A recap:
American Idol Goes To HollywoodWe break down the heavy hitters, problem kids and comic relief.
American Idol has restored Hollywood Week to its full glory, and it's about time. The sight of dozens of young hopefuls gathered in one spot always provides its share of meltdowns and interpersonal drama, and really sheds light on who the true contenders are going to be. Performers who seemed like solid favorites coming out of their audition can be exposed as one-trick ponies, and some we have never seen before can grab the chance to make names for themselves.
The Hollywood round began with a new twist this year: a one-day boot camp featuring advice on styling, the vocal coaching of the stalwart Debra Byrd, and a pep talk of sorts from (is this show ever going to get younger?) Barry Manilow. After that, it was on to the traditional two-day kickoff of Hollywood competition, as the 147 singers were split in two, with half getting to tour Tinseltown while the other half performed one song a cappella. The purpose here is to weed out the obviously over-matched, as only 43 ended up being cut.
The hour served to reintroduce many of those featured prominently in the audition episodes. Only a couple of never-before-seen wannabes got any spotlight, and only a few of those who got their own audition segment failed to make it past their first test. I'll divide those we saw into groups.
The Heavy HittersAnyone who had a lengthy audition segment and was singled out for praise on this evening can safely be assumed to be someone the show is enthusiastic about. The three who stand out in this regard are Danny Gokey, Lil Rounds, and Jackie Tohn, although I was less than thrilled with all three. Gokey, who might want to ask the show to stop talking about his dead wife before we're forced to start hating him, tried to overpower "Kiss From a Rose" without the upper register to make it work. Rounds beat the dead "I Will Always Love You" horse and was more loud than good. The judges, who have been known to confuse those concepts, gave her a standing O anyway. Tohn gave a reasonably effective blues performance, but she seems to believe she's now a stand-up comic, and I wonder how well her overall twitchiness will wear with the American public.
And You Guys Were Good TooThese are the singers who seemed as if they might have potential based on their auditions, but came across much more effectively in their first try in Hollywood. The judges were more enthusiastic about Jasmine Murray in Jacksonville than I was, but she showed here that she might be more than just a "marketable" teen face. Oil man Michael Sarver has apparently taken my advice and begun to play up his country side. Jorge Nunez sounded much better singing in English than he did in San Juan. Anoop Desai, who has more experience singing a cappella than most of the others, sounded effortlessly strong once again. And while many of us might want to dismiss David Osmond on the basis of his Osmond-ness, he's not going to make it easy thanks to his solid first-day vocal.
Also in this category is Stephen Fowler, whose original audition we did not see. He took on a Stevie Wonder song, often a bad idea on Idol, and ended up doing a decent Stevie impression. We'll be seeing more of him, along with several others who we did not see sing this night, but whose success was noted: Scott McIntyre (aka The Blind Guy), Anne Marie Boskovich, Alexis Grace (yay!), Adam Lambert, and Brent Keith Smith.
Problem ChildrenMost of the singers that Ryan Seacrest euphemistically referred to as "judges' favorites" (translation: the ones we decided to feature the past three weeks) were passed through with rote praise, but a few of them came in for such harsh criticism that it at first appeared they might not make it. Amy Winehouse sound-alike Frankie Jordan was knocked by Simon, but she ended up getting an OK. Emily Wynne-Hughes, the tattooed chick who deserted her band for Idol, picked a new song at the last minute and paid for that mistake with some negative comments before also being passed through. And free-spirited Rose Flack appeared to have some difficulties adapting to the more stressful pace. She displayed a laid-back Norah Jones vibe on "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay," but while she's pleasant to listen to, I fear she is going to be swallowed up by the stage.
The perceived favorite who got slammed the hardest was Von Smith, he of the "Over the Rainbow" histrionics. He came out with what appears to be the one thing he can do, an over-the-top Broadway-type number that allowed viewers to once again get up and close and personal with his uvula. It was really no different than his audition, but for some reason Simon Cowell couldn't stand him this time around, calling Smith's performance "indulgent nonsense ... the sort of thing a child would do." To his credit, Smith seemed humbled by the attack, which for all I know is the first real criticism he's ever received.
Comic ReliefIf you picked Nick "Norman Gentle" Mitchell and Katrina "Bikini Girl" Darrell to make it past the first day of Hollywood, then I want to go to Vegas with you. Mitchell, who actually has a decent (if hardly Idol-quality) voice when he's not clowning around, mugged his way through "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," complete with pitch pipe and shout-out to Seacrest. Darrell chose the infamous contestant-killer "Breathe" and while flat most of the way, was just barely good enough for Simon and Randy Jackson to make a case for her, despite Kara DioGuardi's best efforts at losing her nemesis once and for all. While these two are both entertaining in their own way, I don't envy the singers who will have to work with them in the group phase.
Wait Till Next YearA few singers that had featured auditions failed to make it to the next phase. Jessica Furney won't have to make alternative plans for someone to look after her grandmother, as she was sent back to Kansas. Marginal golden ticket recipients Patricia Roman and Sharon Wilbur did not make it either. Jesus Valenzuela, who advanced out of San Francisco because Kara couldn't tell his kids no, had to leave the boys at home and thus was sent back to join them, departing in a huff.
Missing In ActionSeveral performers featured in the audition rounds weren't shown at all, although we can infer that they all survived the first cut. Joanna Pacitti, Austin Sisneros, Leneshe Young, Stevie Wright, Taylor Vaifauna, Cody Shelton, Casey Carlson, Kai Kalama, Michael Castro, and Megan Corkrey are in this group, as is Deanna Brown, who was shown offstage.
http://www.film.com/tv/american-idol/story/american-idol-goes-to-hollywood/25870030
