The Top 20 Perform

Ryan Seacrest is doing his proper job as host on the big stage now. It's nice to see two substantial rounds now for those who have made it this far - with tonight's full-length solo performances and then duets with some stars next. Such an important feature which I cried out for with X Factor who made the mistake of cutting way to quickly at these stages. This is when those who may be new to all this get a chance to learn and they need more opportunity to get themselves across to the voting audience.

I have ranked these performances, purely in my own judgement as to how they might fare in the overall competition. I have yet to see the duet rounds and so that may well affect the final order. I understand that 14 will make it through out of this group after the duet round and, I think, that will be the people who finally have made it to the all-important Live Shows.

Madison VanDenberg
Domino
I am still not sure about this girl. Is she that much different or just good at doing this type of number? She does have great singing ability although, performing here n the big stage, she did seem a little breathless and the notes were not all as spot-on as they had seemed before. As usual, though, she gets huge compliments from the judges.

Shawn Robinson
Jealous
Great vocals and a pretty good performance but he is a bit stiff and robotic to watch. He's talented but I still don't see this guy moving on much further in the competition.

Laine Hardy
Bring It On Home To Me
I'd forgotten that this guy hadn't actually planned to audition! He is very good and seems totally in control and aware of what he needs to do. Whilst he is a bit retro, he can get away with it and it does make him stand out from the crowd. He looks the part. He also steps up the show half-way through. A good move. That worked well.

Uché
Figures
Not a track I know at all. Whatever! It works for him! Marvellous performance and if he keeps this standard up then he could well be The One. I can see him in the Final for sure. Fabulous guy and he'll have to go seriously wrong somewhere not to make it.

Eddie Island
I Belong With You
He's almost the complete opposite to the previous guy in terms of stage presence! He does a nice job and has a great voice and gets a good response from the audience too. He's a popular guy. I just don't see him winning.

Evelyn Cormier
Leaving On  A Jet Plane
It's a lovely number but I felt she treated it a bit more heavily than I would have wanted. More her phrasing was hard work and she ought to be more gentle. A nice girl, unusual and very talented but this may have been her at her peak. She'll need to find something special to bring in the votes to advance further.

Alyssa Ragou
Ain't It Fun
One of the best 'pop stars' and if they gave her some Latin stuff to do then I reckon she'd stand a better chance still. She was cut last year at this stage and is liable to fall again. It was an average track and she didn't show as much presence as I'd expected.

Ryan Hammond
You Say
A lovely ballad, well sung and he's mature enough to mean the words too. But this could be as far as I would expect him to go. A nice chap but unlikely to win.

Raquel Trinidad
Lovefool
A nice Cardigans' number which suits her voice and style. But she just comes, performs and goes and doesn't leave me with any real desire to vote for her. I'd be surprised if she gets further.

Logan Johnson
Love Don't Live Here Any More
This chap could be a very popular young star. He's a nice singer, super youthful look. But this was not a great performance. It was a bit of a cruise but I'd still give him another chance.

Demetrius Graham
Hello
A weird start to the Adele number! He is a superb singer but when he opens up it doesn't quite work for him. I'd love to see him progress, although he'd never match Uché with whom he'd get compared. He may get dropped at this point.

Riley Thomson
Jolene
Wow. Here's someone who really should get dropped yet. She's taken on the classic number and is the youngest in the competition too.She has a brilliant voice and seems totally natural, even at 16, on the big stage. I don't know how she can produce any meaning from the track's lyrics at just that age, though, which is hardly criticism as she can do little about that. She is a star, for sure, and has little direct competition in this genre. She ought to make Top 5 and is the #1 girl.

Walker Burroughs
How Deep Is Your Love?
Virtually a capella at the start. Very good. He's a likeable guy, great voice and tone but i just don't see him breaking through into the Big Time. It's a bit of a tedious performance for me. All good, but that's about it, really.

Bumbly
Vision Of Love
Lionel says that she "brings a bit of professionalism to the competition". She's got a great voice but seems to have worn a dress that does not allow much movement on the big stage, as she stays more or less attached to the microphone stand. With the right track, she could go far and sell well. However, she gets some of the poorest reviews of all from the judges. Luckily I think it's the public who choose who moves on. I think she deserves to get to the Top 10.

Ashley Hess
Dreaming With A Broken Heart
She's at the piano and comes across as very cool and different. It's not an easy song to do or put across at all but I felt she did a good job apart from missing some high notes. That spoilt things a bit and may well have lost her votes. She needs rescuing in the next round.


Alejandro Aranda
I Fall Apart
I love this guy. He brings so much emotion to every performance. He just stands there with his guitar - which he plays magnificently and totally naturally as if he had been born holding it. It's a gentle number but that's how it should be with this fellow. As the judges say - he's special. He is still the potential winner of this show.

Kate Barnette
Sunday Morning
I don't really know what to make of her. She's good but I don't know where she fits in. There's a nice jazzy feel to this number and not an easy task to perform this either but she does do a first class job. I just wonder how commercial she would be and whether that will attract support from the public.

Jeremiah Harman
Make You Feel My Love
He's at the piano too. A super voice and nice personality. You can tell he means all the lyrics so really has to beat the likes of Walter and Eddie, for instance. This is a super performance with little else other than his own voice and his piano accompaniment. He'll come close in this competition.

Laci Kaye Booth
I Want You To Want Me
This girl stands with her guitar, looking a star from head to toe. She is totally natural and Country, but not in a dated way. She gives a lot of character in this performance - spot-on notes and just sounds great. She pulls us in for sure. An excellent performance and she is a real contender - she could push Riley out of the ~1 girl spot. Brilliant but - will she appeal to the voters? She is still just a little 'manufactured' in some respects.

Wade Cota
All I Want
Someone who most definitely is not manufactured is Wade. He has a very husky start and is the complete opposite in just about all respects to Laci! He breaks his voice open then and is like all the Mumfords in one. A really good choice of track - a perfect song for this guy. I can see him making it big time with this style. A super audition!

My Ranking so far:

1. Alejandro
2. Uché
3. Laine
4. Laci
5. Riley
6. Jeremiah
7. Wade
8. Eddie
9. Bumbly
10. Shawn
11. Madison
12. Logan
13. Evelyn
14. Alyssa

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15. Demitrius
16. Walker
17. Kate
18. Ryan
19. Ashley
20. Raquel

Hawaii. The Top 40

Over a few days in sunny Hawaii, the 40 contestants who have made it this far will be cut to just 20. Expect some shocks along the way!

Alyssa Ragou
Excellent performance. She looks like an instantly marketable product. She's not entirely credible, though, and seems to be acting, although she does act incredibly well!

Madison Vandenberg sings Who's Lovin' You Now and has an excellent vocal. She's familiar and comfortable on stage with a strong, if slightly dour, personality. She's pretty professional and sails through with Alyssa.

Myra is the Vietnamese girl who has found a place in many of our hearts. She seems younger and more modern now and much more likely to have success as an artist in the States than I would have expected from earlier auditions. I would say she'd sell much better than the previous two but the judges drop her.

Logan Johnson sings Sorry in Spanish and this goes down really well with the audience! A smart move and this works very well.He looks like a potential winner. Nice job. Sailed through. He just needs to stay off those chemicals.

Nate Walker does Still right in front of the man himself! A good job if a bit over-run as he has been all the way through. I thought he'd make it but he didn't. First major surprise.

Dimitrius Graham is someone who's been pretty under the radar so far. I barely remember him. He seems a totally natural performer, current and confident. A nice voice. You can see how he would have beaten Nate in a future round. However, first we get shown the guy going off in tears after what looked like a 'No. decision. Wrong, he's actually through after all. Odd editing but a deserved Top 20 place.

Ashley Hess does not have one of the best songs and it's all a bit laborious. She has been good but not a star. Maybe she'll be better doing quite things in her own way rather than trying to wow a crowd with dancing or whatever. The judges keep her in. Good.

Drake McCain is one we'll always remember because of the crazy hair brand. Great phrasing in his performance. He's confident and could have been 2019's Mick Hucknell, proving that ugly guys do very well sometimes. But he's rejected, being just a bit below the high standards we've got this year and, although unspoken, I fear he just isn't that easy to package.

Kai The Singer has had a tremendous run so far. She has developed so much in each week. This time she is really quite animated but seems to be natural with it. They remark that she has come right 'out of her shell'. She's a bit breathless and this all does seem quite new to her. Dancing for the first time ever too, I think. If she carries on like this she'll be difficult to beat. Unfortunately, the judges didn't get her technical ability and maybe they're right in that she needs time to get used to all this. I would have taken her into the Top 20 but this was a surprising rejection.

Lacy Kay Booth sings Georgia On My Mind fantastically well. She has an outstanding voice and is different to most of the other girls which makes her memorable. It's a nice personal version of this track, near perfect. She is still just a bit too 'American' for me with her wide open eyes and helicopter mum. But that's not necessarily bad in this show.

I remember thinking that we haven't had any 'Country' yet. The stage is pretty much open to anyone in this genre as things stand at the moment.

Nick Townsend sings Hold Back The River. I am not sure he's that great. It's all very sound, no complaints and you do want to wish him well but I don't see him going much further. He gets rejected.

We then see Clay Page, Kason Lester and Johanna Jones dropped too.

Ryan Hammond comes on and is looking good. He's a strong singer and can entertain the crowd pretty well too. But I'm not sure he fits anywhere and doesn't really stand out. However, he makes it, although I suspect that he was one that might just as easily have not made it had the judges looked at these auditions another day.

Kate Barnette sounds a bit nervous, although she has experience and really ought to know what she's doing.

Evelyn Barmier has been impressive throughout the show so far, an unusual artist but she is definitely an artist with great talent. I am not convinced that either will appeal to a big audience wit votes in the Live Shows but they both make it.

Emma Kleinberg, who I don't remember, looks great but is nothing special. I would have ranked her above Kate, though, but the judges reject her.

Uché is up next. I have major expectations for this guy. He has bags and bags of personality and the crowd love him. His has been the best performance of all and it's something of an Adam Lambert moment. A definite, dead cert Top 20.

Alejandro Aranda gets blessed by some weird woman called Auntie Nettie who gives everyone some chant but gives this guy something more. Having got that out of the way Alejandro gives a beautiful rendition of Yellow. Expect to see him in the final v Uché. Another definite, dead cert Top 20.

Jeremiah Harman is next and he is some emotional singer. He does Landslide which is a superb choice for him at this time. I'm most impressed and there's yet another potential finalist. We now need some girls to compete for the Top 3.

Shayy might have been most people's idea of the perfect candidate. There has been something special about this girl, coping with not being able to see and reaching all our hearts with some superb auditions so far. You really want her to succeed but this is not her best performance at all and I'm not sure how much further she would go if she did reach the Top 20. She'd make good TV for the Live Shows, though,m surely and people adore her. She gets rejected and that is an obvious shock to the other contestants too.

Mica, Patyon and Idalis follow with another three rejections.

Riley Thomson is now on and she is truly excellent and one of what has to be very, very few Country girls making it through this year. She looks amazing at 16. I cannot imagine what she'll be like at 20 or 30. A fabulous performer too. She is the complete package and, so far, the only contender for the female No.1 spot. A genuine American Idol in the making, but, at 16, who knows what life will bring that she may or may not cope with? She has to be though

Raquel Trinidad is not the most likeable person to watch. But she's through so the judges must have seen or heard something I didn't. Shawn Robinson is a good singer and he gets through too from a very brief glimpse of the two auditions. So too does the remarkable Bumbly who is a smart performer who brings a much-needed Latin edge to the show. She deserves to be Top 20.

Wade Cota has never been more than an hour away from home, he tells us. He didn't have a passport but they've got him there somehow. He's quite dumb in a pleasant way and worries that he has no theory of performing or music or anything for that matter. His coach reassures him that sometimes natural atlent will rise above all that stuff. Sure enough, he comes across a likeable lump on stage and stands out because of his size and very natural talent, gravelly old voice and the Hozier song is a good move too! They put him in the Top 20 and he says That's crazy, why?!

Margie Mays and Edie island are both good fun and quite entertaining. It's only Eddie who gets through through. He has a good voice but odd looks. His notes are spot-on. Margie was fun but always a bit average.

Laine Hardy failed at this point last year. He's up with Tyler Mitchell, a remarkably good-looking Country guy. Laine does Come Together pretty damn well and is some performer, standing out as quite unique and making a big effort too. In contrast Tyler strolls easily through his number, reliable, solid and good-looking. But maybe just a bit forgettable. Laine makes it and that is the Top 20 complete.

Hollywood Week

Over the next few days 175 entries will be whittled down to just 40. The TV programme shows us only glimpses of some of those who will be successful. I think we see everyone who makes it to the last 40 but I haven't counted. It is difficult to review performances as we see so little and, especially in the group round, I have never been that sure we see the best of everyone anyway.

So all I can do is list my own notes as the individual sessions proceeded.

Laci Kay Booth
Great voice, very white teeth. Seems odd doing Natural Woman but she does do it well.

Alejandro Aranda
One of the predicted winners does Sorry from justin Bieber. Nice guitar work, all very good. Katy throws her jacket at him and then the other two as well. Seems like he's the one to watch!
Courtney Penry
Shouting and almost rapping. Forgot the words. All OTT and she's gone.

Madison Vandenburg
The 'next Kelly Clarkson' as the panel had called her. A bit tinny but this girl knows what she's doing. Pretty good talent but rather a flat personality.
Margie Mays
A pretty crazy girl. Quite fun, nice personality, OK but nothing special.

Tyler Mitchell
Sounds good. Confident
Logan Johnson
Recovering alcoholic. Not great but different to most and a good voice
Eddie Island
he's the odd-looking one with the Harry potter glasses. Good audition - like Coldplay meets someone.
Colby Swift
Good ol' boy but only 19 and can do Spanish. Totally genuine. Luke spots he has holes in his boots and gives him his. No-one had mentioned to Luke that the guy probably had decent boots at home but wears the ones with holes as a lucky charm!
Shawn Robinson
A change is going to come. Lots of runs which are a drag but  quite good.
Gill Ashton seemed another [pretty good one but gets a no after we see Dalton Elliott and Katie Belle sail through.
Laine Haron is gravelly and confident. Looks comfortable.
Jade Flores
Excellent! Unchained Melody is, for me, one of the best auditions we've seen.
Myra Tran
This is the Vietnamese girl and she attempts Chandelier Also pretty good audition again but she does struggle with the top notes.
Jeremiah Lloyd Palmer is the church guy whose parents and church won't accept him now he's declared as gay. Sings You're beautiful and does it well. He's a talented guy and should make the Top 24 with a nice bit of controversy and embarrassment for the churches and the panel who all are very churchy too but will have to put down one of the branches.
Walker Burroughs
He's Top 10 material, says Luke. Jazzy, different, seems to be on just the black keys. A very good performance.
Nate Walker
A very good performer on stage and he can sing with a cool range. Deserves to do well but gets ill.
Nick Townsend
lost his brothers. Another excellent and heartfelt audition - quite modern sounding unlike many this year.
Lauren Engle
She does the Jesus Take The Wheel number but is dreadfully off key. Pity as she looks great and could otherwise have been good.
Wade Coda
The big gravelly bloke whose dad used to beat him up. Good solid chap and he can sing well.
Dimiteus Graham
The Wind Beneath My Wings is always a good audition track and he does it a capella which is pretty impressive. The mother on FaceTime in hospital is a bit weird, to be honest.

A few spin out next and then we see a few more through, like Juan Pablo, Evelyn Cormier, Clay page and Shayy.

Next is Group Night which is not easy to watch and even more difficult to report on as I can never be sure who is who in all the groups! I also find this round a disaster area that is unnecessarily stressful where seasoned performers will not be affected but new talent may well suffer unfairly. There is also the problem of choosing who you work with. Some people are easy-going, others are a pain in the backside. Juan Pablo showed his true colours, for example and may well have been kicked out because of that, despite being all good and making Katy gooey earlier in the auditions.

Finally we get to the more useful guides to stardom - the Solo Round.

Walter Burroughs
Your Song goes down very well. He's a nice singer. 'Harry Potter can sing' says Katy. Now I am confused about who is the Harry Potter look-a-like as I'd thought it was Eddie Island.

Juan Pablo
A Million Reasons is a passionate but OTT performance as if he was trying far to hard. He's pretty talented but i am not sure that worked and I think his behaviour in the Group Round has let him down.

Ryan Hammond
A strong singer - he could be quite appealing and ought to make it through but there are several similar who are as good.

Kai The Singer
Here's a reminder of the differences between the contestants. Kai says this was her first time ever on a plane, even on an escalator! She had never expected to be able to have seen the 'Hollywood' sign on the hills either. This was a nice audition. Very controlled but she is talented and her performance drew us in. This is a contender for the prize.

Riley Thompson
Ring Of Fire A typical Country Girl performance. None the worse for that, though!

Raquel Trinidad
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face Lovely

Evelyn Cormier
Wonderwall Splendid, another contender.

Eddie Island
Did his own track called 1974 which was risky as it was not a good song but his voice is interesting and he may still get through.

Alejandro Aranda
So far he's been the leader and tries an original song too. 10 Years  succeeded where Eddie Island didn't.

Margie Mays
Appealing and sweet girl. She works hard and the panel remark that she simply 'doesn't know how good she is'.

Wade Cota tries his own song too. Quite different with his big gravel voice. He's not so good this time, though, with a poor song.

Nate Walker
Still suffering from a poor voice. He tries always On My Mind but he's all over the place.

Tyler Mitchell
Here's a country lad who is well used to working hard but not the stress that this place produces. He has been one of the best Country boys - he looks good and sounds strong with some passion. He forgets some words but may still make it.

Courtney
We see her fly through very briefly

Drake McCain
He's the one with the weird orange vertical Afro. He has a nice tone but I don't know that he's that different really. He gets lots of applause. Not sure why. A memorable appearance, for sure.

Bumbly
I must have missed her before. She's a subway singer so well used to having to survive in difficult circumstances. I like her - she's very different and original. She deserves a place.

Nick Townsend
In My Blood is an interesting song and performance. I like this guy and he's got unexpected talent.

Gaba
An excellent singer but how current is she really?

Jeremiah
The gay guy that the church have turned their back on at home. I still can't see how the panel can keep banging on about how cool God and Jesus are and also have this guy's story coming out each week. He does The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and reminds me of our 2004 Pop Idol winner. Nice job. One of the best male singers. A bit dated but still one of the best auditions.

Kate Barnette
She could appeal to the kids.

Myra Tran
Sexy little girl look this time. Put A Spell On You is a good song but she seems to try too hard with her performance. That skirt stays in the memory, though.

Shayy
A very nice production from this popular girl.

Laci Kay Booth
She's so much an American Idol girl. Although I am not sure that she could be over-manufacturing herself and image, I am quite impressed. Nice. You have to smile at the two men's comments 'she looks great!'

Uché
He sings Stars So Beautiful and looks like a star already. He is one of the best performers and has a great character on screen, at least. Plenty of talent there and a real contender.

Madison Vandenberg
She changed from doing an original number at the very last moment. Instead she starts an Adele number and the backing is more or less non-existent at the beginning. Nevertheless she gets on with it and eventually everyone catches up with her. One of the best singers in this competition.

Austin Michael Robinson
He's the pretty 15 year old Country lad that Lionel reckons could sell just on his looks. Literally minutes before his audition he changes too and there is no rehearsal time. No-one accompanies him at the start but he keeps going. I'm impressed with him but the panel's not sure.

Shawn Robinson
Nice guy and another relaxed and star-like audition

Alyssa Raghu
What About Us? A natural pop star but she is trying a bit to hard here.

Johanna Jones
Wicked Game This girl is in love. Talent for sure. I love her too at first but there's an edge to her voice which isn't always that great. Katy cries a lot as the boyfriend proposes.

I now have the details of who made the Top 40 and you can find these on the tab on the menu bar.

The last auditions and some very, very long introductions

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.

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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.

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.