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.
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