Hollywood Rounds - 2/12/08

Hello all, finally we are in Hollywood and tomorrow night our actual Top 24 will be crowned. However tonight 164 out of the thousands who auditioned are in for a rough week in Hollywood. Ryan mentions that some think they know what is in store for them but they have no idea really. In the past many have seen late night parties, group auditions that have gone good or bad and lots who have crumbled under the pressure. Simon tells them right off the bat that only two-third of the 164 will make it into the top 50. Sounding like his old mean self Simon says bluntly that we will either like you or hate you.

Something different this season is that many of the contestants will be allowed to play an instrument during their auditions. Another new item is that each will get two chances to impress the judges so on the first two days no one will be cut. Also looks like the group auditions are a thing of the past. And so with these new changes our first contestant is up.

Brooke White who was first seen in Philadelphia will sing while playing the keyboards. She mentions that her biggest obstacle has been confidence. Singing "Beautiful" she once again impresses the judges enough to send her through the final day of rounds immediately so she gets by on her first chance. I personally like this girl a lot and thought she sounded quite good. Simon sees in her a Carly Simon/Carole King kind of vibe to her voice and I quite agree.

Next we see a few who will have to impress with a second chance in the forms of Lorena Pinot (San Diego audition), Amy Flynn (Charleston audition) and Leo Marlowe (Omaha audition). My only disappointment here was Leo as I liked him so much better when he first auditioned but on this show I was not as impressed.

Also included in this first round who have to go for a second chance are Alisha Dixon who played the guitar, Michael SanFillippo who also played the guitar, Alyssa Coco who played the piano, Shaun Barrows and Jake Mellama who played the drums. Simon found this last contestant ridiculous. I disagreed with the judges on only one of the above mentioned people and that was Michael SanFillippo who I thought sounded good.

Someone that we did not see at the first auditon in San Diego is David Hernandez. He is singing "Love The One Your With" and I must say I have another favorite to add to my list. This guy was great I thought and the judges agree as he is automatically sent to the final rounds.

Contestants that are nervous and scared along with a few who got a not right off the bat send through are shown in the next clips. I can imagine the tension is really getting to these people.

This is not the case with Amanda Overmeyer who mentions her car accident with details before she comes out to perform "Light My Fire" by the Doors. Once again she impresses the judges although Simon does mention she needs to change her voice at times or people will tire of her raspy Janis Joplin like groove. Wrong Simon, I just love that rasp and look forward to hearing more from this girl.

Next we see Simon telling them not to forget the lyrics and lo and behold Buck Smith, Cardin McKinney and Natasha Blach do just that. I really like Natasha the best of this group so forgetting her lyrics was a real bummer as I believe she will not make it any further.

The last contestant of day 1 is Ghaleb Emachah who has such a heavy accent and truly does not do well with his Bryan Adams song even though he is shown as a real ladies man before his performance. He is disappointed that he gets no hug from Paula this time as all three judges are a no to this first chance. I also did not care for his performance. So as day 1 ends 54 will have to come back for a second chance while the others can relax by the pool as shown.


Day 2 dawns with Josiah Leming who says he made so many mistakes during the year he lived in his car and it has made him a better man. Singing a song I totally did not recognize and playing the keyboards I thought he was terrible but the judges praise him to the hilt and he is sent through to the final round right away. I was stunned the judges liked him.

Danny Noreiga, Ramiele Malubay, Carly Smithson and Michael Johns are given the green light to go to the final round immediately. They all sounded pretty good I think. David Cook is shown next playing the guitar and to my ears sounded good. Simon was not that impressed which puzzled me considering he let Josiah go through. However David is a yes to the final round. Bryan Adams music must be the big hit of this segment as we next see several sing the same song after David Cook performed. Robbie Carrico, Syesha Mercado and Colton Berry get a definite yes but Jessica Brown and Perrie Cataldo get a no. WHAT? Perrie sounded great to me, again another upset.

Kyle Endsley seems to be a hit with the girls as they obviously put in the same room as two girls and he is confused. He does get flirty as shown before his audition which Paula calls corny. I agree somewhat however he sounded good singing. Regardless he does have to come back for a second chance.

:tsk: Day 3 is upon us with 116 having to come back for a second chance. We see several line-ups with each singing without music to win over the judges. Many are people we actually never saw in the 7 city auditions but a few recognizable faces are Jeffrey Lampien, Kristy Lee Cook, Suzanne Toon, Perrie Cataldo, Amy Flynn and Angela Martin to name a few. Of these mentioned only Jeffrey and Kristy make it to the final round. Again I was stunned that Perrie got cut. One sad note that was shown is that Angela almost did not come to the Hollywood rounds as her father was killed. She took her elimination gracefully and says he daughter really needed her. Be strong my dear, I admire your courageous.

Topic So here is our final day of performances before the judges will annouce the top 50. The contestants will have a small band and 3 back-up singers to help them through if needed. Several are shown but in the beginning of this segment I have to say I was most impressed with David Archuleta who does "Heaven" by Bryan Adams and Kyle Endsley who sings "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban. Both make it for judging of the top 50. Syesha Mercado has been sick and saves her voice for this final chance and gets the yes to the final round. Sorry folks, this girl is a screamer and she is on my no list already.

Also going to the top 50 are Michael Johns singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" (good but not great for me), Carly Smithson who sings "Alone" (again not overly impressed with her) and Asia'H Epperson who sings a bluesy number that I thought was fantastic (I definitely have this girl as a favorite). Sadly Jeffrey Lampien and Joey Cantalone are eliminated as is Brooke Helvie who really did just an average performance of "Unchained Melody". She is really begging to be sent through and Paula makes the final decision by actually saying no. Good for you Paula!

The shocker of the night before the judges get to deciding who will be our top 24 is once again our kid who lived in his car for a year. Josiah Leming can not seem to get it together with the band as he finally has picked a song "Stand By Me". Before he performs we see lots of frustration and crying from him. He has only had 2 hours of sleep, turned down the offer of Georgia Byrd to help him and on top of this dismisses the band to sing his song acapella. He sounds terrible to my ears and even the judges are not impressed but decide to send him through to the top 50. I could not believe this travesty. To let others go and keep this kid was totally crazy to me.

:crylaugh: And so the Hollywood rounds end with us seeing the judges going over the top 50. Many who should have stayed in my opinion are now gone while others who did not impress me that much are still here. Who makes the top 24? That decision will be shown tomorrow night so until then I now bid you

Is the rumored top 24 a sure thing. Tonight we find out but have to say Josiah Leming should not have been in that group to be considered. Also really disappointed that Perrie Cataldo and Angela Martin were cut from this on their second chance. Was definitely glad Amy Catherine Flynn got the boot as she was already kind of argumentative with Simon.

Of who might make it I see about 5 or 6 that did impress me more on this show than on their auditions. Anyway, keep tuned for the excitement of finding out tonight!

Great review as always. Perrie made me sad. I can't believe they sent him home. And Angela...I wish she woudl have made it too.

Now..I like Josiah. I guess he's the love him or hate him contestant. I did not like his last performance and thought it was weird and maybe even rude to dismiss the band. If he cant perform with a band he doesn't know then how in the world could he do anything in the performance rounds. I'm surprised they sent him to the Top 50.

I don't see all the hype with Carly Smithson. I guess I'm just not as impressed with her as the judges. I loved Michael Johns. And David...both of them Hernandez and Archuleta. I also loved Amanda as I just love her raspy voice, but I kind of agree with Simon it could get monotonous, but I'm guessing that won't be the case as the season presses on. I just have a feeling about her. A good one.

There is so much to say, but I have to review my notes. I missed part of the begining of the show cause of the phone and kids. But, there are so many we haven't heard at all so the first performance shows are going to be a real good time for me.

I'm excited to see if the rumored list is true. There has to be at least one wrong. I don't know. I'm just happy we're getting into the 'real' competition!!

Thanks concertcris. I do love your recaps so very point on and just plain good.

Amanda was good and I do agree with Simon though that her tone is not changing and that she has to start doing something different, It seems to me he told Chris D the same thing didn't he.

I liked Ghaleb in his audition and we didn't see if he got booted did we, so there is a chance for him yet. I think he's one of these that are different and can bring something different to the show. But I also know he's not the type they are looking for in all honesty. If you know what I mean..

I was disappointed that we didn't see Drew, I really liked him and thought and still do think he has a natural honest talent that is unmistable. I seen him in the previews for tonight so he must have made it that far anyway.

Carly Smithson, and Micheal John, I knew would make it through, but to be honest neither are my favorite. For some reason I didn't care for them not really sure why though, but if one believes the talk they are amoung the few that goes all the way. Could be interesting, I thought Micheal was really struggling last night though.

I was so sad that Angela didn't make it, I liked her a lot, and thought with all her background problems and then her dad passing away on top of it that she handled it very well and did a fairly good job at singing last night.

I was so glad that they did not let the beauty queen in. I didn't like her from the min she walked into her audition, she seemed to say HERE I AM, I'M GOOD AND I DESERVE THIS.. and I also wasn't surprised that the brother and sister were cut, I seen that one coming right away.

I so agree with you about Syesha, she is a screamer and I really don't look for her to get any further. I believe she'll be cut tonight.

Now for Josiah. If you watch this kid, he is different, he seems to be very unsure of him self. I read on the AI Boards in GD last night that the reason he didn't want the band and why he couldn't get it to gether in the practice was because he does not sing with a band and this person that posted this also had like 3 or 4 links of songs he does on his own, with no back ground music and he's great. I did not check them out. They were all saying that he has NO PLACE in the top 24 as he's a cry baby, Ok so that got me, I posted that maybe he's just very emontionable and he wants this so bad that his emontions just took over. That's happened to me and I'm sure it's happend to others as well. Given the chance I think he will do good, he's got a different style than the others and in a very small unrelated way reminds me of Taylor. I do wish him good luck..

Ok I'm going back to work again ha.. Thanks again concertcris.. Loved it...

and the fact that he was striving on 3 hrs of sleep of less and his nerves where shatter to pieces didn't help any.

That's true mae. I just don't understand why he didn't take up Byrd's offer to help him out. He could have killed that final audition of the day. I liked him, but not his last performance. I'm worried that him not singing with the band will cause him trouble, as in if he makes it to the Top 24 he has to sing with the band. Doesn't he?

Anyway, I really like his voice and whatever the outcome is of tonight's show I wish him the best.

Whoo Hoo! I am antisipateing a good season. Even though I do not support Clive and his way of doing things. I do support up and comming artist trying to be heard!
I see many good potential canidates. I cant remmber names right now.. to many of them.
We shall see where the road leads. I am just happy the bus is moving now and we dont have to deal with anymore "Bad" auditions!

I hear ya!! Bad auditions are funny, but get old. Quick.

I'll have as much updated news as I can during the next few days at my site on the Top 24 after the official announcement. If they have pre-Idol music I'll be posting that as well if I can find it. So if you're all wondering where I disappear to...that's where I'll be. at my site and You Tube LOL

You'll learn their names jodie....one day. lol