Hi there. I would have posted my re-cap last night but I was so agitated by the show that I felt tired out. Why? Well I was so sick of the barrage of up-coming previews and the never-ending commercials. I have a suggestion for American Idol. In stead of having 3 weeks of these nonsense auditions I wish they would have more of the Hollywood rounds with a "quick" flashback to that contestants audition. I get so tired of seeing the bad ones and now that I am done with my rant let's get on with the little bit of the show we did see.
Pop Quiz:
Where has idol been 5 times and has given us the talents of Fantasia, Clay Aiken and Jennifer Hudson not to mention is the birthplace of our very own Ryan Seacrest? It's none other than Atlanta, Georgia. In the peach tree state we see that 10,000 hopefuls have shown up to audition. Simon and Kara are ready to go however it appears Randy needs some coaxing and finally emerges. Our guest judge tonight is Mary J. Bligh and I am thrilled as I am a huge fan of this wonderful artist. Being described as the "empress of soul" we hear of her impressive career which has garnered over 40 million in album sales and earned her 9 Grammys.
We next hear that our contestants must take an elevator to the 27th floor to audition so with that being said on to the first contestant.
27 year old Dewone Robinson sings an original song that turns into a real mess as he tries to duet with himself by singing the high and low parts. It does not seem to have many words and is called "Lady We're Not Together Anymore". Dewone ends up coping an attitude because he feels Simon screwed him up by asking questions while he is trying to perform this stupid song. Needless to say it's a no to Hollywood and we see Dewone's final moments in the elevator singing "it's over".
Here comes the first of those annoying previews and commercials but surely the Kris Allen fans are once again happy to see him in the Ford commercial.
Before we get to the first somewhat decent talent, we have to endure hearing some guy who has a high-pitched voice squeaking all the way. Now comes in Keia Johnson who once was in the Miss America pageant. She did not win the title but did manage to get the Miss Congeniality Award. I can see why as she is very perky and nice. She sings "My Heart Will Go On" from the movie Titanic and does well enough to earn the gold. Oh I forgot to mention that before this segment we got to see a bunch of cheerleaders. Oh Brother!
The ladies seem to be doing well as we next see that Miriam Lemnbuni, Noel Reese and Tisha Holland also get their golden ticket. From their brief moment I was most impressed with Noel Reese.
Our next contestant is Jermaine Sellers who is 26 years old, is a church singer and takes care of his mom who has a spinal disease. He does well singing "What If God Was One of Us" originally by Joan Osbourne. The judges really like him and he is off to Hollywood. My question is: who is going to take care of mom now?
Christy Marie is a local television host who has lots of personality as we see in the clips. In a very dramatic way she sings "Love Is A Battlefield" by Pat Benatar. To my ears this 25 year old sounded very squeaky. The judges also do not care for it and it's a no. Christy loses her niceness and we see her saying some not-so-nice remarks about the show on her way out.
We are coming to an end of our first day in Atlanta with the appearance of a young lady named Vanessa Wolfe from Vonore, Tennessee. She shows us she knows how to jump off bridges into lakes but also tells us she feels trapped in her tiny town. Sorry I could barely understand this young girl as her southern accent is quite heavy and did not catch the name of the country song she sang. All of the judges felt she was authentic and give her the gold. Frankly I was not that impressed but then I can not stand country music.
After tons of commercials our next contestant is J.T. Hamilton who has escaped death 3 times in his life. We hear all about this nonsense before he goes in to audition. Sadly he can not remember the words of the song he was going to sing and pauses for what seemed like forever. Randy helps him out and suggests he sing Garth Brooks "If Tomorrow Never Comes". J.T. attempt at singing brings on a fit of laughter from Mary J. who hides behind Kara to muffle it. Needless to say J. T. does not get his ticket as well as many others we see in the constant previews, previews, previews.
As you all know instruments were introduced into the show a couple of years ago however the contestants are not allowed to use them during their initial audition. Our next young lady decides to improvise and dresses up like a guitar. Simon rolls his eyes as Holly Harden enters the room. Lots of yak about her outfit before she finally sings Loretta Lynn's "You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man". She sounds better than okay and the judges vote her through.
Next we see Lathan, Hansel and Blake who are rejects.
Oh goodie another country singer (gritting my teeth) in the form of Mallorie Haley who does the rock song "Piece of My Heart" by Janis Joplin in a country way. The judges like it and she goes to Hollywood. I can see that country may be big in this season.
More clips of people we did not get to see sing but they have golden tickets.
Next up is an annoying personality who calls himself "Skiboski". In reality it is Antonio Wheeter who wears an outfit with his nickname which is spelled wrong. Surprising enough this guy can sing and impresses the judges with his take of the song "I Heard It Through The Grapevine". Randy, Kara and Mary are impressed and give their approval with Simon being doubtful but Skiboski gets his ticket.
Cutesy best friends in the forms of Carmen Turner and Lauren Sanders have known each other since the 3rd grade. We see lots of hugs and nonsense from these two before they enter the room to audition. Both sing separately and I was with Simon on this one as I felt both were awful. Randy, Kara and Mary however like Carmen and send her through to the next round. This brings about a ton of tears from both girls knowing only one got through. I must add that I was surprised Carmen made it. Hopefully this will not end their friendship.
Three southern belles go down in flames which gives Simon a headache so he steps out for awhile. With only 3 judges the next contestant enters the room. He is Bryan Walker who is 25 years old and a police officer. Rather a drab looking fellow but does have a nice voice as he sings the song "Superstar". It's done well enough for him to get the gold.
Our next guy proves he is a liar. Before his audition he lets us know he is thrilled to be meeting Mary J and will take whatever critiques he gets well. Lamar Royal performs a mess-up version of "Kiss From A Rose" and turns huffy and foul-mouthed when the judges are a no across the board. The judges actually try to give him solid advice but he just keeps on singing and does not listen. Finally security comes in to escort him out and we get to see lots of bleeps as our guy leaves the building.
Our final performance of the day is General Larry Pratt who is 62 years old and performs the ridiculous original song called "Pants On The Ground". This brings out the laughter from Randy, Kara and Mary but Simon is irritated. He does get his sense of humor back before we get to see many people also performing this nutty song.
Jeesh I am so glad this show has ended for tonight and frankly speaking really did not see anyone who blew my socks off. 25 did get tickets. Next week we are in Chicago and I will be back with my thoughts on the windy city auditions. Until then have a great week ahead.
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Subject: Atlanta Auditions - 1/13/10 
Thu Jan 14, 2010 7:30 am
