American Idol - Omaha Auditions

Tonight's show began with a shot of a mysterious crop circle of the American Idol logo. Who knew that even aliens are Idol fans?

19 people made it from Omaha to Hollywood and we actually got to see 9 of them - that's almost half! Idol Producers, have you been reading my posts or what??


The Good

• Jason Rich - He's a cute farm boy who forgot his words and was given three chances to finish his song. He's got a decent country voice, but if he's that nervous now, how will he get through Hollywood week?
• Rachel Wicker - She's an arm wrestling champ. Simon thought she looked old and Randy thought she yodeled too much, but they passed her through.
• Samantha Sidley - Samantha is cute but lacks confidence. She's quiet, and I don't see her standing out in the crowd.
• Elizabeth Erkert - We only saw a few seconds of her audition, but she belted "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" impressively. And I give her points for being from Springfield, IL - home of Honest Abe.
• Denise Jackson - In her few seconds of airtime, I couldn't get past her big red 1980s earrings.
• Michael Sanfilippo - Blink and you missed him, but he sang "Call My Name" to judges' raves.
• Angelica Puente - Angelica has been fighting with her dad and had to move in with her grandparents. She sang "Power of Love" just like Celine - too much like Celine, according to Randy. She does have serious pipes though and a sob story.
• David Cook - At last, we get a rocker! David belted "Living on a Prayer" after watching Daughtry's audition to pump himself up. I'll root for him.
• Leo Marlowe - Leo is my favorite so far. He's very likable and quipped that his mom was proud to have raised a homecoming queen, but that she'd hoped it would be one of her daughters. I liked his affable, self-effacing personality, plus he's got the voice and chutzpah to take on a Donnie Hathaway song.

The Bad and The Ugly

• Chris Bernheisel - Chris had a lot of energy. He said, "I'm so happy! I feel like I could explode and happiness is going to go everywhere!" Unfortunately, the happiness explosion didn't improve Simon's and Randy's mood, and Chris was rejected. However, Simon offered him a consolation prize - he can be Omaha's FOX affiliate's reporter for the Idol finale. Just when we thought Chris was fresh out of happiness, more happiness vomited out of him with this news.
  
• Sarah Whitaker - Sarah is a goth who formerly wrestled under the name "Lady Morgue". Her maniacal laugh was more impressive than her singing.
• Johnny Escamilla - Johnny wore a gold jacket and appeared to have a seizure while performing "Shout."