Thursday, January 21, 2016

American Idol: Auditions from All Over America

Tonight's episode skipped around again from Denver to Little Rock to Atlanta to Philly, etc.  

The Good

Miranda "Poh" Scott - Her sister Shi made the Top 24 last year, and she wanted to get out of her shadow. She sang "Fairy Tale" by Sara Bareilles and the judges loved her husky voice and confidence. She reminded me a bit of Amy Winehouse, just in the voice, not the persona. She's the one Keith is still thinking about at the end of the day. 

Amelia Eisenhauer - This ginger lass brought her fiddle which delighted Keith. She sang "Many Rivers" by Annie Lennox and revealed a big voice. She's quirky. She sings in a family band and brought a samurai sword with her but chose to leave it out of the audition room. She has some geeky appeal.

Joy Dove - This big, bubbly gal was so hyper that I thought she would fail, but she delivered a fun rendition of "Jambalaya" that Harry couldn't resist.  J Lo said she was envious of her big voice.

Mackenzie Bourg - This cutie has the same birthday as Harry and he's from Louisiana. He performed a medley of songs by the judges, and the judges ate it up. He has John Mayer type looks, bookish and sweet. He should go far. 

Jenna Renae - This pretty gal in a fedora played the piano and the judges found her soulful. I felt she overacted a bit in terms of emotion and gave too many meaningful looks.

Adam Lasher - He revealed a unique take on "Knocking on Heaven's Door." He made it to Hollywood last year, but this year he's back to try again with a more clean cut look. He's a cool dude, but maybe a bit cocky. 

Emily Brooke - She made it to Hollywood last year at age 15, but judges felt she needed to develop her gift more. She sang "Careless" by RaeLynn. I felt she had a Taylor Swift vibe. The judges felt she had improved a lot since last year. Harry found her the most memorable of the day.


The Bad

Andrew and Aaron Birdwell -  These brothers are self-proclaimed nerds who like board games. They perform a strange duet that Keith calls "a Gregorian acid trip" and Harry calls "a Gregorian can't."

Mario Bonds - Mario is outgoing and likable. He had a degenerative eye disease and went blind at age 10, struggled with behavior issues and is now on solid footing. He sang Natalie Cole's "Inseparable." He had talent but the performance was kinda heavy handed, and pitchy in places. Judges said they love him as a person but he's not good enough for the show. He cried. This was hard to watch. I felt he might have been good enough to go to Hollywood, but he probably wouldn't have made it out of there. 

Only one more night of auditions to go...

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