Idol 7 Episode 5. Aside from the last audition of the night, Leo Marlowe, there wasn’t much worth discussing, unless you were looking for freaks and weirdos, which, granted, is half the appeal of American Idol.

Tonight we head to Miami, a city that presumably has more promise than the last two did, for the first time since season two.

Accomplished belcher Shannon McGough has won a lot of made up local Idol competitions. She sings Crybaby by Janis Joplin. Simon tells her it was like the Hungarian Janis Joplin and that most people don’t know what they’re talking about, which is why it’s good she’s come to see him.

Robbie Carrico is a former boy bander turned rocker, or so he says. I’m not seeing any rock in this performance, but he’s got a good voice.

Venezuelan Ghaleb thinks he’s Marc Anthony. For some reason, Paula thinks he’s good, and so does Randy. I don’t get it. Just as I was wondering what’s in Paula’s Coke cup, Simon lifted it up and asked for someone to check, thus perpetuating the stereotype that she’s a drunk (oh, like it’s not true).

Best friends Corliss Smith and Brittany Wescott audition together. Corliss wants Randy, while Brittany loves Ryan and/or Simon. Both sing older songs and sound good, and both go through to Hollywood.

Single mom Suzanne Toon hasn’t sung in three years since she got pregnant. She sings I Can’t Make You Love Me, and she does well.

Ramiele Malubay is a Filipino-American looking to follow in Jasmine Trias’ footsteps, who has had a lot of success, particularly in the Philippines. She sings A Natural Woman. Now Simon’s sipping out of Paula’s cup and says no, but the other two say yes.

Syesha Mercado thinks happy thoughts, despite a difficult childhood with her father, who’s recently recovered from drugs and alcohol. She sings Aretha Franklin’s Think. A bit over the top but wow.

While rejecting one of the contestants, Simon says he’s tempted to tell him to come back in a dress. Uh oh. Somebody’s gonna blow that all out of proportion.

Julie Dubela, 16, was in the top 20 in American Juniors (apparently another failed Idol spinoff). Never heard of it, but it suggests she’s talented. Or so I thought anyway. Not bad but not ready either. Simon asks if she’s been called precocious, which doesn’t matter since she doesn’t know what it means. They don’t offer her any constructive criticism, but that’s arguably because with her attitude she couldn’t accept it anyway. I think she was better at age 12.

The very last contestant, Brandon Black, obviously can’t sing. His “unique” entrance doesn’t impress the judges any. He sings I’ll Make Love to You and tries to act sexy. Better off trying to make them laugh instead. Then he sings an original song, I Am the Next American Idol. He follows this with some tricks with his hat and another attempt at being funny. The judges hate him and walk out of the room.

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

There wasn’t a great deal going on in South Carolina in American Idol 7 Episode 4, but we did get a glimpse at the potentially annoyingly perky Amy Catherine Flynn, along with a couple of loud siblings Michelle and Jeffrey Lampkin. It was largely an uneventful city, as half the people who got through were fairly unimpressive, while half the people who got rejected were better than the people they normally let go to Hollywood.

Tonight, American Idol heads to… Omaha, Nebraska?

Chris Bernheisel is up first, and we already know he sucks before he even opens his mouth in the audition room because we heard him practicing. He sings Kelly Clarkson’s Since You Been Gone. Or at least tries to. After being rejected, he auditions for reporting on the finale. Simon accepts him and wants him to tell the local Fox affiliate to let him in. We all know Simon’s just looking for someone to replace Ryan Seacrest. Fox 42, if you’re watching, you’re pretty much stuck.

Jason Rich is from a town in Iowa of about 500 people. He sings Keith Whitley’s When You Say Nothing at All, which sounds good, but he can’t remember the words past the first sentence. On his fourth try, he finally gets it. Good enough to go through to the next round.

Rachel Wicker wants to arm wrestle Simon. Simon’s chicken and says no. She sings Don’t Tell Me by Lee Ann Womack. Simon thinks she sounds old and rejects her, but he’s outvoted, despite Randy’s concerns about her half yodeling.

Goth former pro wrestler Sarah Whitaker is clearly looking for attention and not much more. Simon’s able to muster a “You’re just really strange.” Seacrest questions why she didn’t get through, and they offer him the chance to be a judge, so he swaps with Paula.

This gives Samantha Sidley a chance for camera time she wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. It’s not long before they throw him out of the room and have to tell him “other door.” Taking Ryan’s lead, the judges let her through. Her getting through leads to a montage of people who don’t suck, which Seacrest is quick to accept credit for.

Angelica Puente, who moved out to live with her grandmother due to problems she’s had with her father but still wants to make him proud, sings The Power of Love by Celine Dion. She’s nervous and told she sounds too much like the original, but there are worse things. She gets through to the next round.

David Cook says he brings something a little different to the show (different meaning similar to Chris Daughtry). He’s a rocker with a good voice.

Johnny Escamilla, “one of the weirdest guys you’ll ever meet,” is up next. Oh, do we even need to watch this to know what’s going to happen? Simon hates… everything.

One last person to prevent Omaha from being pointless, Leo Marlowe. He sings A Song for You and has one of the better voices we’ve heard thus far.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 7 episode 6, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

Last night in American Idol 7 Episode 3 in San Diego, we saw some good talent, including Australian Michael Johns, Samantha Musso (who was a shoe in after saying Simon was hot), 16-year-old David Archuleta, and previously disqualified due to visa trouble Carly Smithson. Not very much in terms of disastrous performances. Well, nothing worth mentioning anyway.

Tonight we head to Charleston, SC, with over 10,000 contestants.

Raysharde Henderson believes he’s the black Clay Aiken and also from the 70s. Good voice but over the top. They reject him, rather odd considering he’s better than half the people they let through.

DeAnna Prevatte is from Albemarle, Kellie Pickler’s hometown. She’s no Kellie Pickler, though, and she’s got a very pronounced angry side.

Crystal Ortiz and Randy Stark met on the American Idol message boards and are now dating. This audition is a waste of time. Crystal asks whether her parents are blind; Simon tells her they’re deaf.

Maybe siblings will be better. They’re certainly more obnoxious. Unless you like really, really loud people. Michelle Lampkin and her brother Jeffrey Lampkin sing I Am Your Angel. They actually sound really good. Simon likes Jeffrey better but likes them both. Randy says yes to Jeffrey but no to Michelle. Paula and Simon say yes to both of them.

16-year-old Amy Catherine Flynn, captain of her catholic high school dance team, has a public service announcement. She wants people to abstain from sex, drugs, and alcohol and gives Simon a lecture about sex. He pretends to agree. She sings Reflections by Christina Aguilera. Not sure she’s ready for this, but she has star potential. Simon tells her a lot of people will find her annoying and that the song is too big for her (and again with the not as good as you think you are line he picked up recently). All three give her the thumbs up(ish).

London Weidberg is the last contestant of day one. She had a “surreal” childhood growing up right on the beach but lost her father three years ago to cancer. Good voice, but none of the judges are really thrilled by her. Still, it’s enough.

Lindsey Goodman is a pilot for the Air Force. She sings Black Velvet. Good voice, but Paula is concerned about her nerves. Simon calls her cabaret. All three say no.

Aretha Codner’s chest distracts the judges from looking elsewhere. Simon doesn’t like her dress, belt, voice, or anything else. Randy likes the belt, though.

Joshua Boson’s telling us he’s not going and that we’re gonna love him. Not likely. Then he says the show is fake and rigged. Oh, as if that’s a news flash.

Oliver Highman has been on throughout the show, as his wife went into labor as he was preparing to audition. He sings Get Here. He doesn’t look like a pop star, but he has a nice voice. He tries to do too much, though, and the judges aren’t impressed.

23 contestants have managed to get through to the next round.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 7 episode 5, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.