So many of these auditions seem to have Katy in the yellow and black dress with the matching eye liner. It's like all the best ones just happened to be when she wore that outfit. There is quite some fun to be had watching her clothes change throughout the series as the editors have mixed and matched a lot.
Here's the fourth audition show and we start with Jessica Whitely. She stands out because of the black and red with bright and bold lipstick. She auditioned seven years ago so you might expect some change over the years but, surprisingly, this first act is very annoying. Let's move on.
Jacob Moran is not an obvious Idol winner but he comes across as a nice person. The three judges clap his performance enthusiastically but he seemed pretty average to me. I don't know what I missed that they heard in the room. I guess we'll find out in a later programme.
Elyssa Raghu made the Top 24 last year. That would have been enough for most singers and has to be an impressive achievement on its own. This girl, however, is one determined person. For me I do feel she is just a bit too 'organised' with so much effort having been made to get further this time. She's taken lessons for this and that and no-one can deny that she not only sings well but looks gorgeous. I feel that I would prefer a natural talent and, perhaps, with the right choice of songs and a genuine, rather than practised, interpretation will win over voters' hearts in future. I actually found some of her audition a bit tuneless in places too. The plaudits and praise were all a bit too much. Yes, put her through but that's enough.
Colby Swift says that a prayer got him here. He hails from Midfield Texas and that does seem very much to be pretty much the middle of one big field! I guess they probably need God out there as there's no-one else to talk to for miles. He's an all-American movie ranch boy and does good ol' Country with passion. Not related to Taylor, apparently.
Evelyn Cormier is 19 going on 30. She does Wicked Game and this is an interesting and natural audition. A different contestant but I am not sure how much appeal she'll have.
Ashley Hess is a bit older at 27 and you expect something good from this girl. She is the best so far, with a nice personality and seems genuinely surprised at the enthusiastic reception, especially when the three gather round her piano as she does another number for them. Nice. Watch out for her.
Gaba is a strange name and she used to be Elizabeth Gaba but now is just Gaba for some reason we never understand. She's a great singer and comes across as pure, natural talent as she stands there in a torn boiler suit with little make-up or effort at self-promotion. Whilst she's good the panel really are OTT and go on and on which is beginning to get a bit annoying. I accept that the show wants to be positive - and I am glad that we don't see many of the failures - but so many acts cannot be so good to warrant so much time spent telling them.
Peach Martine is some contrast to the previous act. She has made a lot of effort to make herself look good and, annoyingly, seems to be good at absolutely everything. Not only does she have 13 A star qualifications but she's a cheerleader and knows how to stand and sing and impress. She's almost robotic and her version of Zombie almost sounds like a record with a scratch but all credit to her for the choice and interpretation. So, yes, you can't help but admire the girl but it seems that she regards success as something like a test and she has worked out how to pass it logically. We will need some emotion - genuine, not acted!
Luke turns into the show's guitar tuner for several acts which is quite amusing but also good to see.
Dalton Elliott gets a very, very long intro with his little kid and all lines about the dad doing the right stuff. He's an OK singer but not great and not really justifying all that initial time. On top of that we get an enormous family afterwards and that takes ages to clear. There's a lot of this going on.
After a weird bloke doing just noises - and I have no idea why they even bothered to include him - we meet Katie Belle. She's a model and an actor and says she has expensive taste. She is attractive, for sure, and does the Beatles' Golden Slumbers. It's nice but not brilliant. You have to smile as Luke swoons when she goes to shake his hand. This is America being far more free and less diverse and all that. I love it. There's no way it could happen on the BBC or ITV these days as everyone is so ruddy careful not to show any feeling at all and certainly won't fancy young girls. Katie is just 19.
Lauren Engle is a bit different. She's 27 and her husband died recently so we get another long and emotional trailer for her. She sings her own song about losing him which is really very good.
The final set of auditions follows. So now I imagine that, by the end of this show, if not already, we will have seen the next American Idol!
Jade Flores is the first up - an experienced singer in good Country style.
Jacob O'Brien is a slightly strange all-American boy with flags and a cap and he comes across as just a little thick, if pleasant enough. You tend to think that here is someone who believes God made the world and that it's all flat too. He is 18 but really does look closer to 48. He is quite mad about America and, whilst you shouldn't knock a patriot, he is slightly embarrassing. He has an original song too called I Love My Country in which earth rhymes with prefer. It's not great. He says that if people don't like the way he does things then they're not living the American way. Lionel bravely thinks that he's not good enough. An odd audition.
Christiaan Padovan is one good-looking young fellow. He comes from a smart part of town. He lives in 'The Hamptons' and Luke asks whether 'rich ladies loaded up on wine want to hit on you?' He's a decent character, despite all the comments about his looks, and takes it all in a good way. He is, more importantly, a decent singer - a good one after a lot of very average guys. The panel ask him to bring in the girlfriend. She is a good singer too and I was even wondering that they'd put her through too. This was a nice, genuine, audition.
Ryan Hammond was raised in church. A very, very long introduction again. Way too long. He is a very good singer and does a Sam smith number better than Sam Smith did it.
Chloe Channell has a famous chap called Billie Dean on guitar for her. He has written several big hits for other artists as well as having a good number himself on the Country charts, and she has also worked with Kenny Rogers. A well-connected young lady, indeed.She's only 16 but puts on a very confident and competent performance. We'll see her again.
Emma Kleinberg has yet another very, very long intro.She gives us her own song American Privilege which is interesting and quite a brave thing to do on this sort of programme. She delivered it well and deserves another chance but I'm not sure how far she'll go.
Zebulon Spencer is another older contestant at 27 and very good, strong Country singer. Although I thought he struggled with some high notes, Luke was very impressed and said this had been his favourite Country voice in the whole show this year and last. You do have to wonder just how much more positive they can get! It is all a bit much.
Jorgie is 23 and comes with The Jorgies as his band. It seems that this is how he comes out as being gay - on this programme. Luckily it is shown several months after the actual audition so he will have had time to tell his parents. He tries an impression of Katy which doesn't work and I am about to think he's a gonna when he does the real audition number which is an original song. Nicely done and an interesting guy.
Nick Merico is 22 and already has had a career as an actor in a Nickelodeon show. He can also sing really well and does Back To Black well. This guy could go a long way and I would expect to see him in the Live Shows.
Lady Mapo looks very scary in black with black lipstick and nasty facial piercings. That fooled me when she turned out to be last year's winner, Maddie Poppy! A very good bit of make-up there. Then we also get the runner-up Caleb who0 supports a friend who didn't know he'd be there! It's good ol' boy Country stuff. Surprisingly, Jared Summers gets a no. I thought he was bound to get through. Maybe that was why Caleb left the panel when the voting started.
The very last audition, not only that we see but actually the last one for the panel is Jackson Gillies. He has a skin condition which marks his appearance in places and you kinda hope that he'll not only get through but get some help from the amazing people they have in the background with make-up and cures for this and that. He comes across as a really nice bloke and you just hope he'll be good. In fact he's better than I had expected. The first singer with what I'd call real soul in the series that I can recall. He sings Make It Rain - an ideal song for this fellow. A nice way to end the auditions.
Saturday 23 March 2019
Wednesday 13 March 2019
The one where we meet the next Kelly Clarkson and a gay PK.
Week 3 and we're straight in this time and meet Ashton Gill who is good friends with a chap called Laine who was there last Season but didn't get that far for some reason. He's supposedly there to support her. Lionel says that he must have done well from the previous appearance(s) as he now has the merch, the grill and can do girl hopping!! Hilarious! I love the way they can get away with this stuff. Here, the programme would get a pile of complaints and get shut down and judges replaced.
The girl is pretty average, to be honest but gets through. Laine, however, does a great impromptu version of a old Nazareth number and the judges actually seem to persuade him to join this Season and offer him a ticket to Hollywood too. I can't tell how rehearsed that was or wasn't but Laine did seem genuinely surprised and unsure what to do.
Austin Michael Robinson is a small town Country boy (in his own words). Lionel immediately sees he has just the right image that will sell. He's a good-looking kid with long blonde hair, cowboy style and looks great. He's only 15 and the sing-a-long style is average but he's through because Lionel can see how he can make money. That's a different side of Idol for you. Maybe God wasn't watching that bit. He briefly takes his hat off and Luke remarks that he'd be a good advert for Alberto VO5!! I didn't know they still made that shampoo. I remember that from when I was 15!
He comes back afterwards with some rope and there is some very embarrassing time wasted while he rides Luke on his shoulders and ties up Katy. Bonkers, but not as bonkers as the Disney wedding.
In New York, we meet Jake Puliti and more embarrassing TV as Katy Perry does some very strange worm dancing to a very average performance of This Is How We Do It. He really shouldn't make the Live Shows.
A few follow who are not so good and get rejected.
Shawn Robinson - nice tone, fairly gentle and a bit better than average could do well.
Nate Walker does Say Something in a different style. Quite impressive. We could see him in the Lives.
Wayne Coda is a big lad and has a mum and is the oldest of nine siblings from almost as many dads. I am not sure quite what that says about the mum but we'll move on. Understandably, he says they've had a poor upbringing, he got beaten up by one of the dads and his mum has to work hard after finally getting away from him. You kinda hope the bloke isn't watching. He does a George Ezra number which suited him really well. He deserves another round but I can't see this working after that.
Riley Thompson is 16. She has the name, the looks and is the All American cheerleader except she's not blonde. She has to be Country. She sings her own song Oh Daddy which is pretty good. She has that classic look with too much make-up. She'll go far and looks great on the screen.
Peter Lemoncello is the son of a bloke who apparently was the first to make a million sales of a disc through his own direct advertising rather than using a record company. That may be why I'd never heard of him. Peter the younger has the same attitude but seems to like the idea of getting some help from the TV companies. He says that he has just come from a gig where he was with his 'friends' The Four Tops and does one of their numbers. He's OK but old school and that's a strange image for a young lad. I thought he'd get through but no. Odd.
Clay Page is a nice Country singer with a good tome and great character. He could get a bit boring but sometimes boring does well on this programme.
Drake McCain sings a gospel number. He's pretty good but not sure of himself. He joins in with Katy as she sings Happy Day too. Not Live Show material.
Mica Giaconi we see briefly. She's very attractive and sounds like a more mature singer but is just 16! Easily through.
Darian Baena is 15 an impressive with a Spanish and very current sound. She could take Camila Cabello's place in Fifth Harmony.
Madison Vandenburg says that she's been in music all her life. "At 16!" remarks Lionel. She is, though, excellent, singing her own track at the piano. She is one of the best we've seen in my opinion but you have to wonder about the emotions she cannot yet know how to put across. Katy says that she's "another winner" and that she's the "next Kelly Clarkson". That's something all right.
Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon is what they call a PK. That's not as bad as it sounds - it stands for Pastor's Kid. His dad's got a church. Well, I imagine it's God's church but his dad gets to preach in it and, apparently, Jeremiah is the janitor, cleaning out the loos and generally looking after the place. He reminded me of a very young version of the Pastor Tim in The Americans. Anyway, despite the old testament name and his job, this young man can sing really very well. He does his own song, Almost Heaven which is about how difficult it has been for the God-fearing folk to cope with his being gay and whether or not there might be a place in Heaven for him after all. This guy means what he sings and I can see him doing very well.
The girl is pretty average, to be honest but gets through. Laine, however, does a great impromptu version of a old Nazareth number and the judges actually seem to persuade him to join this Season and offer him a ticket to Hollywood too. I can't tell how rehearsed that was or wasn't but Laine did seem genuinely surprised and unsure what to do.
Austin Michael Robinson is a small town Country boy (in his own words). Lionel immediately sees he has just the right image that will sell. He's a good-looking kid with long blonde hair, cowboy style and looks great. He's only 15 and the sing-a-long style is average but he's through because Lionel can see how he can make money. That's a different side of Idol for you. Maybe God wasn't watching that bit. He briefly takes his hat off and Luke remarks that he'd be a good advert for Alberto VO5!! I didn't know they still made that shampoo. I remember that from when I was 15!
He comes back afterwards with some rope and there is some very embarrassing time wasted while he rides Luke on his shoulders and ties up Katy. Bonkers, but not as bonkers as the Disney wedding.
In New York, we meet Jake Puliti and more embarrassing TV as Katy Perry does some very strange worm dancing to a very average performance of This Is How We Do It. He really shouldn't make the Live Shows.
A few follow who are not so good and get rejected.
Shawn Robinson - nice tone, fairly gentle and a bit better than average could do well.
Nate Walker does Say Something in a different style. Quite impressive. We could see him in the Lives.
Wayne Coda is a big lad and has a mum and is the oldest of nine siblings from almost as many dads. I am not sure quite what that says about the mum but we'll move on. Understandably, he says they've had a poor upbringing, he got beaten up by one of the dads and his mum has to work hard after finally getting away from him. You kinda hope the bloke isn't watching. He does a George Ezra number which suited him really well. He deserves another round but I can't see this working after that.
Riley Thompson is 16. She has the name, the looks and is the All American cheerleader except she's not blonde. She has to be Country. She sings her own song Oh Daddy which is pretty good. She has that classic look with too much make-up. She'll go far and looks great on the screen.
Peter Lemoncello is the son of a bloke who apparently was the first to make a million sales of a disc through his own direct advertising rather than using a record company. That may be why I'd never heard of him. Peter the younger has the same attitude but seems to like the idea of getting some help from the TV companies. He says that he has just come from a gig where he was with his 'friends' The Four Tops and does one of their numbers. He's OK but old school and that's a strange image for a young lad. I thought he'd get through but no. Odd.
Clay Page is a nice Country singer with a good tome and great character. He could get a bit boring but sometimes boring does well on this programme.
Drake McCain sings a gospel number. He's pretty good but not sure of himself. He joins in with Katy as she sings Happy Day too. Not Live Show material.
Mica Giaconi we see briefly. She's very attractive and sounds like a more mature singer but is just 16! Easily through.
Darian Baena is 15 an impressive with a Spanish and very current sound. She could take Camila Cabello's place in Fifth Harmony.
Madison Vandenburg says that she's been in music all her life. "At 16!" remarks Lionel. She is, though, excellent, singing her own track at the piano. She is one of the best we've seen in my opinion but you have to wonder about the emotions she cannot yet know how to put across. Katy says that she's "another winner" and that she's the "next Kelly Clarkson". That's something all right.
Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon is what they call a PK. That's not as bad as it sounds - it stands for Pastor's Kid. His dad's got a church. Well, I imagine it's God's church but his dad gets to preach in it and, apparently, Jeremiah is the janitor, cleaning out the loos and generally looking after the place. He reminded me of a very young version of the Pastor Tim in The Americans. Anyway, despite the old testament name and his job, this young man can sing really very well. He does his own song, Almost Heaven which is about how difficult it has been for the God-fearing folk to cope with his being gay and whether or not there might be a place in Heaven for him after all. This guy means what he sings and I can see him doing very well.
After Alejandro, "Everyone else is a no!"
It's Audition Week 2 and sunny kids are jumping in the back of pick-up trucks and cruising cheerfully around Idaho with no politically correct parents shouting that they should have seat belts and no cops in sight. This is America.
We learn that there's a lot of love for Ryan Seacrest. I can understand that. The judges are not really making much of a mark and only Ryan is really maintaining the Idol status of the show at the moment. No-one on this side of the pond knows who Luke is. Everyone knows who Lionel Ritchie is but most think he retired sometime in the 70s and now just play his discs at weddings. Quite a few people do know who Katy Perry is but none of us realised just how religious she was or how little she would actually contribute to judging as opposed to swooning at the good looking guys and generally being fun and entertaining but not much more.
Courtney starts us off and she's an enthusiastic girl. She's returning some years after not getting too far on an earlier Idol. Pleasant personality. Singing is OK but I wouldn't expect her to make the Live Shows this time either.
Logan Johnson is a good-looking youngster. Well, 20 may turn out to be pretty ancient by the seems of it as later we get hundreds of 15 and 16-year olds! He surprises us with some pretty bad history with drugs which was not what anyone might have expected from the appearance of his All American family but maybe these issues give him a bit of real soul. A very good version of the entirely appropriate Sober that Demi Lovato wrote. He's a genuine item and could well be a Live Show candidate.
We then get a totally unnecessary and boring waste of time as his family come on stage and after 15 minutes we have seen just two performances.
Eddie Island is really ancient at 25! He's from Nashville. Katy Perry likes his eyes on the guitar and they match her finger nails. He looks uncomfortable and it's like he almost tells her to go away so he can do his own song. You have to admire people doing their own numbers which didn't used to happen much if at all in the previous shows. He's pretty good but he hasn't got the best of looks and comes across as a bit weird in parts but he is interesting. Worth another chance for sure. I can't remember where it came from but Lionel comes out with That little turd!! I don't think he meant Eddie but I'm surprised that made the edit!
Kason Lester is even more ancient at 28. He's a good-looking guy who farms strawberries in a place called Lebanon which is not the war-ravaged place but a town in the States somewhere miles away from anywhere else where they probably believe that God made the world which is flat. We see some very good photography from his farm so you realise that he must have been good for the few to be sent out there to do all the shots afterwards. It's a fairly average performance after all, though.
We then see a pile of people go through looking and sounding OK and then meet Carly Ryan. I can't recall how old she is but she is most definitely a good All American girl. her mum auditioned 15 years ago. She's not great but I'd give her another chance. Luke is very enthusiastic about her but, for the first time, Katy and Lionel don't agree with him and say 'No.' I guess there's enough All American girls singing like that already.
She;s followed by a series of other failures but mercifully brief ones. I do like the way they don't go on an d on like X Factor can do in this respect, almost making entertainment out of the failures.
Next up is Juan Pablo, 26, from Los Angeles but with a Mexican heritage. He sounds promising and has bags of energy. He holds back well, though, and comes out with a good song in Spanish. Quite emotional. Very good. Luke says he wants a cigarette! Katy goes a bit OTT again and seems to have forgotten all about Kason now.
Shayy is just 17 and nearly lost her sight completely a while ago. She now carries a white stick and has very poor vision from what I can tell and, whilst the surgeons have removed some of the tumor which had caused her problem in the first place, it seems that no-one is too sure whether what remains will cut her life short. The judges say they'll pray for her. I get that this time. It really is very emotional and she is one very good singer too. She gets the first standing ovation from the three that I remember seeing this Season. a big hug too from Lionel which wouldn't have been allowed in PC-land. We see her school going crazy with delight when she returns with the news.
That should be a candidate for the Live Shows, for sure.
Then there's a dreadful anthem rendition by some 7 year old. No idea where that came from. OK, actually she sang some parts very well but it just is a bit much.
On to Lander Knowlton who is a sergeant in the army. Good Country style singer with a bit of an interesting edge to his voice. He knows what he's doing, solid and confident but I don't see him going much further than Hollywood.
Ethan Clay is just 15. He met Luke Bryan a couple of years ago and got to perform with him on stage then. Luke had been so impressed with the young lad that he'd given him his guitar. He is very good and did a duet with Luke which was mostly unrehearsed from what I can gather. Impressive. The young lad seems nice and very talented. Another good contestant for the Country spot in the Live Shows perhaps.
Now we get more of the American Joke. Kimberley and Bernie appear in Disney T shirts, one with the word 'Bride' and the other, of course, says 'Groom'. They got married recently at Disneyworld in some sort of embarrassingly expensive and childlike Cinderella picture book affair. They sing some track from what, I guess, is a recent re-working of Cinderella. This is not good TV. They get politely turned down which they do seem very surprised at. On the way out the girl says the music was wrong and they also blamed the pianist.
Some more good talent is seen going through so we can get the image of the last couple out of our heads pretty quickly.
Finally, ending this week, is Alejandro Aranda. This guy has been busking around and has no idea how good he is. He does his own song which is very good and then Lionel gets him to do another number at the piano. This chap is an excellent musician and a super singer too. He gets a standing ovation. That went down very well. Katy even says that she thinks he's the winner! Unlike nearly everyone else who has a massive family or friends to meet them afterwards and jump up and down like crazy, Alejandro has just Ryan outside. Nice.
After that, says, Katy, everyone else is a 'No.!
Yes, we'll see him almost certainly in the Live Shows unless he cocks up big time between now and then. He was good but signs of nerves and he really is not prepared for all that may follow.
We learn that there's a lot of love for Ryan Seacrest. I can understand that. The judges are not really making much of a mark and only Ryan is really maintaining the Idol status of the show at the moment. No-one on this side of the pond knows who Luke is. Everyone knows who Lionel Ritchie is but most think he retired sometime in the 70s and now just play his discs at weddings. Quite a few people do know who Katy Perry is but none of us realised just how religious she was or how little she would actually contribute to judging as opposed to swooning at the good looking guys and generally being fun and entertaining but not much more.
Courtney starts us off and she's an enthusiastic girl. She's returning some years after not getting too far on an earlier Idol. Pleasant personality. Singing is OK but I wouldn't expect her to make the Live Shows this time either.
Logan Johnson is a good-looking youngster. Well, 20 may turn out to be pretty ancient by the seems of it as later we get hundreds of 15 and 16-year olds! He surprises us with some pretty bad history with drugs which was not what anyone might have expected from the appearance of his All American family but maybe these issues give him a bit of real soul. A very good version of the entirely appropriate Sober that Demi Lovato wrote. He's a genuine item and could well be a Live Show candidate.
We then get a totally unnecessary and boring waste of time as his family come on stage and after 15 minutes we have seen just two performances.
Eddie Island is really ancient at 25! He's from Nashville. Katy Perry likes his eyes on the guitar and they match her finger nails. He looks uncomfortable and it's like he almost tells her to go away so he can do his own song. You have to admire people doing their own numbers which didn't used to happen much if at all in the previous shows. He's pretty good but he hasn't got the best of looks and comes across as a bit weird in parts but he is interesting. Worth another chance for sure. I can't remember where it came from but Lionel comes out with That little turd!! I don't think he meant Eddie but I'm surprised that made the edit!
Kason Lester is even more ancient at 28. He's a good-looking guy who farms strawberries in a place called Lebanon which is not the war-ravaged place but a town in the States somewhere miles away from anywhere else where they probably believe that God made the world which is flat. We see some very good photography from his farm so you realise that he must have been good for the few to be sent out there to do all the shots afterwards. It's a fairly average performance after all, though.
We then see a pile of people go through looking and sounding OK and then meet Carly Ryan. I can't recall how old she is but she is most definitely a good All American girl. her mum auditioned 15 years ago. She's not great but I'd give her another chance. Luke is very enthusiastic about her but, for the first time, Katy and Lionel don't agree with him and say 'No.' I guess there's enough All American girls singing like that already.
She;s followed by a series of other failures but mercifully brief ones. I do like the way they don't go on an d on like X Factor can do in this respect, almost making entertainment out of the failures.
Next up is Juan Pablo, 26, from Los Angeles but with a Mexican heritage. He sounds promising and has bags of energy. He holds back well, though, and comes out with a good song in Spanish. Quite emotional. Very good. Luke says he wants a cigarette! Katy goes a bit OTT again and seems to have forgotten all about Kason now.
Shayy is just 17 and nearly lost her sight completely a while ago. She now carries a white stick and has very poor vision from what I can tell and, whilst the surgeons have removed some of the tumor which had caused her problem in the first place, it seems that no-one is too sure whether what remains will cut her life short. The judges say they'll pray for her. I get that this time. It really is very emotional and she is one very good singer too. She gets the first standing ovation from the three that I remember seeing this Season. a big hug too from Lionel which wouldn't have been allowed in PC-land. We see her school going crazy with delight when she returns with the news.
That should be a candidate for the Live Shows, for sure.
Then there's a dreadful anthem rendition by some 7 year old. No idea where that came from. OK, actually she sang some parts very well but it just is a bit much.
On to Lander Knowlton who is a sergeant in the army. Good Country style singer with a bit of an interesting edge to his voice. He knows what he's doing, solid and confident but I don't see him going much further than Hollywood.
Ethan Clay is just 15. He met Luke Bryan a couple of years ago and got to perform with him on stage then. Luke had been so impressed with the young lad that he'd given him his guitar. He is very good and did a duet with Luke which was mostly unrehearsed from what I can gather. Impressive. The young lad seems nice and very talented. Another good contestant for the Country spot in the Live Shows perhaps.
Now we get more of the American Joke. Kimberley and Bernie appear in Disney T shirts, one with the word 'Bride' and the other, of course, says 'Groom'. They got married recently at Disneyworld in some sort of embarrassingly expensive and childlike Cinderella picture book affair. They sing some track from what, I guess, is a recent re-working of Cinderella. This is not good TV. They get politely turned down which they do seem very surprised at. On the way out the girl says the music was wrong and they also blamed the pianist.
Some more good talent is seen going through so we can get the image of the last couple out of our heads pretty quickly.
Finally, ending this week, is Alejandro Aranda. This guy has been busking around and has no idea how good he is. He does his own song which is very good and then Lionel gets him to do another number at the piano. This chap is an excellent musician and a super singer too. He gets a standing ovation. That went down very well. Katy even says that she thinks he's the winner! Unlike nearly everyone else who has a massive family or friends to meet them afterwards and jump up and down like crazy, Alejandro has just Ryan outside. Nice.
After that, says, Katy, everyone else is a 'No.!
Yes, we'll see him almost certainly in the Live Shows unless he cocks up big time between now and then. He was good but signs of nerves and he really is not prepared for all that may follow.
Thursday 7 March 2019
God loves an Idol, it seems.
I missed last year but Netflix makes the 2019 series available to us here in the UK I shall take a look and see how it progresses, reporting here on the good, the bad and the ugly. OK, not the ugly.
Three new judges came on the scene last season in the shape of Katy Perry, Lionel Ritchie and Luke Bryan. Luke may not be a familiar name in the UK but he's hit #1 on the American Billboard charts a couple of times and has written a pile of hits for several artists, although I don't believe he's made the charts here. The guy seems to know what he's talking about, though, and there are usually a pile of Country boys and girls on this show. Some even win! So a good number will certainly make the Live Shows!
Katy is pleasantly mad and unscripted. The camera likes her and she acts up for it too. She's pretty honest and you'll see that she doesn't hold back on what she likes. I'm not so sure about what she doesn't like but maybe we'll find out one day. Luke is pretty quiet and kinda goes with the flow, not exactly setting the show alight with his commentary so far. Lionel is pretty much as you'd expect the big star to be. Full of self-confidence and, with little to lose, he messes around and has some fun while seeming to like everyone but, so far, is the only judge who ever seems to say 'No.'
If you like God and all American style then you'll certainly enjoy this first show which is very clean and nice and, well, pretty much something you could have missed without affecting the rest of the series. I don't see any of the acts making much by way of the Big Time. One might make it through to the Live Shows but that's about it, I'm afraid.
Ryan Seacrest is there, as ever, doing a first class job but, for now, mostly behind the scenes. It simply wouldn't be Idol without him.
We start with Walker Burroughs. Why on Earth they chose him for the first audition we see I do not know. Maybe it was the red hair, spotty complexion and glasses - doing something to tick some minority boxes and all that jazz. He's OK. He does a more confident version of Lionel's Hello on request but really the judges are way OTT. Jeez, we're 12 minutes in already and he's taken up 8 of them.
Johanna Jones comes in and it's all about crisps and burgers. She has a nice character and could be amusing TV. A gentle song, nice enough audition but pretty forgettable if it hadn't been for the crisps.
We get a few 'No's and then meet Kai The Singer. I am not usually fond of the background reels where we hear all about grandma or someone but this one did get to me. This girl is still living in a pretty poor way and the church paid for her guitar and trip here. She gets a lot of admiration and tears flow for sure. Her song is My Girl but she switches it to Music and that sort of works. She's good TV and we'll see some more of her but I'm not convinced she'll make it that far.
Lionel and Katy lay on the God stuff a bit heavy with her but I guess that's the way this show's going to go with them in charge.
Tyler Mitchell comes on and looks about 7 foot six but is actually just 6 foot 4 and it's everyone else who is small. He is the classic good-looking All American boy and gives us a nice, gentle country number. It's not spectacular but people will like him.
Volkillz is some joke act doing nasty death voice stuff. He's one of those worrying people who give you a little black bag without any explanation. As it happened it had some pendant for Katy but it was a cringe-worthy moment I wouldn't have included in the show. Weird guy. weird singing. Not AI stuff at all.
Margie Saunders burps and is a bit mad. She's a fun person - a sort of cartoon character in many ways. Hers was a cool audition of some country style song. Her performance was a bit flawed in places but she was interesting and may make it a bit further. Entertaining, at least. But not in the league of someone like Kelly Pickler, for example, and you need to have that level of talent and personality to make a mark. or, at least, I hope so or it's going to be a dull few months.
I like the way the bad acts have been cut right down to a few shots. They used to get far too much airtime and still do on X Factor.
After a few more 'No's we meet Myra Tran who came over from Vietnam just a year ago. No-one mentions the war. She is easily the best so far, no accent at all in her rendition of a Jennifer Hudson number and which she did, in my view, just as well. An excellent singer but I am not so sure about how this young, innocent-seeming girl is going to do when it comes to getting real emotion across. There have been several youngsters I can recall from past shows who have been brilliant singers but have simply had zero experience of anything approaching relationships, love and feelings that relationships and attraction and physical contact bring. She'll be back, though, for sure.
Uché has a really long name, which includes Walter. He's a cool-looking guy. God loves him, he says, which tends to put us off, however true that may or may not be. In fact, we get told that God loves everybody anyway so that seemed a pointless thing to say but it gets the judges on his side and they reckon God loves him too. Let's get on with the talent show, OK?
He's a good performer but that's all. He'd look good on an album cover but as no-one has album covers any more that's all he had going for him and I can't him going far after Hollywood.
If i hadn't already mentioned it, yes, all the above except the death voice bloke get through to Hollywood. As do the next few.
Lacy Kaye Booth is a country singer, blonde, dark-eyed and with an interesting voice. It sounded like she was nervous but it may actually be her sound. Her parents were just 17 and 15 when she was born but no-one seems to have been arrested. Her dad appears to have gone and then returned to take her on the road when she was old enough. Odd relationship there which may not be something to think about too much. She's good and, as I said, interesting but will have to work harder to get far.
Nick Rogers is a pretty young lad - the first of the 'boyband' type and he is pleasantly modern in that he comes out with a modern song and raps too. He could do well but still is no more than average and isn't going to set the charts alight without a lot of help.
Tiffanne Lemay is a good singer and could go far with the right songs. She's still only a bit better than average, though, but gets a Lionel signature on the album cover which she brings in! Nice.
Nick Townsend is the last up in this first show and it's a pile of tears again as we get told how he lost two of his brothers at an early age. Very sad. Then we find out that Luke also had the same experience which makes you wonder just how many more we're going to here about and who, seemingly, God wasn't doing as much for as he should.Not that anybody mentioned that this time. He's an odd fellow. Nick, not God, although god probably has to be when you think about all the stuff he does. Nick sings in a strange way that I don't see having much appeal in the wider market but he's good enough to get through for now.
That was not the most exciting show I've seen, I have to say. None of the acts really showed much more than average talent, although the judges seemed to be blown away several times. No idea why. Might have been something in their contracts which requited them to be super-enthusiastic.
Three new judges came on the scene last season in the shape of Katy Perry, Lionel Ritchie and Luke Bryan. Luke may not be a familiar name in the UK but he's hit #1 on the American Billboard charts a couple of times and has written a pile of hits for several artists, although I don't believe he's made the charts here. The guy seems to know what he's talking about, though, and there are usually a pile of Country boys and girls on this show. Some even win! So a good number will certainly make the Live Shows!
Katy is pleasantly mad and unscripted. The camera likes her and she acts up for it too. She's pretty honest and you'll see that she doesn't hold back on what she likes. I'm not so sure about what she doesn't like but maybe we'll find out one day. Luke is pretty quiet and kinda goes with the flow, not exactly setting the show alight with his commentary so far. Lionel is pretty much as you'd expect the big star to be. Full of self-confidence and, with little to lose, he messes around and has some fun while seeming to like everyone but, so far, is the only judge who ever seems to say 'No.'
If you like God and all American style then you'll certainly enjoy this first show which is very clean and nice and, well, pretty much something you could have missed without affecting the rest of the series. I don't see any of the acts making much by way of the Big Time. One might make it through to the Live Shows but that's about it, I'm afraid.
Ryan Seacrest is there, as ever, doing a first class job but, for now, mostly behind the scenes. It simply wouldn't be Idol without him.
We start with Walker Burroughs. Why on Earth they chose him for the first audition we see I do not know. Maybe it was the red hair, spotty complexion and glasses - doing something to tick some minority boxes and all that jazz. He's OK. He does a more confident version of Lionel's Hello on request but really the judges are way OTT. Jeez, we're 12 minutes in already and he's taken up 8 of them.
Johanna Jones comes in and it's all about crisps and burgers. She has a nice character and could be amusing TV. A gentle song, nice enough audition but pretty forgettable if it hadn't been for the crisps.
We get a few 'No's and then meet Kai The Singer. I am not usually fond of the background reels where we hear all about grandma or someone but this one did get to me. This girl is still living in a pretty poor way and the church paid for her guitar and trip here. She gets a lot of admiration and tears flow for sure. Her song is My Girl but she switches it to Music and that sort of works. She's good TV and we'll see some more of her but I'm not convinced she'll make it that far.
Lionel and Katy lay on the God stuff a bit heavy with her but I guess that's the way this show's going to go with them in charge.
Tyler Mitchell comes on and looks about 7 foot six but is actually just 6 foot 4 and it's everyone else who is small. He is the classic good-looking All American boy and gives us a nice, gentle country number. It's not spectacular but people will like him.
Volkillz is some joke act doing nasty death voice stuff. He's one of those worrying people who give you a little black bag without any explanation. As it happened it had some pendant for Katy but it was a cringe-worthy moment I wouldn't have included in the show. Weird guy. weird singing. Not AI stuff at all.
Margie Saunders burps and is a bit mad. She's a fun person - a sort of cartoon character in many ways. Hers was a cool audition of some country style song. Her performance was a bit flawed in places but she was interesting and may make it a bit further. Entertaining, at least. But not in the league of someone like Kelly Pickler, for example, and you need to have that level of talent and personality to make a mark. or, at least, I hope so or it's going to be a dull few months.
I like the way the bad acts have been cut right down to a few shots. They used to get far too much airtime and still do on X Factor.
After a few more 'No's we meet Myra Tran who came over from Vietnam just a year ago. No-one mentions the war. She is easily the best so far, no accent at all in her rendition of a Jennifer Hudson number and which she did, in my view, just as well. An excellent singer but I am not so sure about how this young, innocent-seeming girl is going to do when it comes to getting real emotion across. There have been several youngsters I can recall from past shows who have been brilliant singers but have simply had zero experience of anything approaching relationships, love and feelings that relationships and attraction and physical contact bring. She'll be back, though, for sure.
Uché has a really long name, which includes Walter. He's a cool-looking guy. God loves him, he says, which tends to put us off, however true that may or may not be. In fact, we get told that God loves everybody anyway so that seemed a pointless thing to say but it gets the judges on his side and they reckon God loves him too. Let's get on with the talent show, OK?
He's a good performer but that's all. He'd look good on an album cover but as no-one has album covers any more that's all he had going for him and I can't him going far after Hollywood.
If i hadn't already mentioned it, yes, all the above except the death voice bloke get through to Hollywood. As do the next few.
Lacy Kaye Booth is a country singer, blonde, dark-eyed and with an interesting voice. It sounded like she was nervous but it may actually be her sound. Her parents were just 17 and 15 when she was born but no-one seems to have been arrested. Her dad appears to have gone and then returned to take her on the road when she was old enough. Odd relationship there which may not be something to think about too much. She's good and, as I said, interesting but will have to work harder to get far.
Nick Rogers is a pretty young lad - the first of the 'boyband' type and he is pleasantly modern in that he comes out with a modern song and raps too. He could do well but still is no more than average and isn't going to set the charts alight without a lot of help.
Tiffanne Lemay is a good singer and could go far with the right songs. She's still only a bit better than average, though, but gets a Lionel signature on the album cover which she brings in! Nice.
Nick Townsend is the last up in this first show and it's a pile of tears again as we get told how he lost two of his brothers at an early age. Very sad. Then we find out that Luke also had the same experience which makes you wonder just how many more we're going to here about and who, seemingly, God wasn't doing as much for as he should.Not that anybody mentioned that this time. He's an odd fellow. Nick, not God, although god probably has to be when you think about all the stuff he does. Nick sings in a strange way that I don't see having much appeal in the wider market but he's good enough to get through for now.
That was not the most exciting show I've seen, I have to say. None of the acts really showed much more than average talent, although the judges seemed to be blown away several times. No idea why. Might have been something in their contracts which requited them to be super-enthusiastic.
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