Category: american idol season 9

American Idol Season 9 Episode 10 brought us the second part of Hollywood week. Tonight is the conclusion of Hollywood week, and we will find out some of the top 24.

The contestants are divided into three groups and sent into different rooms. Well, this has the potential to be drawn out like a Biggest Loser weigh in.

After his performance, Jermaine Sellers turns around to the band and says “That wasn’t actually right.” Okay, that was necessary why?

Crystal Bowersox shows off her guitar and harmonica playing skills.

Alex Lambert gives the ukulele one more shot, singing I’m Yours by Jason Mraz. Big Mike Lynche and Todrick Hall also sing that song.

Thaddeus Johnson’s mother has been with him from the beginning, often far too loud. He sings Man in the Mirror, the song that paved the way for Kris Allen’s success (that Kara incorrectly said was the wrong choice).

Mary Powers had an emotional round 1, followed by being overly bossy in round 2. Round 3 finally lets her put the drama behind.

Bryan Walker gets a wink from Simon, which I’m going to take as a positive thing.

Shelby Dressell struggled to remember her words during rehearsal, like she did during her first audition, but she pulled it off when it came time to perform in front of the judges.

Aaron Kelly, however, forgot his words in his final performance. After taking some time to compose himself, though, he recovers.

Janell Wheeler has been struggling with her voice this week, but it doesn’t seem to impact her. What the judges do pick apart is the song choice.

Room 1 goes first, meaning they have made it. Included in this group are Lilly Scott, Siobhan Magnus, Tyler Grady, Thaddeus Johnson, Michael Lynche, and Katie Stevens.

Room 2 goes next. They haven’t made it. This room includes Hope Johnson, Bryan Walker, Mary Powers, Charity Vance, Christian Spear, and Lloyd Thomas.

That leaves room 3 in the clear. Randy realizes he sounds like a broken record by now, saying that this year is the best group ever. This room includes Aaron Kelly, Janell Wheeler, Ashley Rodriguez, John Park, Angela Martin, Jessica Furney, and Shelby Dressel.

On previous seasons, we found out the top 24 on Wednesday night, but this year it’s been split to include a partial reveal tonight. Why is anybody’s speculation.

Instead of the awkward elevator ride, this year they will receive the news at the Kodak Theatre.

Michael Lynche is warned that they’re not sure whether he believes he can actually do this, but he is the first person to join the top 24 by a unanimous vote.

Didi Benami is still as emotional as she was when we first saw her. She gets the first spot for the girls.

After a lengthy routine in which Ellen makes her wait while telling her it’s wrong to make her wait, Katelyn Epperly is told she has made it.

Shelby Dressel is the first person to be cut. Simon says that was the wrong decision.

Casey James will hopefully be keeping his clothes on for the final judging. He’s going through to the next round.

Despite having forgotten his words in both the second and third performances in Hollywood, Aaron Kelly joins the top 24.

Lee DeWyze is told he needs to be more confident in himself, but he makes it to through.

Todrick Hall just gets one word: yes.

Jessica Furney has been cut. After hearing that, she starts begging. This isn’t going to do her any favors. They’ve already made up their minds. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot for next year, too.

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

The start of Hollywood in American Idol Season 9 Episode 9 marked the start of Ellen DeGeneres’ judging on the show. She turned out to not be too bad. Not that she had a lot to live up to. Tonight is group day, which has proved to be the downfall of many people, particularly those who are just there to have fun.

85 people have been cut so far. 96 remain.

The first challenge is to find a group and agree on a song. I can tell already this is going to be a completely chaotic episode jumping from one place to another without much focus.

The Dreamers starts off as a threesome of Mary Powers, Alex Lambert, and Margo May. They invite Hope Johnson and Erin Hunley to join them.

The Mighty Rangers all auditioned in Denver: Maddie Penrose, Danny Jones, Mark Labriola, Tori Kelly, and Kim Kerbo.

Phoenix includes Jermaine Sellers, Kat, Ben Honeycutt, Jeff Goldford, and Moorea Masa, who made it to Hollywood last year and was in Danny Gokey’s group.

The original Dreamers aren’t too happy with their new group members, and they’re considering dropping them.

Paige Miles and Thaddeus Johnson join Jessica Cunningham and Liz Rooney to form the quartet Neopolitan.

Destiny’s Wild keeps getting tossed out of every room because they’re obnoxiously loud. Their group consists of Siobhan Magnus, Jereb Leaver, Theri (no last name), and Todrick Hall. They park themselves right next to Neopolitan, who are then forced to start shouting as well.

The Dreamers have decided to work together now. Having dragged their feet, now they have to play catch up.

Big Mike Lynche’s wife is about to deliver their first child. She’s gonna have to go it alone, and wants him to be there singing.

Back to the drama with The Dreamers. Mary wants to take control of everything. She’s even getting on the nerves of keyboard player Michael Orland.

Big Mike gets a call from his wife, and he goes through labor over the phone with her. It’s a girl.

Some people are missing something: the words.

Charity Vance, Ashley Rodriguez, and Michelle Delamor are the first group to perform. They’re all through.

Big Mike’s group Team Awesome also consists of Seth Rollins, Tim Urban, and Michael Castro. Michael Lynche and Tim Urban step forward and will advance to the next round.

Neopolitan is next. They sing the same song as Destiny’s Wild, who claim that they stole their apparently original idea of singing a cappella. Simon thought that was very good. All of Neopolitan advances.

Destiny’s Wild is up next. Ellen tells them their performance was weird. Nonetheless, they, too, all advance.

Denver’s Mighty Rangers get off to a good start. Until Mark and Kimberly forget the words. Tori Kelly and Maddie Penrose advance. The people who stayed up to rehearse continue, while those who went to bed earlier got booted.

Phoenix loses one of their group members, who decided to bail at the last minute, afraid they will humiliate themselves. Simon tells Moorea it’s rubbish that they went through anything hard up there. Jeff Goldford and Jermaine Sellers advance to the last day.

Big Dreams includes Matt Lawrence, Amanda Shechtman, and two other people who Simon doesn’t want to hear. It’s the end of the line.

Leah Lorenti, Carmen Turner, Kimberly Carver, and Dave Pittman have been cut.

Janell Wheeler, Jermaine Purifory, and Casey James all advance.

Andrew Garcia, Katie Stevens, and JB Ahfua follow suit.

The Dreamers have been arguing all night and day. Margo May very quickly bombs. Mary Powers, Hope Johnson, and Alex Lambert advance.

71 people have survived the day.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 9 Episode 11, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.

The audition rounds concluded in American Idol Season 9 Episode 8 with a final sweep through the various cities. We got a look at Lacey Brown and Aaron Kelly. Tonight, Hollywood week begins. American Idol’s newest judge Ellen DeGeneres joins the cast. Now past the audition rounds, the contestants will be allowed to sing with an instrument, should they choose to do so.

Katie Stevens sings For Once in My Life by Stevie Wonder. Simon says she’s quite good.

Skii Bo Ski has yet to drop his stupid nickname. He sings Ain’t Too Proud to Beg by The Temptations. Ellen warns him there’s a fine line between sexy and scary, no doubt an indication of the type of input we can expect. Still better than Paula, though.

Katie is in, but Skii Bo Ski is out.

Andrew Garcia sings Straight Up by Paula Abdul while playing guitar. You’re one season too late for that, dude. This very unique rendition goes over well with the audience. Kara calls that genius.

Vanessa Wolfe has made her journey to the fancy big city from her small town of 1100. Ellen tells her that her nerves are gonna kill her.

Andrew is through to the next round. Vanessa and Tasha Layton have been eliminated.

Cornelius Edwards, Maegan Wright, and Amadeo DiRocco are also eliminated. Guitar playing Janell Wheeler, however, advances.

Haeley Vaughn has seen a lot of people struggling with their instruments, but she proceeds with her guitar. Rocker mom Mary Powers comes to the stage next. Both of them advance to the next round.

The judges tell Jay Stone he’s ridiculous. They should have listened to Simon in the first place in Orlando. This half singing thing isn’t working.

Lilly Scott is the first new face of the night. She sings Lullaby of Birdland by Ella Fitzgerald while playing guitar. Kara finds her to be refreshing.

Michael Lynche’s wife’s water just broke, and she will not be happy if he doesn’t come home successfully. He sings Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer while playing guitar. He advances to the next round.

Tim Urban got off to a bit of a rocky start in his first audition but was given one more chance. He sings Come Back to Me by David Cook to somewhat mixed reviews.

Justin Williams sings and plays keyboard. Randy just calls him interesting. He is sent packing. Really? That was not good enough to at least go again?

Tim, however, goes through to the next round.

Paige Dechausse and Erica Rhodes have been cut, as have Jersey sisters Amanda and Bernadette Desimone.

Maddy Curtis sings, well, I’m not sure what she sang, but Simon says it’s the wrong song whatever it was.

Casey James is the guy who got through because he took his shirt off. He plays blues guitar. Much more impressive than without the instrument.

Casey advances, but Maddy does not.

Didi Benami sings Terrified by Kara DioGuardi. At least she’s not crying this time. Simon hates to admit he really likes that song.

Crystal Bowersox sings A Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin. Any time somebody does this song on this show, I think back to Kelly Clarkson’s breakthrough performance (and how it pales in comparison by contrast). Nonetheless, she does well.

Both Crystal and Didi advance.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 9 Episode 10, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

In Denver, we saw Casey James, Haeley Vaughn, Danelle Hayes, and Mark Labriola in American Idol Season 9 Episode 7. Tonight we get the final auditions before Hollywood week.

Jessica Furney is returning one year later with a new idea: sing Footprints in the Sand by Leona Lewis, a song co-written by Simon Cowell (and three other people).

Amanda Shectman does voices. Throughout the audition (and afterward), she seems to be more interested in an acting gig, and she’d like to thank the academy. She’s got a good voice that probably belongs in the theater instead, but she gets through to Hollywood anyway.

Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox are through to the next round.

Lacey Brown is amongst the reunion show crowd, but she actually made it somewhere last season, reaching the top 50.

Stephanie Fisher is back. For a 7th time. She’s not getting any better, or if she is, I don’t want to see the original attempts.

Rachel Hubbard, Thaddeus Johnson, and Genesis Moore are among this year’s group of 16 year olds going to Hollywood.

Adrian Chandtchi is 6’8″ at age 17. The judges believe there is a small schoolboy trapped inside him, perhaps because he’s eaten one.

Michael Lynche just found out he’s got his first child on the way, and he is through to Hollywood.

Didi Benami is auditioning in memory of her best friend. She does a good job of containing her emotions for a while, until breaking down during the somewhat positive judging.

Aaron Kelly got adopted by his aunt and uncle at a young age, rather than being being taken into social services. He sings The Climb by Miley Cyrus. Interesting. He could well be this year’s David Archuleta.

Kimberly Bishop plans to recycle and help kids in Africa, but she’ll need to fund those efforts with something other than her singing career.

Shaddaii Harris makes Simon allergic to Fallin’ by Alicia Keys.

Hope Johnson didn’t know she was poor growing up, just thinking that a lot of kids didn’t eat dinner. She sings I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack. She’s got potential.

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

Dallas brought us Lloyd Thomas, Kimberly Carver, Erica Rhodes, Dave Pittman, and Todrick Hall in American Idol Season 9 Episode 6. Tonight we head to Denver, where Chris Daughtry was discovered. Victoria Beckham returns as a guest judge.

Mark Labriola is told he looks like Jack Black, the ugliest guy in Hollywood. He sings Tempted by Squeeze. The judges are pleasantly surprised.

Kimberly Kerbow is there with her 5 year old daughter. She sings The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson. Simon worries she is trouble, but she is through to the next round.

Danelle Hayes hosts karaoke and sings in a cover band. She’s crying almost immediately after walking in the room but pulls it together and sings I’m the Only One by Melissa Etheridge. Kara says this was the most moving audition, which people will look for.

Casey James was in a motorcycle accident at age 21. Despite the pain, he continues to play guitar. Simon calls it a bad audition, but the girls like his look. The judges are in agreement that he needs to work on his personality. Then Kara gets him to start stripping. To back up the girls, Randy says yes.

Tori Kelly, 16, sings Gravity by John Mayer. Simon thought she was almost annoying, but he’s again outnumbered 3-1. Victoria says that was the best voice of the day.

Austin Paul’s 42nd goal in life is to make it to Hollywood. Well, looks like he’ll be stopped at 41. The judges want to knock him off his pedestal by saying no.

Kenny Everett says he’s the world’s best singer. So pretty much we can expect this to suck. He gets stuck on the same thing repeatedly like a jukebox that needs to be kicked. Nonetheless, he continues to believe he’s the greatest, and he takes his torture out into the lobby.

Nicci Nix is currently living in Italy. X Factor Italy probably would have been a shorter trip. Simon just wants to know if she’s eaten any helium. The judges are surprised that her singing voice does not sound like a cartoon character, and she is through to Hollywood.

Haeley Vaughn has a goal of being a successful black pop country singer. Simon likes that she’s different.

Next up. Bikini guy. Unlike bikini girl, he’s not hot enough to pull this off.

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

Los Angeles brought us Jim Ranger, Mary Powers, Andrew Garcia, Tasha Layton, and Chris Golightly in American Idol Season 9 Episode 5. Tonight we head to Dallas with guest judges Neil Patrick Harris (huh?) and Joe Jonas.

Julie Kevelighan was here in season 1 and was promptly tossed out. Less worse than the first time.

Lloyd Thomas sings Overjoyed by Stevie Wonder. Simon calls it his favorite audition of the day. Randy gives him a billion percent yes. Well, that’s pretty high.

Kimberly Carver sings an original song. Randy likes her really good voice, but Simon doesn’t see anything current or interesting. Simon declines, but the other three say yes. She promises to go watch Doogie Howser.

Dexter Ward tells us he is the next America’s Idol (he almost got the name right). Randy wants to know if that hurt.

Erica Rhodes was on Barney & Friends. Time to break out the leather and whip then. After doing the Barney theme song, she sings Free Your Mind by En Vogue. She’s through to Hollywood.

Dave Pittman was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome when he was 9, although it doesn’t affect him when he’s singing. He sings Bring It on Home to Me by Sam Cook, and he’s through to the next round.

Day 2 brings us a Jonas.

Todrick Hall was in The Color Purple with Fantasia. He sings a somewhat lame original song but nonetheless sounds great. Randy calls him one of the best of the season. Simon’s not jumping out of his chair but says yes.

Dawntoya Thomason and Stephanie Daulong also make their way to Hollywood.

Maegan Wright is there with her little brother Dawson. She sings To Make You Feel My Love. Kara found that very moving and says she’s her favorite of the day.

Vanessa Johnston is entirely too perky and pink. Simon’s nightmares look and sound like her.

Christian Spear was diagnosed with Leukemia on her 4th birthday. Now at age 16, she is doing fine and singing All I Could Do Is Cry by Etta James. Joe likes her confidence and beautiful voice. Kara didn’t sense any fear.

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

Orlando brought us Jermaine Purifoy and Matt Lawrence in American Idol Season 9 Episode 4. Tonight we head to Los Angeles, so basically everybody who showed up there is already going to Hollywood. The guest judges are Avril Lavigne and then Katy Perry.

Neil Goldstein tells us he’s got an IQ of 168. So he’s probably smart enough to know that he sucks at singing. He sings Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through by Meat Loaf, and it goes about as badly as expected.

Jim Ranger sings a song he wrote called Drive. Simon thinks his voice is authentic. Avril thinks he’s got a good voice, but warns him that being in this business means travelling, which may be a problem with a wife and three kids and being a pastor.

Damien Lefavor has been trying to hit that one note for years. He sings You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling by the Righteous Brothers. At least he acknowledges that he sucks, and he just walks out.

Mary Powers’ daughter predicts she will be in the top 14 or something. She sings Love Is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar. Simon thinks she’s got a really good voice but is cliched.

AJ Mendoza wants to be Adam Lambert. He sings Cult of Personality by Living Colour. Simon felt it was as if he just got back from the dentist.

Katy’s first bit of judgment is to say that the other judges are ridiculous for arriving by helicopter.

Austin Fullmer is more in love wih himself than Simon is. Simon suggests he stick to just cleaning water. Katy wants to know if these people are frisked before entering.

Andrew Garcia wants an improvement over his life, having been raised by parents who were in gangs. Simon calls him a genuinely really good singer. Randy says he’s got mad vocals.

Tasha Layton is a personal assistant/minister. She sings Baby Baby Baby by Joss Stone and gets through to Hollywood.

Jason Greene believes in magic. He also believes he’s hot, which in itself would require magic, and he sings I Touch Myself by the Divinyls. Creepy. Katy feels dirty. Simon didn’t like being hit on, although Ryan ends up getting the phone number.

Chris Golightly has bounced around in the foster care system since he was a baby. He sings Stand by Me. Kara calls him one of her favorites of the day. Simon thought he was nice but old fashioned. Katy and Simon give him limited support but still yes, but Kara and Randy are big fans.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 9 Episode 6, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

Chicago brought us Katelyn Epperly, Charity Vance, Angela Martin, John Park, and Paige Dechausse in American Idol Season 9 Episode 3. Tonight we head to Orlando with guest judge Kristin Chenoweth (for half the show anyway).

Theo Glinton plans to waste time. At that, he succeeds.

Seth Rollins hopes to win to be able to afford to take care of his autistic son. He sings Someone to Watch over Me by Frank Sinatra. Kristin likes his voice and everything about him. Randy would like to see more energy.

Jermaine Purifoy was cut back in season 7, but he admits he was not ready. He sings Smile by Tony Bennett. Kristin loves him. Randy’s favorite of the season.

Shelby Dressel had an undeveloped nerve when she was born, causing her to be unable to smile correctly, which has made her nervous appearing in front of people. She sings Turn Me on by Nora Jones. Simon likes her but wasn’t blown away with the voice. She gets a reserved yes, though.

Jay Stone sings (if you can call it that) Come Together by The Beatles. He appears to believe he’s Blake Lewis (but better). He’s not. Kara found that pretty amazing. Randy gives in and also lets him through.

Janell Wheeler, Brittany Starr James, and Kasi Bedford are also going to Hollywood.

Cornelius Edwards sings Proud Mary by Tina Turner. Or at least he tries before splitting his pants. Regardless, he’s going to Hollywood.

Like Charity last night, sisters Bernadette and Amanda Desimone sing in the salon in their house. Kara kinda likes something about them. Randy’s willing to give them one more shot. Simon would have said no to Amanda.

Jarrod Norrell is a disaster waiting to happen. He sings Amazing Grace. It’s worse than I anticipated. Kara asks: what was that? It sounded like a lawnmower. Jarrod’s not leaving until he gets a yes. That ain’t happening, so security has to escort him out. Unwilling to leave peacefully, he’s cuffed and dragged out by four guys.

Matt Lawrence (not the guy from Boy Meets World) is there for redemption. When he was 15, he went on “an adventure,” robbing a bank with a BB gun, and ending up in jail for 4 years. He sings Trouble by Ray LaMontagne. Simon felt that was authentic, and it’s his easiest yes of the day. Kara predicts he will be in the top 12.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 9 Episode 5, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.