American Idol Review: One More Week Until Hollywood!

This was the last week of auditions before the Hollywood round takes over, as well as last chances for thousands of hopefuls to step up and show us what they’re made of. The first stop was Portland, Oregon where the usual lot of talented and desperate singers eagerly awaited for their chance to impress the judges. Things were off to a powerful start with the first contestant, a young mother named Britnee. Always being told she couldn’t, or shouldn’t, pursue her dreams by people (more specifically her now ex-husband) was in reality the push she needed to show everyone how wrong they were. It was the first tearjerker moment of the episode when she sang her aching country heart out and was then joined by her supportive and equally tearful family. Without a doubt she’s got a voice in her and she became the first golden ticket holder of the day.

Each city seems to have their fill of larger than life characters and the baby-faced Ben Harrison was no exception. Claiming to have sung in a slew of rock bands, the twenty-eight year old just can’t catch a break because most of the ‘’old dudes” he’s played with can’t get past his boyish good looks and always give him the boot. Could it actually have something to do with his singing rather than kewpie doll resemblance? The judges enlightened Ben that it may be the latter, as his Freddie Mercury tribute just wasn’t up to Idol standards. That would be a “no” to Babyface Ben.

Just when you thought one Ben was enough, in came another, this time from the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. But there was no love for the eighteen-year old when he took the stage with snotty rags and a congested head. He’d been sick for some time and it definitely affected his singing but even on his best day I’m pretty sure his nasally rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” would never be good enough to pry a golden ticket from the judges’ hands.

Just as there were two Bens, there was also another Brittany. This particular Portland native had dreams of sharing the stage with one of her musical heroes, Sara Bareilles, in a duet. No, she literally dreamt of doing this and, miraculously, she is one of the few human beings to be able bring her literal dreams to life. Attending one of Bareilles’ concerts and being pulled up on stage by the star was all the inspiration she needed to give American Idol a shot. A self-described hipster, Brittany sweet voice won the judges’ praise and she was sent through to Hollywood. Sara would have been proud.

Another great audition that is worth mentioning was when the six-foot-eight and a half (and don’t you take away his half!) set of pipes walked in. Jermaine Jones from New Jersey couldn’t escape his musical upbringing even if he wanted to. A momma’s boy at heart, Jermaine ate, slept, and breathed music, thanks to his mother, and the deep spiritual voice that erupted from him earned the gentle giant a place in Hollywood.

The next and final stop before Hollywood was St. Louis, Missouri, aka the town that started it all for season four Idol winner Carey Underwood. So many cities have a story or have produced an idol from seasons past so there was and always has been a lot for the contestants to compete with. Twenty-two year old John from Florida was not discouraged the least bit by that notion and why should he? Not only did he have the good looks down but also a surprisingly smooth voice so it’s no wonder the judges cheered him on to keep singing and singing- they couldn’t get enough! The way the judges talked him up, he may be one to keep an eye out for this season, so with that being said, it’s off to Hollywood for John.

Like Portland, a disturbing trend could be seen when another single mother had finally taken a hold of her destiny to prove what negative spouses thought in the past to be completely wrong. Twenty-six year old Rachelle is currently going through a divorce and, although she had been a professional singer before marriage, her other half never supported her musical dreams. Rachelle needed the confidence boost at this point in her life and so, with her little daughter Madison, she sang out to the judges what she’d been feeling for so long. Her vibrant energy, and maybe a little bit of Madison’s dance moves, moved the judges and another ticket to Hollywood was handed out.

Somewhere between the stellar auditions, a few of those wacky auditioneers that so many of us look forward to finally started to show up. Twenty-seven year old Oliver made it his business to bring tears to everyone’s eyes and bleeding to their ears with a horrific rendition of Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose”. There was also the group audition that seemed more like a horrible Glee parody than anything else. Just when things were getting progressively worse, the judges were joined by twenty-year old Reis. The St. Louis native had endured hard adolescent years when he was abruptly brought into a public high school from a smaller, Lutheran school. He became a target for bullying and ridicule until he joined the school choir where he was able to find some comfort and camaraderie with his fellow peers. Slowly, Reis gained more confidence, enough to stand up to the Idol judges. His sweet rendition of “Lean On Me” was actually so sweet that it made Steven tear up, and that was all the proof the judges needed to give Reis the big “yes!” he had been searching for.

Day two came around and everything was coming up roses as before. A young man by the name of Ethan had quite the personal story that really spoke to the judges, maybe Steven more so than anyone else. The twenty-two year old had become a high school dropout and was currently a full time musician with his father and the rest of the family band. Although his father was originally a part of the band, the musician is on a hiatus for drug and alcohol rehabilitation which you could see really pained Ethan. It’s never easy when someone you care about is down and out and all Ethan could do at this point was put all of his energy into his music and into this audition. His voice was extremely strong and impressive and with the conclusion of yet another tearful American Idol moment, Ethan was on his way to Hollywood.

So between all of the sappy feelings and awesome auditions, American Idol finally made good on their previous promises throughout the show to premiere the beginning of Madonna’s new music video for her song “Give Me All Your Luvin”. Where do I even start with this one? Luckily for everyone, it was literally seconds-long. Like, I don’t know, thirty to sixty seconds or so. It was a football themed video, for the upcoming Super Bowl more than likely, complete with ball players tossing an elderly Maddona up over their heads. Her supporting cheerleaders were played by M.I.A., who I happen to like, and Nicki Minaj, who is just awful. Like I said, it was a second long sneak peek and already I’ve given too much attention to this so, moving on.

The last contestant of the audition portion was twenty-two year old Lauren. Her family’s claim to fame in their local small town was running a one-stop wedding shop complete with floral designs and a banquet hall. But good weddings weren’t the only thing the family could produce judging by the bluesy voice that emerged from Lauren while belting out some Adele for the judging panel. She is currently in a southern rock band along with her father and the dream of becoming an American Idol was as much hers as it was her father’s. Regarding Lauren as “one of the best female voices we’ve heard” was quite the compliment and her singing closed the auditions on the highest note possible and with a shot in Hollywood.

So this is it. The hopefuls have officially been chosen and it’s off to the infamous Hollywood week where some people will thrive and others will fall (some quite literally as next week’s previews show). The pressure is on and now the real competition can begin!

Season 11, Episode 6 & 7: Portland, OR & St. Louis, MO (original air date February 1 & 2, 2012).

Images courtesy of American Idol.