Audition #3 - 1/23/13

Hi gang, how is it going? Tonight's episode finds us in Charlotte, North Carolina. We get to see Ryan Seacrest several times during the show having a blast driving an American Idol race car. Once again thousands showed up to audition and had a nice surprise as Season 10's Scotty McCreery made several appearances during this visit.

A bit of drama is shown of what is coming up between the divas Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj who looks so artifical with her pink hair and get-up. The auditions are being held as the Charlotte Motor Speedway and now that all the judges have arrived, let's get to the contestants.

Up first is Naomi Morris who is looking quite sexy in clothes she makes herself. She opts to sing two songs which are first "Respect" by Aretha Franklin and secondly "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" orginally by The Temptations. Sadly neither song was very good by this 28 year old clothes designer. Four no votes send her home.

Now comes a truly strange Joe Nemoyer who is 20 years old and takes the fact that Andrea Bocelli once recorded a song laying down to heart. Joe lays down to give us "Feeling Good" (the Micheal Buble version) but alas this does not endear him to the judges who all cast a no vote.

Brian Rittenberry is an average heavy-set looking guy who has a wife who survived stage 4 Cancer. Not expecting much I was mighty surprised with his pretty good version of "Let It Be" originally by The Beatles. It is four yeses across the board and Brian's wife also gets to meet her idol Keith Urban. She is all aglow with the hug and kiss Keith gives her.

I was less impressed with the next contestant Jimmy Smith who sings "Bless The Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts. The judges however liked him and give him the gold.

Several more get gold tickets in quick clips. Of the five we saw only Haley Davis interested me.

Now comes goony Matthew Muse who looks like a reject from France with his attire which included a beret. He attempts to sing "Where I Get Where I'm Going" which sounds awful. The judges agree and he gets four no votes.

Here is another nomination vote to have a particular contestant get an invitation to the show. Randy Jackson surprises Isabel Gonzalez who was nominated by her aunt. This cute girl opts to sing Sam Cook's "Nothing Could Ever Change This Love". I detected good and bad notes from Isabel but the judges liked her enough to send her to Hollywood.

Taisha Bethea is in a band called "Carson". They come with her for this audition. While she claims to be a rock singer she opts to first sing "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash. I did not care for it. Then she sings "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morrisette which also did not impress me. Nicki votes yes, Mariah votes no, Keith votes yes and Randy votes no. Seems each judge can be the deciding vote and this time it is Keith Urban who opts to send Taisha to Hollywood.

We are now seeing several arguments between the judges before Summer Cunningham enters to give her version of the song "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers. It was pretty good I think. However here is where a major argument starts with Summer's comment "I already did the country thing" and now she wants to try a different direction with her singing. This prompts Keith to get upset sort of and then both Randy and Mariah try to steer her into being just a country singer with their advice. Nicki Minaj gets heated by the fact that both Mariah and Randy are forcing this young girl to choose a specfic genre. More drama as Nicki leaves the set in a huff. Auditions had to be postponed for the rest of the day. How silly was this I ask? However Summer did get her gold ticket in spite of this nonsense.

Day 2 brings us Brandy Hamilton who I feel has real potential. The judges are calmer and have to applaud Brandy for her comment to them to stop fighting as it makes her sad. This comment comes after Brandy sings "All I Can Do Is Cry" by Etta James. Four yeses give her the gold. One last thing the judges looked guilty after Brandy's comment and thankfully had the judges act better for the remainder of the show.

Here comes a real busybody who is into everyone's face in the waiting room. Her attire was sloppy, she had dyed blonde hair that could have been a reject of Nicki's plus she was not very attractive with her lips wearing white lipstick. However no one could doubt that this short girl had talent. Ashley Smith did a very good version of Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Casanova" which brought four easy yeses from the judges. I really liked this girl's singing and hopefully the Hollywood folks can make her appearance look better.

Before I get to the next contestant I have to comment on the fact that Nicki Minaj likes to make up dumb nicknames for the contestants. Jeesh I wish this judge would get a grip.

Janelle Arthur has tried out for American Idol before. She does have a good southern voice with her version of the Keith Urban song "Where The Blacktop Ends". She was just okay for me overall but the judges send her to Hollywood. It was cute how she got locked in the audition room and Ryan had to open the door for her to get out.

Rodney Barber is known as "the voice of Charlotte" as he is a street singer. He likes to help people out as he knows what it is like to be homeless and has made his life better since then. I was not expecting much but his version of the Edwin McCain song "I'll Be" was fairly good. The judges agree and give him the gold.

Keith Urban has to leave to go to an awards show for his wife Nicole Kidman. With only three judges, Candice Glover enters to audition. She tried out last season and made it all the way to Las Vegas before she was cut from the show. This time around she is singing Duffy's "Syrup and Honey" which brings a standing ovation from the judges for her efforts. I see real potential with this girl and was glad the judges gave her another chance at Hollywood.

Ja'Bria Barber likes to hunt frogs and eat their legs. I have eaten frog legs and they are not bad if prepared properly but the idea of hunting them was a turn off for me as well as the judges. She does however give us a fairly good version of the song "Pride & Joy" (the Bonnie Raitt version) which have the judges giving her a ticket.

28 year old Brad Harris is a total nerd who has hit his head alot as he demonstrates. He used to do rap in a group called "Bacon" but now opts to sing a song from the musical "Aladdin". Total waste of time as he is not very good and the judges give him a no vote across the board.

Our final contestant has another sob story. Seems Seretha Guinn has a boyfriend who was in a terrible automobile accident and his recovery is slowly coming about. They have a cute daughter named London who comes in with her mom for the audition. She carries a Miss Kitty doll to give to her idol Nicki Minaj which warms Nicki's heart. Seretha proves she can sing by first doing the "Fresh Prince of Belair" and then "How Do I Live". She is pretty good and gets the gold. Nicki does have a picture taken with the cute daughter as this segment comes to an end.

In all 37 gold ticket were given out and our next stop is New Orleans, Louisana which is Randy Jackson's hometown. Hopefully the show will go smoother on that round of auditions.

I now end with wishing each and everyone a good day. Take care all!