Category: american idol season 12

Or was he fired? Either way, Randy Jackson plans to make this 12th season his last.

“Yo! Yo! Yo! To put all of the speculation to the rest, after 12 years of judging on American Idol I have decided it is time to leave after this season,” he told E. “I am very proud of how we forever changed television and the music industry. It’s been a life changing opportunity but I am looking forward to focusing on my company Dream Merchant 21 and other business ventures.”

Many people thought American Idol would come crumbling down when Simon left, but it managed a respectable performance last year. It wasn’t until now that the whole thing fell apart. Although it is still one of the top shows on TV, its double digit percentage audience loss has been painful and does not bode well for any of the judges keeping their jobs.

As easy as it is to blame anything Fox has done, I think we can more easily assign blame to singing show fatigue. Fox’s X Factor kicked things off with a fall show, but NBC really got the death spiral going with The Voice twice a year. They may have a hit on their hands for now (though The Voice did finally drop below Idol on Wednesday, down to a 2.8 from season highs over 5), but people are going to get as sick of this as they did Deal or No Deal and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? I for one gave up Idol this year, and I gave up The Voice as soon as NBC cancelled The Biggest Loser’s fall season.

An all male Hollywood week began for the boys in American Idol Season 12 Episode 7 with some solo performances followed by group night. I missed the first few minutes of tonight’s show making preparations for snowmageddon, but it’s American Idol, so how much could I have really missed? Looks like we’re picking up on day 3, some more solo performances.

The contestants will receive immediate results. No waiting, no rooms.

Devin Velez (What a Wonderful World), Gurpreet Singh Sarin (Georgia on My Mind), Cortez Shaw, and Matheus Fernandes (Stronger by Kelly Clarkson) are in group 2. So apparently what I missed was group 1. They tell Matheus to stop talking about being short. To be fair, they’re the ones encouraging people talking about their otherwise irrelevant stories. Devin, Gurpreet, Cortez, and Adam Sanders are through to the next round.

Nicholas Mathis gives a somewhat rough performance. Papa Peachez tells us he’s not a puppet and has his own thing going on, which would explain his bad choice of nicknames. His performance has Nicki more disappointed still. Jimmy Smith has slightly more luck. Nick and Papa have been cut. Papa says he doesn’t like singing other people’s songs anyway.

Nick Boddington made it to Vegas last year, so he should be a lock to do so again. He decides to play the keyboard, and on top of that he’s a great singer. Charlie Askew is as awkward as ever, but his voice stands out despite that. They both advance along with JDA and Mathenee Treco. If Mathenee’s this good and auditioned in Oklahoma, why didn’t we see him instead of the ridiculous nonsense they chose to show?

Burnell Taylor and Marvin Calderon move to the next round after both singing Jar of Hearts.

Micah Johnson surprises with a Randy Travis song, but it’s not good enough to make it to the next round. Gabe Brown, Sanni, and Nate Tao have also been eliminated.

28 people have been chosen. Since they need to narrow it down to a top 20, 8 more will be cut next week.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 12 Episode 9, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

American Idol Season 12 Episode 6 was an insult to the intelligence of the audience and humanity in general. As bad as this show can be, I do not remember any episode being this bad before. If the Oklahoma auditions were really that bad, just don’t show them, or truncate them and put them together with something else. The good news is that at least they are done wasting time, and Hollywood week begins.

This year, Hollywood week is divided by gender. Tonight we start with the guys.

Micah Johnson, who has a speech impediment following his tonsils being removed, is advancing to the next round. Nate Tao, Gabe Brown, and Gurpreet Singh Sarin are as well.

Karl Skinner advanced because the judges had nobody else to put through in Oklahoma City, but he will not be going any further. Dustin Watts and Dr. Calvin Peters have also been cut.

Cortez Shaw’s annoying rendition of I Will Always Love You fails to annoy anyone other than Nicki. Curtis Finch Jr. and Frankie Ford advance to the next round with him.

Lazaro Arbos still has a better story than a voice, but he will be advancing. Trevor Blakeley, a tired Bryant Tadeo, and Charles Allen will, too.

Brian Rittenberry is in the last lineup of the day, and the good news stops with him. He and half the guys have been cut already.

Now on to group night, where we can start manufacturing some drama. Speaking of which, the contestants, who have already spent the day forming their own groups, will not have that luxury. For the first time, the producers will determine who is in which group, deliberately picking groups they know will clash.

Nick Boddington, Mathenee Treco, Matheus Fernandes, and Gabe Brown are in one of the few groups that actually got along. Their lack of drama shows through in their performance of Somebody to Love, and all four move to tomorrow’s solo round.

Johnny Keyser picked a song with lyrics he wasn’t really comfortable with, and after a “nightless sleep,” he still doesn’t know them. Kareem Clark seems to know the words, but he’s terrible. He is the only one of their group to be cut.

Charlie Askew is not feeling well for a few hours. He has one supportive team member at least. Curtis Finch, Jr., however, offers to pack his bags. I guess he’s trying to be funny, but it comes off unlikeable. In any event, all three advance.

Micah Johnson, Vincent Powell, Marvin Calderon, and David Willis are all going through. Zach Birnbaum, Nate Tao, Cortez Shaw, and Elijah Liu are, too.

Paul Jolly and Will White are in a group in which nobody knows the words, but they are the two who advance regardless.

Nicki doesn’t care that the next group consisting of The Turbanator and some other guys is terrible. They are still her favorite of the day because they brought their terribleness to the audience, like she does at her shows.

Jason Jones, Dan Wood, Jessie Lawrence, and some other guy try to do One Direction… and fail miserably. They are all eliminated.

Devan Jones and Devin Velez are in the only group of the night to sing a cappella. They advance along with somebody named Adrian.

Tony Foster Jr. and Burnell Taylor advance, but Darien Moses and Mario Jose are cut.

Lazaro has never heard of the Beach Boys, but he sings one of their songs along with Josh Stephens, Scott Flenor, and Christian Lopez. Their decent but somewhat rough performance results in the elimination of Josh and Scott.

Lee Pritchard, JDA (really?), Joel Wayman, and Trevor Blakney are in Country Queen, a group that’s half country and half queens. The country half of the group, Trevor and Lee, is out.

David Leathers (the final elimination last year), Kayden Stephenson, Kevin Quinn, and Sanni M’Mairura are the youngest guys remaining. David and Sanni have made it.

The group with the most bickering, who continue to argue as they’re walking on stage since Frankie still won’t shut up, get the final spot of the night. Papa Peachez, Adam Sanders, Frankie Ford, and Charles Allen participate in a train wreck, but the three other than Frankie continue. His group tries to offer some words, but he doesn’t want to hear from any of them as we close out the night with a meltdown.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 12 Episode 8, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

Tonight is the final round of the often painful audition process. 1 hour seems to work better, though, as there was a surprising amount of competent performers last week with less not funny filler that Nigel is convinced is hilarious. The auditions conclude in Oklahoma City.

Karl Skinner is a character, who starts off with the first ridiculous audition of the night, though in the end he actually does turn out to have a decent voice.

Both of Nate Tao’s parents are deaf, which means they have no idea whether he sucks. He doesn’t need to worry about that, though, since he continues the reasonably decent singing.

A puppet. Great. What show am I watching again? Halie Hilburn performs a duet with Oscar, a yodeling talking dog. Disregarding the puppet, she has a good voice.

Next we get a commerical break. Then an idiot butchering the national anthem. I fast forwarded this nonsense after pausing to do something else because it was too stupid to justify watching, but apparently she made it through to Hollywood despite being horrible. Then another commecial break. This all adds up to 15 straight minutes dedicated to stupidity and commercials. What was it I was saying about 1 hour shows working? So can we get some good singing now? Nope, next up, a crying montage.

So now we’re at 17 minutes since puppet lady, and Anastacia Freeman is up, also crying. And she sucks, despite God telling her that she should audition. Now another commercial break.

What the bloody hell is up with this stupid show? This has to be the worst episode ever.

Kayden Stephenson has cystic fibrosis, which means his life expectancy is 35 years. He has an inspiring story, though his voice is merely adequate.

We finish the night with about what can be expected from a night like this. Steven Tyler dressed as a woman. Anyone who DVRed this show may as well just delete it. Even the good acts topped out at decent, while most of the show was just a great big waste of time, even by American Idol standards.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 12 Episode 7, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

In between the judges having the lamest non-feud ever in American Idol Season 12 Episode 3, we saw Jimmy Smith, Janelle Arthur, Candice Glover, and Seretha Guinn in Chicago. Tonight the auditions continue in Baton Rouge.

Megan Miller is the current Miss Baton Rouge, which I assume is a real thing. 3 days ago, she was in an accident, and she’s having surgery right after the audition. She could just wait a year or until the next of 1200 singing competitions rolls into town, but this gives her a story that people are going to remember. Beyond that, she has a great voice.

Charlie Askew is socially awkward. His doctor says he has Charlie Askew syndrome, so pretty much just something made up. Music is his outlet, and he turns out to have a powerful voice.

Maddie Assel has been nominated by her grandmother. She mentions that one of her inspirations is Haley Reinhart, so I suspect we’ll hear growling, but anyway she, too, has a strong voice in what’s turning out to be a decent night so far.

Obviously, that won’t last. Now we get to see the bad, ridiculous, and just not funny.

Following a lame montage, Paul Jolley tells us a story of his recently deceased grandfather. He sings I Won’t Let Go by Rascal Flatts, and he’s easily through to Hollywood.

When he performs, Christopher Barthel has an alterego, one without a name. Or any talent.

Dr. Calvin Peters just started singing again now that he’s done with college. He sings Whenever, Wherever, Whatever by Maxwell, and he’s a good singing doctor.

Michelle Montezeri, Breanna Steer, and Brandy Hotard will also be going to Hollywood.

Firefighter Dustin Watts sings She’s Every Woman by Garth Brooks. The judges appreciate his job and his voice.

Burnell Taylor grew up in a musical house. He’s been singing forever but realized he really can sing after Katrina. His performance receives a standing ovation.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 12 Episode 5, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

Chicago brought us Mackenzie Wasner, Brandy Neelly, and concluded with Lazaro Arbos’ sad story about stuttering in American Idol Season 12 Episode 2. Tonight the auditions continue in Charlotte.

We start off at the top of the show with talk about production shutting down in 6 hours due to (manufactured) drama.

Naomi Morris wants the judges to remember her for something other than her breasts. Not likely. Why do they give people like this the chance to sing more than once, yet refuse to offer moderately competent singers that same opportunity?

Joel Nemoyer can lie on the ground and sing with high clarity. This should be stupid.

Brian Rittenberry’s wife recently recovered from cancer. He sings Let It Be and receives praise from the judges.

Jimmy Smith says Keith Urban was his influence. He sings God Bless the Broken Road. Very good country singer.

Sarina-Joi Crowe, Haley Davis, and Na’chelle Fullins-Lovell advance to Hollywood, with the latter one making a special attempt to break glass.

Matthew Muse mostly sings karaoke. Get off my TV.

Isabel Gonzalez has been nominated by her aunt. The judges are thoroughly impressed. I like her a lot more than the last bus tour contestant.

Taisha Bethea is the lead singer in a band. She tells us she’s a rocker, but then she sings a Johnny Cash song. The judges are on the fence. Mariah and Randy say no, but deciding judge (based on location apparently) Keith lets her through to Hollywood.

Summer Cunningham jumps right into singing Lean on Me without much build up to it. That leads us to a little drama when she says she wants to sing soulful country rather than just country. The other three judges let it go fairly quickly and vote yes, but then we get to Nicki. And bickering ensues, followed by Nicki walking off stage. Where did that come from? This is what we kept hearing about before the season started and the media was hyping a rivalry between Mariah and Nicki.

After we see every talk show discussing this non-confrontation, day 2 begins. Brandy Alexandria Hamilton got in trouble for singing too much as a Navy reservist. She does enough to move forward, and she asks the judges not to fight because it makes her sad.

Ashley Smith wanders around the waiting room annoying everybody. Surprisingly, her singing of Cowboy Casanova does not continue the annoyance.

Nicki can’t remember people unless she gives them a stupid nickname.

Janelle Arthur has been singing since she was cast in a production at a theme park in the role of Dolly Parton at age 8. That may be where she got her start, but it looks like she’s going to keep going following this audition.

Rodney Barber sings on the street and refers to himself as the voice of Charlotte. He was homeless and thanks people for helping him get past it, so he hopes to pay it forward. His big voice impresses the judges, who are inspired by his story.

Candice Glover was cut in Vegas last year. She says she’s learned who she wants to be as an artist, and she tells us people compare her to Joshua Ledet, the person who received the most ridiculously over the top compliments in the history of the show. She’ll be heading back to Hollywood.

Ja’bria Barber wants to invite the judges to eat some frog legs. They won’t be taking her up on that, but they like her voice and personality.

Brad Harris used to break chairs with his head in school. He doesn’t think it did any permanent damage. I’m not convinced. The judges decline to give him a ticket or a handshake.

Seretha Guinn has dealt for the last year with her boyfriend’s serious accident, and she hopes to return to him with a surprise that will lift his spirits. She sings The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. What? But it works like a charm.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 12 Episode 4, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

We started off American Idol Season 12 Episode 1 with three new judges and a couple of decent singers in between the waste of time contestants that used to be funny but no longer are. Tonight we head to Chicago, where we’re told Jennifer Hudson (who nobody really liked when she placed 7th) was discovered.

Mackenzie Wasner’s father is a piano player, and she’s been singing alongside him since she considered the alphabet song to be more than just a convenient way to pass a sobriety test. And it shows. More than one judge calls her a star.

Kiara Lanier sang for Obama. I’m not sure whether that means anything or not, but the judges are very impressed by her performance.

Stephanie Schimel continues the trend of good singers, one that won’t last. She definitely looks like a star, though Nicki is unimpressed with her vocals and is the sole judge to say no. Then Mariah and Nicki start their back and forth while Nicki decides which accent to use.

Melissa Bush is the quietest contestant ever. Her performances leave the judges with nothing to say but “Okay.”

Rocker Gabe Brown was invited to Idol from Iowa City on the small town bus tour. Good at what he does, though the question is whether he can do anything else.

Kevin Nabity loves Vanilla Ice and the rapping Ninja Turtles. He also thinks he’s a martial artist. Oy.

Isabelle Parell does a duet with Keith Urban, who she additionally gives a cue card what to say. She’s better than he is, if that means anything.

Griffin Peterson gets to sing after Nicki tries to pick him up. Decent enough to advance, but as with Isabelle, Randy says no. Meanwhile, his mom is outside crossing an item off her bucket list: kiss Ryan Seacrest.

Curtis Finch, Jr. sings a song that I assume is called God Is Able, which receives glowing reviews from the judges.

Mariah Pulice is recovering from anorexia. Her sad story is followed by a sad song, but she’s going to Hollywood.

Brandy Neelly was adopted by her aunt. Being from Kentucky, we know what style of music she’ll be singing, You’re Cheating Heart by Hank Williams. As country singers go, she’ll be at the front of the pack.

Josh Holiday, Courtney Williams, and Andrew Jones round out the good singer montage.

This will be Clifton Duffin’s first time singing in front of his parents. They emotionally find out how good he is. Mariah and Nicki say they can relate to this story of singing off on their own without anybody to hear them.

Ieisha Cotton tells us she’s a professional dancer. Then she dances. I don’t see it. Of course, she told us she could sing, too.

Johnny Keyser is back again. Yet another person for Nicki to hit on. Last year he scraped through a couple rounds in Hollywood, so he’s obviously good.

Kez Ban is a beginner fire performer and balloon animal artist, who makes sure to mention planet of origin as Earth. Surprisingly enough, the performance is decent, though I’m finding myself trying to identify gender, which turns out to be female.

Ashley Curry is the most over the top singer of the evening. I think she might have a good voice if she were to strip all that away.

Lazaro Arbos is originally from Cuba. He has a very pronounced stutter. I assume this disappears when he sings, which saw on America’s Got Talent from the guy who turned out to be lying about his time as a soldier. His story fits well with his song choice of Bridge Over Troubled Water, which advances him to Hollywood.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 12 Episode 3, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

The granddaddy of the most overdone genre on television is back for another season. The judges’ revolving door continues to turn with three new judges after two of the old useless ones (Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler) left. Replacing them are Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, and Keith Urban. Among them, Mariah’s kind of a big deal, as one of the biggest pop sensations of a century ago (unlike J-Lo, she got famous because of her voice), though that does not necessarily translate to being a good judge. Apparently unable to find a job elsewhere, Randy Jackson rounds out the panel as the fourth judge, which worked out so well last time they tried it.

We start off with some footage for Phillip Phillips, in case someone remembers him. The first audition city is New York.

Are Mariah and Nicki going to bicker all night? As they get into their own thing, Michael Buonopane comes in and gets the show started with singing in as many genres as he knows. None of them are good enough for a vote.

Tenna Torres last got to sing for Mariah when she was 13 at Camp Mariah. Now 28, she sings You’ve Got a Friend by Carol King, easily making it through to the next round.

James Bae wants to be the next Justin Bieber. In his own words, it will be a miracle if he were to get a yes. Yes, yes it would. He informs us he’s singing a Bieber song. Perhaps he is. Everybody tries to be kind. Finally, Randy tells him he can’t sing.

Christina “Isabelle” lost 50 pounds so she could pursue a career as a singer. She’d like to bring back the great music she listened to growing up, like Mariah. Nicki thinks she’s going far in this competition.

Evan Ruggiero tells us he’s been dancing since he was a child. But this is American Idol. When he was 19, he learned he had bone cancer, which eventually led to his leg being amputated. In addition to singing, he’s brought his guitar with him. His Bon Jovi is a lot better than his Jason Mraz, but it’s not quite enough, though the judges tell him to come back next year.

When Jessica Kartalis is asked what kind of artist she’ll be, she says she doesn’t want to label herself. That’s not a good sign. The judges suggest she come back when she figures that out.

Shira Gavrielov is from Israel, where she released a CD when she was 17. I don’t get it, but the judges love her.

Day 1 in New York ends with Frankie Ford sings on the train to make ends meet. Despite a shaky start, he pulls it together and is headed to Hollywood.

Benjamin Gaisey is an awful singer with a bad wig and whose clothes make noise when he moves. I’d like to move on, but the judges encourage him to sing another song. After we watch that waste of time, we get to go to another 5 minute commercial break. It would be nice if they added some show to this promotional effort.

Rozanna Shindelman usually doesn’t sing in front of people. She may wish to continue that trend.

Sarah Restuccio is from New Jersey, the blueberry capital of the world. A country singer is not what you’d expect from Jersey, but it makes sense seeing as she lives on a farm. After she does the Carrie Underwood song quite well, she switches it up and sings Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass.

Albert Chang has no idea who these judges are, but to be fair I don’t know half of them either. His really dull performance of Phantom of the Opera kicks it up a notch with terrible high pitch.

Angela Miller has partial hearing loss, but it doesn’t affect her singing any. The judges say she brought something they haven’t heard today.

Brett Holt has auditioned 7 times. Next.

Gurpreet Singh Sarin always matches his turban with the rest of his outfit. His decent voice is sufficient to gather 3 votes.

Ashlee Feliciano is the biological daughter of a family that adopts medically complex children. She sings Put Your Records On to finish the night and receives glowing praise from the judges.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 12 Episode 2, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.