Hi there. Time sort of got away from me which is why I am so delayed with my re-cap. Sorry. Without further ado, on with the show.
:) Yeppers that is a rocket we are seeing being launched from the Kennedy Space Center which lifted off August 28th in 2009. On today's date January 20, 2010, 10,000 hopefuls have come together in Orlando, Florida to hopefully launched their singing careers. Ryan welcomes us to American Idol.
Seems the contestants are assembled which brings up an interesting point I think. We just saw Ryan welcoming us however we are now seeing that neither Ryan, Randy or Simon are actually at the auditions. They are in Miami getting a break from this process. Isn't pre-taping wonderful?
In the meantime, Kara DioGuardi has arrived to welcome guest judge Kristin Chenoweth and the ladies hit it off right away. Kristin has been in the limelight quite a bit lately as she has become the darling of the American stage and even has won a Tony award for her efforts. She has also made appearances in the television shows Glee, The West Wing and Pushing Daisies (in this last entry she won an Emmy for best supporting actress). What Ryan failed to mention is Kristin is a soprano singer with a four octave range in spite of her almost cartoon speaking voice (this brings to mind little Princess P from season 5 who sang so big in spite of her talking voice). Okay good the guys have finally arrived and the auditions begin.
Ryan first talks with an obviously gay man who is decked out in some weird outfit with sparkles, glitter and a feather on his face. Upon entering the audition room he answers Simon's question that he expects to be in some corporate position in 10 years time. For now however Theo Glinton wants to sing. In spite of his gay look this guy has one powerful and masculine voice as he performs Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker". This really surprised the judges and also myself however I did not think he was half bad. The judges on the other hand all say no to a very disappointed Theo. He spends his last few moments trying to find his way out with Kara giving him directions. He vows to try again as Ryan helps him take his sparkle off his face outside in the hall.
Back from the break it appears by the look on Simon's face that he is quite irritated with several scenes being shown of hopefuls who do not make the grade. He is equally irritated with the antics of Kara and Kristin who seem to be having a blast.
Our first sad story of the day emerges as we meet 28 year old Seth Rollins who is married with two children. His son is autistic and it has been quite hard on the whole family who have little money to fight this affliction however it is obvious from the clips that Seth is a very good dad who does the best he can. He hopes to do well as a singer so he can get the best possible care for his son. Singing Frank Sinatra's "Someone To Watch Over Me" proves he might have a chance as he is quite good in my opinion. The judges agree and it's a yes to Hollywood.
More previews, commercials and seeing tons of contestants follow as we hear the song "When You Wish Upon A Star". Okay enough is enough, let's get to the next audition.
Seems Jermaine Purifoy tried out in season 7 sort of as a lark and did not take it seriously. This time around he realizes he wants to fulfill his dream of being a singer. Performing "Smile" by Tony Bennett, he shows he means business as he has a very good voice and it is four yeses. I liked this guy too.
Our next and last contestant of the day is a young lady who suffers from nerve damage to her face. She is 18 year old Shelby Dressel. Singing the song "Turn Me On" by Norah Jones she does well until she seems to forget a lyric and instead says a cuss word which is bleeped out. This brings some laughter from the judges however they like her and she gets the gold. She was just okay in my book and hopefully she will not make that mistake again in Hollywood.
Day two dawns as we find only three judges as Kristin has business in New York and has to leave. Before the auditions begin Kara gives the contestants a heart to heart about doing their best.
26 year old Jay Stone is up first and has an unusual talent. He does beat-boxing as did season 6 alum Blake Lewis however he sings at the same time while he does this. I found him kind of interesting as he performs "Come Together" by The Beatles. So did Kara who gives a definite yes. Simon is a no but Randy wants to know if he can just sing so he performs again with the song "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. Randy gives a no which surprised me as I thought he was fairly good. Kara persuades Randy to change his vote and Jay gets the gold. Stick to the singing in Hollywood dude and you might have a chance!
Next we see lots of partying going on in the holding room and it appears that some of them can sing as we see short clips of Janell Wheeler, Brittany Starr James and Kasi Bedford who also are on their way to glitter town.
I was kind of surprise the next contestant made it through. Cornelius Edwards sings some Tina Turner and during the process does a split that rips his pants wide open. This brings on the laughter from the judges with alot of yak but it's 3 yeses.
Two well-endowed sisters from Cherry Hill, New Jersey are up next. We see clips that they are very close. 27 year old Bernadine Desimoine comes dressed in blue while her sister 23 year old Amanda is dressed in yellow and are hairdressers by profession. Bernadine performs first the song "Hit The Road Jack". Amanda then does "Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston. Simon likes Bernadine but not Amanda that much. Randy is hesitant with his vote but eventually says yes. Kara says yes also. But as it turns out both go to Hollywood. I felt both were just okay.
Up next is Jarrod Norell who we see warming up. When he speaks he mumbles alot. Kara is stunned as he attempts to sing "Amazing Grace" and feels he sounds like a lawnmower. Simon thanks him for coming and Randy tries to persuade him that it is a no from him. He refuses to leave and keeps singing which causes security to intervene and they end up hand-cuffing him to get him out of the building.
Some re-capping from Ryan before we meet our next contestant who is 25 year old Matt Lawrence. When Matt was 15 years old he longed for adventure however went down the wrong road for it and attempted to rob a bank with a BB gun. This sent him to prison for 4 years and shamed not only himself but his family as well. He sings Ray LaMontage's "Trouble" and truly impresses the judges. It's 3 yeses to Hollywood for him. I liked him but not sure his voice can measure up to some of the other talent.
Our time has come to an end in Orlando and we now know 31 contestants in total got the gold. Methinks the girls will be doing quite well this season. Our next stop is in Los Angeles as we once again see lots of up-coming previews. With that being said I bid you adieu and wish you a great week ahead.
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Subject: Auditions #4 - Orlando - 1/20/10 
Thu Jan 21, 2010 6:31 pm
