LimeWire Music Blog

“Hollywood is disgusting. You should put on some shoes.” It was a cautious yet sensible warning and one of many funny quotes doled out tonight by American Idol’s brand new permanent judge, multiple Emmy winner, comedienne, actress and daytime talk show titan Ellen Degeneres. Ellen acquitted herself quite well tonight. She was equal parts hilarious, nurturing, honest, and direct. While some may have scoffed at the choice of Degeneres to replace the loopy, goofy, sweet and dearly departed ray of sunshine Paula Abdul, I remain guardedly optimistic. Ellen has said she wants to represent “the voice of the people” and after the first night in Hollywood, I’m buying what she’s selling.

However, are we buying what the contestants are selling? Well, I am certainly eager to hear more from several of tonight’s contenders including Crystal Bowersox and Andrew Garcia, but more on them later. First we had to weed our way through 181 finalists as they descended on the famous Kodak Theater in Hollywood (hello Oscars!) for Round 1 of the infamous Hollywood Week. This is where the fame seekers rise and fall dramatically as their talent, endurance and psyche is tested over and over again. In this round, our judging panel (Mister Crankypants, the Dancin’ Daytime Diva, the Dawgfather and our own Jersey girl) greeted the singers and quickly assessed their performances as each had a “sudden death” shot to move forward. They could either sing acapella or with an instrument. Then, they were separated into two lines and told if they were moving’ forward or having their dreams crushed, and subsequently edited into a lovely montage of waterworks set to Rascal Flatts’s “What Hurts the Most.”

For tonight’s recap, I’d like to honor one of Hollywood’s most famous and best burger joints by separating our finalists into two groups as I reveal who is In N’ Out…. Those who are in will continue to tomorrow’s group round and could sample a famous and dooolish Double Double during their stay here. Those who are Out better hit the drive thru on the way to the airport…

IN:

First, let me note that 95 contestants received the good news including some familiar names like Tasha Leighton (the brunette worship pastor), Todrick Hall (the guy who was in The Color Purple with Fantasia), Charity Vance (the 16-year-old whose family has a home salon), and Ashley Rodriguez (the sexy music student from episode 1 who sang Alicia Keyes). However, only a few special contenders got airtime tonight. They were (in order of least likely to most likely to make the top 24):

11. Tim Urban: The 20-year-old heartthrob who got his first significant bit of airtime tonight with his audition of Idol winner David Cook’s hit “Come Back to Me.” He was a little rough, but has potential, played his own guitar and fits the young eye candy role on the menu.

10. Mary Powers: The rocker mom who belted out Pink’s “Sober.” (Total shades of season 6 finalist Gina Glockson, anyone?)

9. Haeley Vaughn: The 16-year-old girl aspiring country pop singer with a super cute personality who played guitar and reminds me of Taylor Swift, except that she can sing live.

8. Casey James: The blonde 27-year-old who became Kara’s wannabe boyfriend by losing his shirt back in the Dallas auditions. Tonight, he sang and played some mean blues guitar and showed his real talent, a huge improvement over his initial performance.

7. Katie Stevens: The 17-year-old brunette with powerhouse vocals and a grandma suffering with Alzheimer’s. She reminded me of season 5’s runner up Katharine McPhee with her lovely take on Stevie Wonder’s “For Once in My Life.” Can she make it to the finals, too?

6. Lily Scott: She’s unique and original. She’s a 20-year-old sandwich maker who looks like a cross between Tina Yothers and Gossip Girl’s Taylor Momsen and she can sang! With a voice like Adele’s, she delivered an accomplished and wonderful version of “Lullabye of Birdland” by Ella Fitzgerald. Kara called her “refreshing,” but will she stay that way or could she end up “annoying” like last season’s Megan Joy?

5. Michael Lynche: “Big Mike”, the 26-year-old personal trainer, also played guitar on his strong audition of John Mayer’s “Waiting on a World to Change.” Not only did he deliver, but apparently his wife was about to deliver his first baby as he was taking the stage. We’ll see if the family reunites in Hollywood if Michael makes the top 24.

4. Didi Benani: The pretty blonde waitress who auditioned to honor her late friend showcased a Kara DioGuardi original with her audition of “Terrified.” The judges definitely weren’t scared of her, embracing Didi with fond praise for her Sarah McLachlan meets Colbie Caillat voice and bubbly personality. (Didi also strummed a guitar; there’s a pattern here, people.)

3. Janelle Wheeler: The other pretty blonde girl with a guitar. This charismatic 24-year-old from Florida reinvented Estelle’s “American Boy” with a country vibe that Ellen declared “was amazing.” I totally agree.

2. Andrew Garcia: This father from Moreno Valley, CA straight up killed it with his awesome interpretation of former judge Paula Abdul’s # 1 smash “Straight Up.” Andrew, who also played guitar, showed he has what it takes to make the top 12. Kara called him “genius,” and I’d say he was brilliant. I’ll be downloading that in a heartbeat if it becomes available.

1. Crystal Bowersox: Another song I’d like to download is this single mom’s gorgeous and soaring rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman”. She may have tattooed her son’s name on her back for luck, but she didn’t need it. All she needed was her guitar and those pipes. Simon summed it up “you’re infectious, people like you.” Yes, we do!

While we could be seeing a lot of those 11 contestants in the weeks to come, we had to say goodbye to 86 others….

OUT:

Antonio “Skii Bo Ski” Wheeler: Ellen said it best: “You frightened me.” After his audition of “Aint to Proud to Beg,” the new judge added it was “like you were stalking us, like you were gonna get us.” She warned him that between “sexy and scary, it’s a fine line.” Skii Bo Ski crossed it and now he’s gone.

Vanessa Wolfe: The 20-year “fast food associate” took her first “aeroplane” ride to Hollywood and will be taking her second back to Tennesse after her wobbly version of Blind Melon’s “No Rain.” Ellen said she was “unique, but hiding inside.” Unfortunately, those nerves are what killed her dreams.

Cornelius Edwards: The 24-year-old guy who split his pants auditioning in Florida should stick to doing the splits after his atrocious rendering of the Dixie Chicks’s “Cowboy Take Me Away.”

Megan Wright: She had a big fan in her little brother, but no fans on the panel after the 21-year-old sang “Who’s Lovin’ You.” The judges said she was “all over the place” and one place she won’t be anymore is Hollywood.

Amedeo DiRocco: The big Italian guy from Rhode Island with the big family and the big personality and the big, um, bad voice. Next time, pick a key buddy.

Jay Stone: Well, he’s not the second coming of Blake Lewis, that’s for sure. This beatboxer quickly got the boot after his audition of what I’m guessing was Shai’s “If I Ever Fall in Love Again.” Hey Jay, careful with the spit-singing. You don’t want the first few rows in the audience to be declared a splash zone.

Justin Williams: The other heartthrob of the night, 27-year-old cancer survivor Williams had a good voice but just didn’t connect in Hollywood. Playing the keyboards may have added to his ousting. The instrument of choice for the winners was a guitar, Justin. Randy could only muster that his performance was “interesting” and Justin was sent home, looking mighty upset by the way.

Maddie Curtis: The 16-year-old with four siblings who have Down Syndrome had a big voice and a winning personality, but chose the wrong song and likely lacked the maturity to stay in the competition.

Also departing tonight were Paige DeChaussi (Asthma Girl), Erika Rhodes (Whip It Girl) and Amanda & Bernadette, the Jersey Shore sistas.

So, that’s the first night of Hollywood Week which will actually last two weeks for us viewers. At least it was quick and there are some favorites emerging. I’m not sad to see any of the departing contestants head home, save for Maddie Curtis. However, there’s always next season, Maddie. But let’s continue to focus on this season with tonight’s Idol Thoughts:

Did you notice the majority of singer/songwriter contestants making it through to the next round? Looks like Idol winners David Cook and Kris Allen do have some influence… Did you notice Ellen’s first words to Simon were “So this is it… I come on, you leave”? … Randy refrained from the “dawg” word again, and I don’t think we’ve heard “pitchy” from anybody this season either! … And did you hear that rumor that Howard Stern is in talks to possibly replace Simon for next season? … I’ll believe that when I see it…

Now, believe this. We’re at the end of tonight’s blog. Are you as excited as I am that we’re finally in Hollywood? Did you love, hate, or just tolerate Ellen? Do you miss Paula? Who are your favorites so far? Let me know below.