AI 9 1-12-10 Boston

Welcome back to another season of American Idol. It has been 236 days since the season 8 finale. Yes, I have been counting the days waiting for this moment.

To borrow the lyrics from the cancer survivor contestant – It is a new dawn, it is a new day, it is a new life and I am feeling good! Okay I am freaking excited about the return of the new season and doing my little happy dance.

Right through the first week of voting my viewing will be by tape as I have rehearsals every night as the production I am in opens on February 26 but I will not let it interfere with my American Idol obsession.

Our new season begins with clips from last season’s finale. Interesting how Ryan refers to Kris Allen as the new Idol while Adam is a new star. Are we listening America?

Paula is gone from the show and during the auditions, eight guest judges will provide coverage. Ellen joins the judge’s panel for Hollywood.

Ryan exclaims this is a “New Beginning” and each year we get bigger/better and the talent this year will blow you away. My reaction is whatever!

Our contestants come from every corner of the country, every walk of life and are trying to make their dream come true one song at a time. We are not ten minutes into the program and I want to toss my cookies, this may be a bad sign.

Our auditions begin in Boston with a crowd of over 9000 hopefuls willing to stand in the rain for their chance at a golden ticket to Hollywood.

Cue the next video introducing tonight’s guest judge “Posh” Victoria Beckham or as one contestant elegantly stated, David Beckham’s wife! Is it just me or did she look rather haggard on the first day of auditions. I thought she looked terrible and do not get me started on her outfit.

On with the heart of the matter, which is to dish oh, I mean evaluate the contestants.

Day 1:

Janet McNamara is the first contestant and wow given she has been training using the American Idol karaoke game there is no question what a fantastic singer she must be – NOT! Janet clearly has no idea how to dress, dance and certainly has no singing ability given the butcher job she rendered on “Pocketful of Sunshine”. The judges politely said no with Janet exciting with grace and style swearing.

Maddy Curtis is the ninth of 12 kids and shamelessly the producers have to bring out Maddy’s brother (number 8) who was born with Down syndrome with the family adopting three other kids with the same condition. Kudos to them but what relevance does it have on whether or not Maddy can sing. It does not but what a wonderful back-story! Maddy has been watching AI since she was eight and is currently 16 years old. Maddy performs “Hallelujah” and has a so-so voice. I was not impressed and I certainly do not understand how the judges were just gushing about her talent. She is a very nice girl but can she survive the cutthroat nature of this competition, I doubt it. Maddy gets her golden ticket.

Next up is Pat Ford who does not know if he is auditioning for “So You Think You Can Dance” with those awful Bob Fosse type moves or “American Idol” since his version of “Womanizer” sucked the big one. Pat was loud, crazy, had horrible enunciation, and was a total waste of time. I did enjoy Randy telling him to “stop singing forever”! Pat leaves without his ticket to Hollywood.

There is a very brief clip of three women getting a pass to Hollywood. They were Jennifer Hirsch (22), Claire Fuller (23), and Jess Wolfe (24). By noon on the first day, only women have received the golden ticket.

Amadeo Dirocco (28) wows the judges with “Hootchie Cootchie Man”. This is a song I luckily have never heard and do not want to hear again. Mr. Dirocco has a huge personality and a huge voice. I simply was not impressed and am unsure why the judges liked him. I would though love to eat a meal prepared by his mother, as I adore Italian cuisine!

Derek Hilton apparently turned to singing during a very depressing time in his life sort of like a spiritual journey. While I embrace and support people finding their center and finding the joy in their life yet singing unfortunately is not the path for Derek. Derek also has several personalities all who made an appearance during his performance of “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word”, all of them had some type of different vocal inflection, and all had horrible enunciation. Luckily, the judges say no and poor Derek is surprised and sad, as he will not be able to touch America. All of America stands up and cheers!

Cue the next montage of multiple contestants getting the bad news where we have tears, anger, and swearing. How can there still be so many deluded individuals in this country?

Mere Doyle (24) simply loves Japanese anime and dreams of being a success in Japan. I ask why does she remain in the United States rather then move to Japan. We are unfortunately subjected to her diatribe about how she treats each audition as if her life depends on it, please enough of this and her stupid kimono! Mere manages to kill her chances with a rotten to the core version of “Piece of My Heart”. I am sure Janis was rolling around in her grave. We have another person who has been enabled since Mere shouts everyone tells her she is wonderful including her family, two vocal coaches, and theater directors (boy I am luckily I didn’t have to sit through those productions).

We then meet two men who are harmonizing in the holding room (please I do not need friends again) and we are shown their quick auditions back to back both of whom are given a ticket to Hollywood. They are Luke Shaffer (24) and Benjamin Bright (25). Their voices were fine but I did not get to hear enough to decide.

Andrew Fenton or attitude/angry guy is next. Andrew complains about everything. The judge’s initial impression is unfavorable and Andrew does not help this situation. Simon tries to ask questions and “Andy” is plain obnoxious and sarcastic. He chooses “House of the Rising Sun” as an audition song and I was bored. There were moments where it sounded fine but overall I was not impressed. Let us just say he really rubbed Kara and Victoria the wrong way with the producers bringing back references/images of the “Bikini Girl” battle. Thankfully, Andrew is out of our lives now.

Ryan explains there are multiple musical conservatories in Boston and we get a montage of people talking about how they went to school for music. Oh joy, this obviously is not going to end well. Bill Bloom (music teacher) and Michael Ryan certainly cannot be the best Boston has and leave empty handed.

Ashley Rodriguez (21) music student finds singing comes from her special place. Ashley tackles “If I Ain’t Got You” and for the first time I actually perked up and really listened. I thought she did a fantastic job. I liked her voice and she had excellent pitch and enunciation. I am sure the producers are drooling over themselves because she is pretty, can sing, and has a great personality. Ashley receives a resounding yes from the judges.

Tyler Grady (19) is a drummer who recently fell out of a tree and severely fractured both arms. The producers could have skipped the medical pictures the casts he was wearing said it all. Tyler goes with “Let’s Get It On” singing seductively to Kara and Victoria who both gush their enthusiasm. Tyler’s voice was okay but he did not wow me but all four judges grant him a ticket to Hollywood.

Day one ends with a montage of contestants with tickets to Hollywood although they apparently have no names. Day one found 17 contestants getting a shot at their dream.

Day 2:

We find Randy and Simon running late while the women are on time. The producers provide filler with Ryan giving us a history lesson on Boston.

Lisa Olivero (24) finds singing a spiritual experience as it allows her the opportunity to express herself. I wonder if the customers she waits on find her singing spiritual. Lisa has confidence telling Simon she is auditioning because she is better than most of the people on the show. This will not end well. Lisa clearly misses my blog and tries to be a diva covering Mariah’s “Vision of Love”. I say no one should mess with my Mariah and Lisa kills the melody and creates my first fingers down the chalkboard moment of the season. I had to put on my CD of Mariah to get this horrible version out of my mind. Lisa leaves empty handed.

Cue the montage of weirdoes who cannot sing or shut up and Simon’s facial expressions are priceless (I will miss them).

Mike Davis (18) who works on a tour boat called “Godzilla” goes with “Yesterday” and for me it was simply good karaoke. Mike was simply boring and does not have any razzle-dazzle. Randy was the only judge to say no which means Mike is going to Hollywood. I hope he enjoys his visit because I do not see him making it to the semi-finals.

Katie Stevens (16) has a grandmother with Alzheimer and she wants her grandmother to see her reach for the stars before she forgets who she is. Please producers enough with these types of back-stories. The question is can Katie sing. I thought her voice was fine but there was nothing special about her rendition of “At Last”. The judges heard more than I did giving her praise after praise.

Jason Blaylock (28) has hit the ceiling of the age restrictions so this is his last chance. Jason goes with “Broken Road” and again all I can say is he was okay. There was no wow moment for me. We then waste time with whether or not he can be assertive by telling Simon to “shut up” and I say who cares. The women find Jason lovely and appear to say yes simply because of that fact. Simon shows pity and says yes and then Randy provides a unanimous vote for a ticket to Hollywood. Please!

Cue the next montage of contestants who suck without anyone being identified (so much for their 15 minutes of fame)!

Justin Williams (27) brings us our next sob story. Justin was diagnosed with cancer (type not identified) seven years ago and is now cancer free. While the back-story is compelling, what Jason has is honest talent. I found his rendition of “I’m Feeling Good” to have the wow factor. Jason has fantastic control of his voice; he was pitch perfect, and had clear enunciation. Jason has the looks, personality and talent. I was happy the judges saw what I did and Justin is heading to Hollywood. This was my favorite audition of the episode.

Norberto Guerrero (18) who seems to be stuck in the ‘80s given his hair and clothing choice totally murders “Every Time We Touch”. He also breaks the cardinal rule of forgetting the lyrics and blames his nerves. Mr. Guerrero will not be visiting Hollywood!

Bosa Mora (22) has a large family with six sisters and one brother. His parents are from Nigeria and are proud of him. Bosa goes with “You Look so Good in Love” and I was bored. There were moments when he sounded okay but I was not impressed. Simon says no while the other three judges overrule him and Bosa is on his way to Hollywood.

Cue another montage of the Boston auditions, blah, blah, and blah – enough with the filler.

Leah Laurenti (22) whose back-story is her parents were very strict and did not allow her to enjoy secular music oh the horror of such an experience! Leah advises through music is how she expresses herself. Leah goes with “Blue Skies”. Leah has an okay voice and good pitch but I certainly do not believe she lives up to the judge’s praise of “really good”, “best of the day”, etc. The hype will be too big and I see Leah ending her journey in Hollywood.

Our time in Boston ends with 32 people grabbing their golden idol to Hollywood. We saw almost half of those and personally, I heard only two, which even sparked my interest.

We next visit Atlanta with Mary J. Blige as the guest judge. Until tomorrow…