Last Stop - Atlanta, Georgia - 2/5/08

:welcome1: and Yahoo, this is our final stop for the auditions. Tonight we are in Ryan Seacrest's hometown of Atlanta, Georgia and before we get to the first audition we once again see a multitude of hopefuls and also see Ryan getting a visit from his parents. You can sure tell that Ryan looks like mom. So with a feeling of gleefulness let's get to the first hopeful.


26 year old Joshua Jones works with glass and thinks his job is fun. He says even with American Idol he would still work with glass and then contradicts this statement by saying he would throw his equipment away. Okay, I'm confused. Oh well. He sings what I call a difficult song to sing without music called "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen and actually sounds good doing it however the judges have a problem with how his eyes look. Weird they call it and have him turn his back to them to finish singing the song. It's a no from Simon but Paula and Randy send him through. I personally did not notice the big eye-thing but Simon does point out that this guy can not sing with his back to the audience all the time. Right on Simon!


J. P. Tjelmeland tried out in Season 4 and Carrie Underwood was two people behind him waiting to audition. He thinks he should have gotten to know her better because people have told him he has star quality and maybe they could have been friends. He really regrets this now. Attempting to sing "Me & My Gang" by Rascal Flatts we find that his friends have been lying to him as he is terrible. Simon sums it up best for this Music Major "His pen has more charisma". It's a no across the board.


Next on tonight's agenda is a long segment of clips showing that Paula can not say no. We also see lots of people not making it.


:sad: Our next contestant really touches the heart and I have to say I actually cried listening to her story. It seems that Asia'H Epperson who loves to sing was on her way to the auditions and calls her father to let him know this. She does not reach him however her brother calls 30 minutes later to tell her their father had been in a car accident and had passed away. With a bravery that the judges admire she changes her song choice to give a passionate rendition of "How Do I Live" by Leann Rimes dedicated to her father as this was his dream for her. The judges are moved by her performance and it is a yes. After she leaves the audition room Paula is unable to hold back the tears and leaves the room. Both Simon and Randy act very compassionate as does Ryan when speaking to Asia'H outside. It was a very emotional audition all the way around. I personally liked her voice in spite of being somewhat airy in places.


Lots of cute girls are then shown telling why they are "Georgia peaches". I am sure most guys would agree these girls could be that.


Brooke Helvie is a beauty queen and holds the title of Miss South Florida Fair (she is from Florida). She tells us a lot about her performing, singing and some of the things involved holding this title. She is also out to show Simon that she can be better than a pageant performer. Singing "Who's Loving You" originally by the Jackson 5, she does well and it is 3 yeses which brings on hugs to the judges. I thought she was good but not great. However this cutie was sweet.


28 people are shown attempting to sing "Glamourous" by Fergie. Simon calls it "an American nightmare" and I agree.


:laugh: Ryan lets us know we are seeing lots of attitude instead of southern hospitality and this is illustrated by none other than the next contestant; Eva Miller. She sings "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton in a horrible voice with weird dance moves and actually falls down on her butt at one point. She has a huge crush on Simon and wants to give him more as she puts it however Simon thinks she is a joke. She tells him it is no joke and she loves him. The judges tell her it is a no and obviously she loses that "love" feeling as when she exits the room she stomps on her torn up number.


Ryan talks to a very sweet 93 year old grandmother who came to support her granddaughter Alexandrea Lushington. Alexandrea does a nice job singing "My Funny Valentine" and it is a yes from the judges. The whole family is so happy including grandma. Very good I thought but still feel Melinda Doolittle was so much better.


Michael Gregory, Chris Lars and Jared Wiley are shown next trying to sing but sound awful. Also shown are 4 girls who get their walking papers.


Next up is a 16 year old "smart ass" in the form of Nathan Hite. He lets us know he will not cry and be upset if he does not make it before he enters the audition room. Before he does his bad rendition of "Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven, he lets the judges know he is doing them a favor because he is hungry and tired. Simon calls his performance a bedroom audition (meaning he is in his bedroom singing along with the original singer), however this little punk wants to trade quips with Simon and of course Simon does not take this lightly. After his no he leaves telling Simon he can always go back to managing his boy bands and blows him a kiss. This kid is definitely one rude dude.


Our next contestant is Amanda Overmeyer who rides a motorcycle and looks like a total rocker chick. She is in reality a nurse who tells Randy she does not dress this way doing her job. Then in a very Janis Joplin type voice sings "Mean Woman" by Janis Joplin. Simon wants to hear something else without the growl so she sings "Traveling Band" in the same voice and guess what this is her normal singing voice which I thought was very good. The judges like her and off to Hollywood for her.


:crylaugh: Another sad story however by choice is Josiah Leming who now lives in his car. He likes it and has been doing it for almost a year. His parents think he lives with friends. He shows us all his possessions but also lets us know that sometimes it is scary and he is very lonely. Sorry but I felt no remorse when he started crying. However, this Tennessee guy can sing as he demonstrates an original song called "To Run". What surprises the judges is that he sings with an English accent even though he talks in an American voice. I did not notice this but have to say once again he does have a good voice. The judges agree and he gets his ticket.

19 out of 12,000 make it to Hollywood and we see their joy at the end of this round. Tomorrow night is called "Hollywood or Bust" and I believe it is just a repeat show of what we have already seen so I will not be re-capping it. But hey, I am over-joyed that next week we finally get to the Hollywood rounds.

So, until next time, have a lovely week ahead!

Thanks so much concertcris... I'm pressed for time right now but just wanted to say that your recap was super great and that my favorite last night was Asia'H, she did a FANTASTIC job and my feeling is that if she can sing that good with what she is dealing with, and do a great job, anything they throw at her will be so much easier..JMO. I thought she was one of the best they've let through..

Did not care for that Amanda to much at all. If she keeps screaming like she did in her audition her voice will be history before she gets to far. again just my opinion. Don't think she is by NO MEANS a female Chris D as Paula said.

I think they put the "beauty queen" through for apperance sake, I personally didn't think she was that good, well maybe good enough for Hollywood, but she has the "Carrie Underwood" look and style so I wasn't surprised she got her gold ticket. Just wonder how far she'll get.

LOVED The grandmother, she was cute and so devoted to her granddaughter wasn't she. 93 and sitting there amoung all those kids, what a trip huh? Didn't care for the song, but then it's not a favorite of mine.

Ok I better get busy, I'll check back later ok.. Thanks for EVER THING... Great recap..

I'm so glad that auditions are over, anyone else.....

Sandi, we agree about Asia'H. My feeling is this girl has that extra something even though her audition was so emotionally charged. If the rumored top 24 is true, she is on the list which would make me quite happy.

I am a big Janis Joplin fan so Amanda is on my top list however I do agree that she should never be compared to Daughtry as the style is so much different.

Another side note about the top rumored 24 is that both Amanda Overmeyer and Alexandrea Lushington are on it. I personally can not wait to get to the top 24 and get the real show going.

Anyway, have a great day and talk to you soon!

I didn't think Amanda sounded anything like Daughtry. I guess if someone is a rocker they are automatically like Daughtry now. Who knows. But, I loved her. I think she had a more bluesy sound to her voice and I hope she goes real far. I actually posted an article about Amanda at Idol-Unofficial that she had been in a car accident back in November before the Hollywood auditions. It sounds as if she's okay, but was unconscious at the scene. A semi colided with her car.

Asia'h I think is going to be just awesome. I thought the same thing...she sang so good with all that emotion that I bet she'll be even better as she gets further into the competition.

Those are my two faves so far. They really stuck out to me last night.