Well the audition process has finished however once again we see repeat scenes from that as our show begins tonight.
Seems 162 acts actually made it to Los Angeles for the "boot camp" part of this show. Of these many acts they will compete to be one of the 32 acts that will eventually be mentored by one of our judges in four different groups. Of the four sections, only 8 boys, 8 girls, 8 acts over 30 and 8 groups will survive.
As Steve Jones welcomes us to the show we see several who are in their hometowns packing to come to Los Angeles. Some give comments. In Los Angeles we now know that each act will be judged on styling, their attitudes and of course their voices. We get a little background information about each judge as they are being introduced. I will not cover that again as all of us pretty much know the accomplishments of our judges.
Only 100 acts are going to survive the first round of boot camp. The acts are shown with choreographer Brian Friedman doing some dance moves all together. After this portion then in rows of 10 each act gets a chance to sing for survival. Along the way we see several who were spotlighted during the audition process sing briefly. I won't mention the names as the clips were so short and it was difficult to get everyone's name who were singing. I did see some of my favorites briefly.
Now our acts are divided into groups of three. The first group is safe, the second is cut from the competition (lots of tears and heartbreak are shown briefly from this group) and then we see that group three is also safe. For the groups who still remained a party was given for them by the judges and we see some of the merry-making in short clips.
Day 2 of boot camp dawns and it seems some of our acts have overslept due to the party of the night before. Several are shown scrambling to get dress and be on their way to the next part of the competition. L.A. Reid gives them a pep talk before they are informed that they will now divide into an ensemble of groups to perform. Each ensemble has been given a song by the judges to perform and they only have 5 hours to get their acts together. Before I get to the ensemble performances let me say here that we do see who is in each of the numbers and some of the acts are shown individually giving comments and some background. Each of the ensembles also get help from the professionals for their group number. Some comments are mentioned by the judges after each group performs however it is not clear who they are talking about so I am assuming we will be finding out who our judges think are the best to go during Thursday's show. Now for the performances:
Ensemble 1: This group has been given the song "Creep" by Radiohead. Some who are shown in clips consist of Caitlin Koch, Drew R., The Anser, Dexter Haygood and 52 year old Audrey Turner who was once married to Ike Turner. It is mentioned that Dexter seems to be having difficulty getting away from his James Brown persona. However I thought this group did well with their performance and Simon even comments that they were great. Audrey Turner is mentioned in the comments as well from the judges.
Ensemble 2: Some who are mentioned in this group are Jazzlyn Little, Stacy Francis, Melanie Amaro and Arin Ray. Their pick from the judges is U2's song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Sadly Jazzlyn is up first to sing and forgets some of the lyrics. The rest of the group seemed to do okay and we see backstage that Jazzlyn feels her chance is over. Too bad as I feel this girl had real potential as a star.
Ensemble 3: Mentioned in this group are Cari Fletcher, Leroy Bell, Skyelor Anderson, Dani Knights and Paige Ogle among others. Their song is "Desperado" which was once a big hit for Linda Ronstadt. Each did well with the exception of Skyelor who appeared to be off-key during his solo moment. I was most impressed by Leroy Bell.
Ensemble 4: Next in this group who are focused on the most is 14 year old Brian Bradley who I feel is a real brat. I might add here that Brian would not join the group the first day when they all danced together and I was surprised he was still in the competition. Others mentioned were Jennifer Joy, Reina Williams, Tinuke (sorry did not catch the last name) and Lauren Ashley who really sounded good on this song which was a rap song called "Wishing On A Star". One comment that was heard by the judges was that he was just too young and I am hoping they were talking about Brian Bradley and he will get cut on the next show.
Ensemble 5: The song pick for this group was "Superman" originally by Five For Fighting. Some who are mentioned are Josh Krajcik (one of my favorites), Nick Dean, Andrew Thomas, James Kenney and Tiger Budbill. Nick fails during his solo moments however I was very impressed with Tiger (as were the judges) and Josh. I am hoping these two make it into the next rounds.
Ensemble 6: Mentioned here is Nick Voss, Chesi Spriggs, Phillip Lomax, Austin Simmons, Kelly Warner and a young lady named Tiah Tolliver who the judges fought about during the audition portion of the show. Simon was all for her going on if you remember however both Nicole and Paula were against it. Their song choice is "I'm Feeling Good" which was a hit for Nina Simone at one time. I so remember how wonderfully Adam Lambert performed this song during his season on American Idol. I am not wild about Tiah however she was indeed the stand-out during this number. Sadly one of my faves Nick Voss did not do so well. Both of the women judges did comment that Simon was right to push for Tiah so I am thinking she will probably be one of the acts to make the girl section.
Ensemble 7: The song pick for this group is Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing". Certainly a difficult song to sing as young Rachel Crow is having problems getting the right key. Others mentioned are Illusion Confusion, 4Shore, Ellonia Santiago, De'Quan Allen, Joshua Maddux and Hayley O.
For me personally Rachel, De'Quan, Ellonia and the lead singer of 4Shore did wonderfully with this number. I do believe the judges were equally surprised with some of the solos from this group.
Ensemble 8: This is our last group of the night who include Siameze Floyd, Makenna and Brock, Emily M., Jeremiah Pagan and Stereo Hogzz. I think the song is called "Light Up". I felt most of them did fairly well with this song. It almost seemed like a gospel number in a way.
So now the remaining 100 have done their group numbers and also shown us some of their solo work. I am not sure who the judges will be picking for the next round as only 32 acts will remain on the next show. After the 32 acts are chosen, each judge will be taking a group to work with at their homes (earlier in the show we saw clips of the homes). I am so hoping some of my favorites make it. I sort of have a feeling that some I do not care for will also make it judging by the judges reactions. Regardless tonight's show will definitely be filled with tears as so many are let go. I'll be back later with that re-cap. Until then have a great day!
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Subject: Boot Camp #1 - 10/3/11 
Thu Oct 06, 2011 10:02 am
