Category: american idol season 10

With the folks in LA hoping to go down the road a ways to Hollywood in American Idol Season 10 Episode 6, we met brothers Mark and Aaron Gutierrez and not much else. The final audition city is San Francisco because apparently people couldn’t be bothered to travel 400 miles to LA.

Inessa Lee is from Ukraine but moved to Hollywood because she has convinced herself she is a star. I have two words for her: adult movies.

Brittany Mazur, Lara Johnston, and Matthew Nuss are going to Hollywood.

Stefano Langone was in an accident a couple years ago that left him scarred but in the end okay. He sings Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye, and he’s one of the best we have seen yet.

Clint Jun Gamboa is a karaoke host. The judges say his singing is beautiful.

Drew Beaumier comes dressed up as a Transformer. He says this is how people are going to get around in the future. Perhaps he’ll be able to get somewhere in that field, then, since he’s not going to be a singer. Unfortunately, he doesn’t want to be a car for the rest of his life either.

Julie Zorrilla is from Colombia, where she and her family had to abandon their home in the 90s due to the war. The judges like her shoes, and they love her performance of Summertime. Randy says he hasn’t liked this song on this show since Fantasia, a performance I have since forgotten.

Dave Combs tells us real men have long hair. Good luck with that. In either case, the hair’s not enough to make Steven Tyler anything but hostile.

Emily Anne Reed’s house burned down last week. She’s got a unique old school voice, which is enough to get two votes.

The final contestant of the night, James Durbin, never really knew his father because he was a musician and always away, eventually overdosing on drugs. Following this, he was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome and Asperger’s, which led to a rough childhood, but his wife and child changed his life. The judges are blown away by his performance.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 10 Episode 8, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

Austin brought us Corey Levoy, John Wayne Schulz, Jacqueline Dunford and Nick Fink, and Casey Abrams in American Idol Season 10 Episode 5. Tonight we go to Los Angeles, CA.

Victoria Garrett screeches and makes an effort to scare all cats away.

Tim Halperin has a crush on Jennifer, who won’t tell him how old she is because it’s probably too old for him. Although Randy thinks he needs some more work, the other two let him advance.

Friends Daniel Gomez and Isaac Rodriguez are there to support each other. That support is of no help to either of them. Randy instructs them to never sing again, but they don’t care.

Because News Corp has not yet managed to unload Myspace, they are forcing Idol to pretend it’s still relevant, so we move on to the Myspace auditions.

Karen Rodriguez is the first Myspacer to perform. This is not the first time Karen has run into J Lo, who she previously sang for on TRL.

Tynisha Roches believes she is sexy, talented, and other things which would be considered complimentary. She is alone in that belief. Rather than sit there and be subjected to this, Randy walks out of the room… so she follows him.

Matt “Big Stats” Frankel fancies himself a record producer. Whoever he intends to produce, it will not be himself.

Brothers Mark and Aaron Gutierrez ard there to audition together, which means a duet of Lean on Me. Finally a worthwhile performance tonight.

It seems that is all we’re going to get out of the evening, as the final act of the night, the Human Tornado Cooper Robinson, promises to be a great big waste of time. Is this supposed to be entertaining? Seriously?

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 10 Episode 7, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

In Nashville in American Idol Season 10 Episode 4, we saw Rob Bolin and Chelsee Oaks, Jackie Wilson (not that Jackie Wilson), and Lauren Alaina. Tonight we go to Austin, Texas.

Corey Levoy met his older sister when he was 14, in spite of the fact that they lived 15 minutes away, because his parents were selfish. He sings I Can’t Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt. The judges were not sure what to expect since his speaking voice is so high, but he gets three yeses, plus one from his sister.

Hollie Cavanagh sings At Last by Etta James. Randy responds that she’s not ready yet, but J Lo asks if this shaking, crying girl can collect herself to sing one more song, which she does and sings The Climb by Miley Cyrus. This is enough to convince them to give her another chance, and Randy decides to reverse his previous no vote.

Rodolfo Ochoa sings The Circle of Life, and it quickly becomes clear that he ain’t making it.

John Wayne Schulz comes from a long line of cowboys. His mom asked him to try out for American Idol after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. He sings Believe by Brooks & Dunn. This is probably what they were looking for when they came to Texas.

Courtney Penry thinks Ryan Seacrest the sexiest man alive, and she plans to marry him some day. Ryan might want to hire some extra security while in Austin. It’s not long after this revelation that she does an impression of a chicken, which follows telling Jennifer and Randy they are beautiful and making kissy faces at Steven. In spite of the high creepy factor, she’s got a good voice. She’s through with two votes.

Shantel Campos, Alex Carr, and Caleb Johnson will be going to Hollywood.

Dating couple Jacqueline Dunford and Nick Fink met in choir at college. Both are very good, with their goofiness only adding to it.

Janelle Arthur wants us to know that people from the country have teeth and shoes. The judges don’t even have to discuss it before letting her go to Hollywood.

Seacrest brings a 7 foot armadillo into the room. She’s surprised she doesn’t get through, so she’ll just be an armadillo the rest of her life.

Casey Abrams sings I Don’t Need No Doctor by Ray Charles. I’m quite surprised to find he’s got a good voice. Randy says that was sick good.

Apparently, Fox believes they have more going for themselves than AI, so tonight’s audition episode is just 1 hour.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 10 Episode 6, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

A trip to Milwaukee in American Idol Season 10 Episode 3 brought us Scott McCreery, Thia Megia, Molly DeWolf Swensen, Scott Dangerfield, and Chris Medina. Tonight we head to Nashville, Tennessee.

Unless her singing voice is miraculously different than her speaking voice, Christine McCaffrey is probably going to sound like a cartoon character. Yeah, she does, just not a cartoon character than can sing. She’s pretty convinced she got one yes, though.

Exes Rob Bolin and Chelsee Oaks have been singing together since the day they met. They’re still singing together now, even if they don’t like each other any more. From their duet, it’s obvious they’re both going to be making it to Hollywood.

Allen Lewis is going to have to stick to his day job of being a tattoo artist.

Stormi Henley was Miss Teen USA 2009. She wants to see how far she can make it based on her “talent”. Jennifer’s not buying it, but the boys say yes.

Adopted farm girl Adrienne Beasley sings American Honey by Lady Antebellum. Steven hears something special, although he can’t quite put his finger on what it was.

Kameela Merricks gets told all the time that her voice is huge. Unfortunately, it’s not hugely good. Steven tells Randy not to tell people they’re not good.

Jackie Wilson is a bar manager/singer. That’s a slash I haven’t heard before. Randy gives her a million percent yes. Jennifer says they’ll have to remember this… that’s what they’re looking for.

Latoya “Younique” Moore lives in a fantasy world in which she’s a recording artist and star. That fantasy world quickly comes tumbling down when she starts singing. Not that she’s convinced by hearing no four times.

Matt Dillard comes from a family that has cared for 700 foster kids. He sings You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban. The judges agree to give him one more chance.

Heading into the final break, Seacrest teased us by talking about the best audition in Nashville. This is either going to be very good or very stupid. 15 year old Lauren Alaina was inspired to come sing by her cousin Holly. She sings Like We Never Loved at All by Faith Hill and I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith, receiving props for the best audition of the day. Steven thinks they’ve found the one.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 10 Episode 5, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

In New Orleans in American Idol Season 10 Episode 2, we met Jacquelyn Dupree, Jacee Badeaux, and Paris Tassin. Tonight we head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the cheese state. They don’t have an accent there, don’tcha know? This marks episode 3 of inappropriate comments and weird noises from Steven Tyler.

Scotty McCreery is 16, but you wouldn’t know it by his deep country singing voice. Great way to start off the night. Jennifer says they discovered him, with the right songs. Randy’s glad to hear some Travis Tritt, who, by the way, Randy has worked with.

Joe Repka wants to be a DJ, so he takes this opportunity to get lessons from Ryan Seacrest. Good luck with that, dude. I sure hope his DJing ability is better than his singing because he’s tone deaf. Regardless, he promises to try again.

Emma Henry is another of this year’s 15 year olds. Having just gotten her permit, she drove most of the 16 hours there, with a bunch of back seat drivers. She sings True Colors. I’m not sure what to make of this, but it’s enough to get 2 yes votes by the skin of her teeth.

Naima Adedapo says people ask her a lot why she’s crying. Then she starts crying. She sings Donny Hathaway’s For All You Know. Jennifer calls her one of the best they’ve seen. During this exchange, we learn that if you call Steven Tyler by the name Steve, you will be corrected.

Jerome Bell sings at bar mitzvahs and weddings. With his rendition of Let’s Get It on, he proves he’s got talent, and the judges love him. Steven has forgotten his name two minutes later, but Jennifer tells him he should remember it.

Thia Megia is another person taking advantage of the age limit decrease. If her name sounds familiar, it’s because we have seen her before, on America’s Got Talent, coming just shy of the top 20. It doesn’t matter because we know she’s going through regardless, but she sings Chasing Pavements by Adele.

Nathaniel Jones doesn’t realize that the 19th century is over, so he comes dressed up in his Civil War clothes. Oh, and his dad doesn’t do anyone, not since his mom left. I doubt the lion will get much sleep tonight, not with this guy singing.

At Randy’s suggestion, Mason Wilkinson turns around to compose himself. It is not clear whether he will turn and face the judges again. Unfortunately, he does.

Molly DeWolf Swensen is a Harvard graduate and White House intern (I’ve heard that one before). Before she starts singing Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, she tells the story of how Randy accidentally punched her earlier this morning. Next stop: Hollywood.

Haley Reinhart says she was told to come back last season. This over the top performance is nonetheless good enough to advance. Also from Chicago, Tiwan Strong will be going to Hollywood as well.

Steve Beghun is a CPA. I’m not sure he’ll get very far, but he’s got a decent voice.

Vernika Patterson sings Loving You. I just hope they don’t let her hit that high note. No such luck. Not one to take rejection well, she says the judges have a problem with her because she’s not skinny. With that said, she walks out of the room, without waiting for them to tell her no. She doesn’t want to talk to Seacrest either.

Albert Rogers III does a Barack Obama impression, or so we’re told. Randy thought his singing was terrible and a joke. And people call Simon harsh.

After the judges get done giving him a hard time about his lips, Scott Dangerfield sings Dreamin’ by Amos Lee. Jennifer says he may be her favorite so far.

Megan Frazier was brainwashed from an early age into loving the Green Bay Packers… or else. She sings Baby by Justin Bieber… as an opera song. As she leaves, she warns the judges the Packers will win the Super Bowl. Well, she’s got a 50/50 shot of being right.

Alyson Jados cried when she saw Steven Tyler walk out. Weird. Come Together, which Aerosmith covered, is her song choice. She follows that with Dream On, but she can’t do the end. Steven Tyler has obviously been watching Idol the last 9 seasons, as he’s learned to use the word pitchy. Randy says no, perhaps for the sake of creating drama of making her idol have the deciding vote, but the other two say yes.

The final contestant of the night is Chris Medina. He’s engaged and promised to get married within 2 years of the engagement, but his fiancee got into an accident that resulted in brain damage. After a month and a half, she woke up, in spite of the doctors saying she wasn’t going to make it. He sings Break Even by The Script. To go along with his story, he’s got a great voice.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 10 Episode 4, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

American Idol Season 10 Episode 1, now with 100% less Simon, brought us to New Jersey, where we were introduced to Caleb Hawley, Kenzie Palmer, Robbie Rosen, and Melinda Ademi. Tonight we head to New Orleans.

Jordan Dorsey sings Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Sounds good. Too bad I’m left comparing him to Kat McPhee and the Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (say that three times fast) version that Jason Castro sang.

Jovany Barreto loves Jennifer Lopez because she married Marc Anthony (not the guy who dated Cleopatra). He sings Luis Miguel’s Contigo en la Distancia. Perhaps not the smartest move, but it shows off his strong voice. Oh, and by the way, before he grabs his golden ticket, he has to rip off his shirt, with Steven and Randy joining in the strip tease with him.

Jacquelyn Dupree shows up with her uncle, who used to be Randy’s football coach. She sings I’ll Stand by You, and could well be a contender.

Brett Loewenstern considers himself a red apple in a pile of green apples. I didn’t expect that voice to come out of him after hearing his speaking voice, as the judges are impressed by his performance of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Gabriel Franks tells us he’s got a very strong voice and a wonderful personality. At least he’s modest. It’s immediately apparent that he will be entertaining, but it won’t be possible to take him seriously.

Alex Attardo went to Idol Camp, which I’m going to take his word is a real place. So do they have like a money back guarantee or something?

Jacee Badeaux sings Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. This lower age limit seems to be working out, as this is the second 15 year old who’s come on and showed he can compete.

Paris Tassin tells a story about how she got pregnant way too young and faced complications, at which time the doctors advised her not to go through with having the child. Disregarding this advice, she lucked out, with her daughter having hearing problems but nonetheless being healthy. She sings Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood. With looks, a sad story, and a strong voice, Paris should go far.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 10 Episode 3, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

Here we go, the first season without Simon Cowell. Seems the best they could do is Randy Jackson as the head judge, to be joined by Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. Let’s just hope it doesn’t suck too bad. On a positive note, at least they didn’t invite Brad Womack on the show (sorry, ABC, I ain’t watching him again, and apparently 2 million people agree).

We start things off in New Jersey, of all places.

Rachel Zevita was cut in Hollywood day 1 during season 6. Shoulda stayed cut. Decent voice, but I can’t see it getting her any further. Nonetheless, J-Lo pretends to remember her. Three reluctant judges let her advance to the next round for one more shot.

Caleb Hawley has a strong voice and manages to show us what we can expect from Steven Tyler, a lot of weird noises.

The age range has been changed this year, which brings us the very first 15 year old, Kenzie Palmer. I don’t know that we necessarily need to go any younger on this show, but they’ll be hard pressed to find a much better singer. That said, Randy and Steven give her a hard time. They weren’t feeling it, but they’ll let her through anyway.

Achille Lovle has brought us a Madonna song all the way from the Ivory Coast. Bring it back. Jennifer feels bad dismissing this very bad singer.

Dance instructor Tiffany Rios has decided to come on this show rather than the hundred dance shows out there. She made up an original song for the auditions, a bad idea not helped by the glass shattering note she hits, but her voice gets her through it.

Robbie Rosen was in a wheelchair growing up. The problems he had eventually went away, so now he’s walking just fine. He sings Yesterday by The Beatles. He’s one to watch.

Boy Scout Chris Cordeiro is here to waste our time. Well, at least we get a PSA against texting while driving squeezed in there.

Michael Perotto has been singing for years and thinks people would tell him if he sucked. Oh, they’ll tell you that and more.

Ashley Sullivan is awkward, which she embraces. Her idol: Britney Spears. Didn’t she used to be a singer? The judges just smile and nod. After some embarrassing begging, Jennifer and Steven invite her to Hollywood. She looks forward to going somewhere more exotic than New Hampshire.

16 (and 3/4) year old Victoria Huggins has come from North Carolina. I half expect her to say the most important thing to her is world peace. The somewhat cartoony and overly sugary voice turns out to be decent when she’s singing.

Melinda Ademi has come with her war refugee family from Kosovo. Singing I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys, she rounds off day one on a positive note.

Devyn Rush is a singing waitress. People actually pay to see that? I even hate it when they make a big deal out of singing Happy Birthday. The judges are caught off guard by her voice, which they weren’t expecting to be good enough.

Yoji “Pop” Asano will be completely pointless. He has decided to sing Party in the USA, while dancing like Michael Jackson. Good thing the judges are entertained. Too bad I can’t share in their enthusiasm.

Brielle von Hugel shows up with a flower in her hair. I was thinking maybe she was from Hawaii like Jasmine Trias, but no, she’s from Staten Island. The judges think she has work to do, but she has potential.

The final contestant of the evening is Travis Orlando, who grew up in the Bronx. He sings Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles and I’m Yours by Jason Mraz. In spite of his nerves, he’ll be heading to Hollywood.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 10 Episode 2, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

It’s been a rough year for American Idol judges. First Paula Abdul quit because she wanted more money than she was worth, which from a judging standpoint merely eliminated babbling and critiques on how cute the contestants’ outfits looked. She was then replaced by Ellen DeGeneres, somebody who had even fewer judging credentials, but at least she was funny. After that judging shuffle, Simon Cowell quit at the start of the new year so that he could begin work on X Factor, seriously bringing into question whether Idol will actually be worth watching any more.

Once the season concluded, Ellen DeGeneres quit, because she did not feel comfortable judging people. Really? Finally, earlier this month, Kara DioGuardi left the show as well, as rumors began swirling the new powers that be/is/are wanted to go in another direction.

With just Randy Jackson left standing, now we find out what that direction is. In addition to Randy, who will be returning, there will be two new judges, bringing the panel down to the three it had been for so long before needlessly expanding to four. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Jennifer Lopez are the new judges who will be joining us for season 10.

As much money as they dropped getting this trio together, I sure hope it’s worth it. I’m underwhelmed already, though.