AI 8 - 2/10/09 Hollywood One Last Chance

Here we are on the countdown to the semi-finals. Who will be going through and whose dream will come crashing at their feet? After 103,000 auditions, we are down to the wire as Ryan so dramatically reveals.

Our episode begins at the end; all the contestants are sitting in their various rooms waiting to hear the news of their fate. Oh the drama of it all.

We must now go back to the start of Day 4 and reveal how we reached this point. I only hope we actually get to hear the contestants sing tonight.

By the way, once again we have an issue. Last Wednesday night Ryan revealed 75 contestants were through to the next round but as Day 4 began, we were down to 72. Were three contestants booted for some unknown reason or do we have someone who cannot count. We need some continuity here folks! I digress.

All 72 contestants will perform one last song; they will have the band and back up singers. If they choose, they can accompany themselves with an instrument. There will be no comments from the judges. The judge’s response will be the announcement of the fate of each room.

Adam Lambert chose lucky number 1. I have to say he chose an interesting song, “Believe”. I personally loved what he did with the arrangement and he had great control of his voice. He took a techno dance tune and changed it in to a ballad; this was a David Cook trick. It was spectacular. It was amazing how he displayed an incredible upper register. Adam totally rocked this audition.

Matt Giraud being the dueling piano player he is uses a keyboard and he blew me away with his rendition of “Georgia on My Mind”. Matt looked like a performer on stage, he was relaxed and really changed up the song turning it into a really bluesy/soulful song. You could tell the judges were very impressed. This is the first time where I really had a connection to Matt as a performer.

Jamar Rogers chooses “Hey There Delilah”. I am digressing but I hate his outfit and he is too old to be wearing a baseball cap in that manner. I was not impressed with this performance. It was okay but he did not really shine. It may have been the song but he was not on his game.

Danny Gokey went with “I Hope You Dance” which was also an interesting song choice and man Danny can sing. He freaking nailed this number. I totally loved this version as he improved on the original. It is too bad it is not during a performance show where I could download the number on ITunes. I think Danny is already a frontrunner in this competition.

Anoop Desai goes with “My Prerogative” and he is good. I was not blown away but he deserves to move on.

Jorge Nunez was up next and he was okay but once again, I was not blown away; however, to be honest his video clip went by fast to the point I could not even figure out what song he was singing.

Scott MacIntrye also chose to play his keyboard. Scott is a confident performer especially taking a chance on not only singing a song by another Idol Contestant but one, which was used as a goodbye song during the show. Scott went with “Home”. Scott succeeded where most fail.

Kendall Beard makes a stupid choice with “Before He Cheats”, come on do not sing other Idol’s hits you idiot. It was a stupid song choice and her execution sucked. She was off key and had some ridiculous stage moves.

Stevie Wright chose “Bubbly”, we did not hear much but it was okay not great.

Lil Rounds went with “If I Ain’t Got You” and was also okay but did not blow me away.

Kristin McNamara also went with an Idol winner song trying to tackle “Because of You”. What is wrong with these contests? Kristin tried to make it a little bit country and fell flat! It was just atrocious.

Mishavonna Henson gets some airtime with her story but not her performance. Her voice was okay but I did not hear enough for me to judge.

Histrionic Hyena (HH) see last week’s blog if you do not remember who this is gets too much airtime once again. HH’s outfit has to have been the worst I have ever seen which went along with a very horrible performance of “Black Velvet”. Naturally, HH feels incredible about her audition. I was laughing out loud with the Idol producers counting down the number of songs she has attempted during Hollywood week since she never listens to the judges just starts singing another song. I am praying for a quick exit for HH.

Alexis Grace also decides to murder “Before He Cheats”.

Kevin Hoffpauer went with “I’m Yours” and I was thinking not in a million years, you blew your chance.

Jasmine Murray goes with yet another Idol winner’s song when she tackles “Tattoo” by Jordin Sparks. Give it a rest. Jasmine’s voice is pleasant enough but there is no Spark (no pun intended) while she is performing, she is outright boring.

Nathaniel Marshall my favorite drama queen went with “Disturbia” while playing the guitar and was unbelievably good. I thought he nailed the number. I did not love the outfit though.

Joanna Pacitti totally murdered “If I Ain’t Got You” all the while forgetting the lyrics. Give me a break.

Casey Carlson tries “Tattoo” as well and does not come out smelling like a rose. A contestant who also stumbles over the lyrics.

Poor Stephen Fowler, he totally blows it, then starts over, and blows it again. He simply gets up and leaves.

I am also over Nick Mitchell aka Norman Gentle. What is up with this guy? Why do the judges keep passing him through? I am over him and cannot wait for his departure. Norman chooses “Georgia on My Mind” and after Matt’s performance he does not even come close to doing the number justice, it is all vaudeville antics and very little singing.

Anne Marie Boskovich goes with “I Hope You Dance” doing an okay karaoke version of the original.

Ju’Not Joyner went with “Hey There Delilah”. It was okay but not outstanding.

Kaylan Loyd sings “If I Ain’t Got You” and I was thinking I am glad you do not have me because you are awful.

Leneshe Young picks “Love Song” and she blows her chance. It was one of the worst renditions I have heard.

Kai Kalama is having problems with his voice but he still managed to stay on pitch. He has to do something with his hair.

Michael Sarver was not as good in this final audition as he was in the group number. It was okay.

After numerous montages of the contestants sweating it out in their various rooms it is late in the evening of Day 4, Simon is off to England leaving Kara, Randy and Paula to pass on the news.

Room 2 gets the first visit and they get a yes. The members of this group include Alexis Grace, Kenny Hoffpauer, Jasmine Murray and Nathaniel Marshall.

Room 3 is next and they get the big fat boot! It was during this elimination where Ronald stood up and clapped because Michael Castro is going home. Yeah!

Room 1 is next and they are safe which includes Adam, Danny and most of the good singers so their fate was not in question.

Room 4 is last, this is where HH is, and I am only praying she is on her way out the door. The judges are building up to the big reveal when Matt just asks, “So, it’s a no then”. It was funny. Oh crap, it is a yes. I cannot believe I have to deal with HH again. This is not drama it is freaking torture.

The one big positive of the episode was we heard more of the contestants sing.

My rant for this episode is song choice. Clearly, the contestants were not limited to just a few songs since there were some very interesting choices while the rest seemed to go with the same songs. These contestants have to realize song choice is everything!

On tonight’s episode, the judge’s will be making another cut to 36. We are visiting the judge’s mansion and the long walk for the contestants to the much more comfortable chair. It also appears the judges may be giving some contestants second chances as we see a clip of Simon asking Michael Sarver to sing for his survival.

Until tomorrow but only if, I do not have a stroke if HH makes it to the semi-finals!