Week 1 - The Hollywood Rounds

:welcome1: Hi there. I was so anxious for the Hollywood rounds to begin and for me it was kind of disappointing. I have decided to re-cap both nights into one posting. I honestly feel we saw too much drama and not enough of the actual singing. With that being said, let's get started.

February 3rd:

Our Tuesday begins with the fact that 147 people made it from the auditions. They will be doing their best to shine in the Kodak Theatre this time around. Boot camp has them seeing a stylist and a glam squad to help them look their best. Also another plus is they will be working with Deborah Byrd and one of my favorites Barry Manilow to help them develop a good impression on these first rounds. On day 1 of this part only half of the group will go before the judges while the other half get to visit the sites and hang out by the pool. During this hour we see several scenes of this.

I really do not care for the format of going before the judges. It appears 7 to 8 are in a line-up so to speak and briefly get a few minutes to sing acapella. The first group shows us Lil Rounds and Dennis Brigman. Lil sings some Whitney which actually left me wanting her to shut up as she was so loud however the judges liked her. Dennis sings something I do not recognize but makes some weird faces while doing this and Simon comments on it. Lil and two we have not seen before make it to the next round and Dennis is sent home. Dennis is not happy and tries to sing another song but it is a no and he leaves telling them they suck as judges and then berates Simon's clothing. Simon says his decision was just reinforced.

The judges are getting irritated as we see several snippets of people who are going before the judges although we do not hear them sing. Ryan talks with Kara and Paula during the break and they say the day is brutal but speak highly about Lil Rounds. Oh yuck I see how this is going to go.

A very dramatic Nathaniel Marshall is next shown singing "The Anchor Holds". It is not a very recognizable song and he sang it because it has personal meanings for him, then he starts crying as he explains this to the judges. He does have a fair voice. Anoop Desai and Jasmine Murray are shown and both make an impression on the judges. Then comes some footage of Rose Flack who is having a struggle dealing with the pressure. She sings "Sitting On The Dock of the Bay". I actually kind of like this girl. The whole line-up make it to the next round.

Our next line shows us Von Smith, Steven Fowler and Jorge Nunez with comments from each. Steven and Jorge show how good they are however Von comes off not too well with Simon calling his moment indulgent nonsense. I personally did not care for his wild looking facial movements but in spite of that all 3 of these guys make it through.

More frustration is shown as the judges are not liking the song choices that many of the contestants are choosing. Many are sent home in tears and disappointment although we do not hear them sing either. Then comes our comedian Nick Mitchell and we see more antics from this guy. The funny part of all this is that this guy can actually sing if he would stop being so nutty acting. Simon goes so far to call him a joke but he along with Scott Macintyre and Frankie Jordan do make it to the next round.

Day 2 of this first round is shown with the song "Feeling Good" playing in the background. Our contestants arrive at the Kodak and we start off with Jackie Tohn. Her singing reminded me alot of Amanda Overmeyer. She along with four others who we do not see sing make the grade. Friendships are forming as we see the next set of clips. More people appear before the judges but again we do not see them sing. The judges base their decisions on the wrong song choices.

We are shown the friendship that Danny Gokey and Jamar Rogers have as Jamar talks about Danny's wife who has passed away and how he is there for him. Both sound very good to the judges as they sing. For me the real highlight was hearing Danny sing "A Kiss From A Rose", he is great in my book. Others make it through and I was happy to see another favorite of mine from the auditions in the form of Matt Breitzke also make it.

Next up is the bikini girl Katrina Darrell who looks like she is wearing a black sack. Lots of footage is shown of her before she sings "Breathe". Paula and Kara are heading towards a no but both Simon and Randy support this wannabe and she makes it through. The rest of her line-up also make it. Sadly Jessica Furney, Sharon Wilbur and Patricia Roman are sent home although once again no singing is shown from them. Then come two fathers:
Jesus Valenzuela and Jeremy Michael Sarver. Jeremy impresses the judges but Jesus loses out and we see him saying he is done with this and needs to catch a plane home so he can go back to work. I like Jeremy for sure.

David Osmond and Ericka Wesley sing next. Then a snippet of Emily Hughes is shown. She had picked a song to sing but changes it when she goes before the judges and it is not very good. Those tattoos of hers are a real turn-off for me. The whole line-up make it through with the exception of Ericka. She pleads for another chance which brings about an argument between Paula and Simon. The final word however is no. Alexis Grace, Brent Smith, Anne Marie Boskovich and Adam Lambert have also made it through as Ryan tells us 107 remain in the competition. Lots of joy is shown.

February 4th - Group Day

Group day is full of dramatics mainly focusing on the problems of the groups containing the irritating Tatiana Del Toro, the dramatic Nathaniel Marshall, Rose Flack and Katrina Darrell. Others are showing harmony with their groups and are working diligently. Tatianna is having hysterics throughout most of this hour and I already can not stand this girl. She attempts to join another group but then decides to stick with her original one. Nathaniel is having the battle of keeping his two partners Nancy Wilson and Kristen McNamara focused on the practicing instead of the arguing. Katrina gets frustrated and finally goes to bed. This part of the show was so irritating to me personally.

Now it is the next morning and we do get to see some of the groups perform before the judges. We see more footage of Rose Flack and her group trying to deal with their partner Katrina. The judges arrive and Simon adds pressure to the day by saying if you forget your words your out. The first group shown singing is India Morrison, Matt Giraud, Kris Allen and Justin Williams. They are great and easily make it through to the next round.

The group containing Austin Sisneros does not do so well and are sent packing. Jorge Nunez and Nick Mitchell do well enough to stay although their partners are cut. Of the next group which contain Alex Trugman, Ryan Pinkston, Emily Hughes and Anne Marie Boskovich only Alex and Anne Marie make it. Ryan thinks Paula is evil as he is cut. Emily cries.

The afternoon is becoming weary for the judges as group after group appear. Simon is especially irritated. Making the judges smile again is the group of Danny Gokey, Jamar Rogers, Taylor Vaifauna and another whose name was not shown. All four make it and I was so impressed with this group. More footage of some who do not make it is shown next. Then some moments of greatness as we see that Jeremy Michael Sarver, Adam Lambert, Matt Breitzke and Jessica Langseth are still in the competition.

Now come our final three groups. We first see Katrina, Rose, Jasmine and Lauren who have come together somewhat. Only Jasmine makes the cut as the other three are sent home. I was sorry to see Rose go. Katrina shows her bitchy side during the good-byes of this group. The entire group containing the irritating Tatianna make the cut but I thought they were horrible. Group day also ends the chances of David Osmond, Austin Sisneros and Deanna Brown. I really liked these three and am sorry to see them go.

Before we see the final group we have to endure a lengthy moment with Tatianna thanking everyone. Nancy Wilson, Kristen McNamara and Nathaniel are then shown and it is obvious the tension they have between them as mentioned by the judges. Both Kristen and Nathaniel make it with Nancy being cut. Nancy calls Kristen a name and their moment ends with Nancy crying and Nathaniel hugging her.

:) Both days are over thankfully and 75 remain in the competition. Next week we will find out who made the top 36. I do apologize for this lengthy post but appreciate you reading it. I now bid you adieu.

Great God, what horrors await.....
~tyg

I, honestly, couldn't wait to see Katrina Darrell go. She simply rubbed me the wrong way even though she does a good voice. Not great, but good. I was happy to see Jermey Micael Sarver, Danny Gokey, Jamar, Lil Rounds make it. Now it's time to see which ones will make it to the top 36.

I'm really, really liking Danny Gokey. IMO, he has alittle of Taylor's singing style in his voice. I like that.

CC you nailed it perfectly, Those were the WORST Hollywood rounds I've seen to date, What a shame huh?? All the build up for nothing,,,,,

I taped it and kept watching it over and over thinking I'd see Kai but I didn't see him, according to the spoiler list he made it through to the top 36 but who knows for sure, The picking should be fairly easy for the top rounds if this is what they are going on.

wietzema wrote:

CC you nailed it perfectly, Those were the WORST Hollywood rounds I've seen to date, What a shame huh?? All the build up for nothing,,,,,

I taped it and kept watching it over and over thinking I'd see Kai but I didn't see him, according to the spoiler list he made it through to the top 36 but who knows for sure, The picking should be fairly easy for the top rounds if this is what they are going on.

I missed seeing Kai also. I really feel we did not get to see enough of the actual singers especially the ones we did not see audition. I was pleasantly surprised by the singing abilities of Jessica Langseth and Kristen McNamara as we did not see them audition. It is too bad that Kristen was featured with all that stupid drama. Both of these girls are on the spoiler list however. I can hardly wait to get to the top 36 so we can get to the real part of this competition. Sure hope it is not disappointing like these auditions and Hollywood.

*) Horrors that be is that the irritating Tatiana is also on the spoiler list.

This sounds terrible but I'm hoping (very badly) that Tatiana doesn't make the top 36. She irritates me as much as she irritates you CC. It's all about her. Ugh!