American Idol, Aspen
American Idol auditions headed to Aspen, CO, and the viewers were treated to spectacular scenery shots. If you’re tuning in to see some spectacular fails, however, this episode only provided a very few. Could this be a reason that ratings are down this season?
First up was Jenni Shick, 24, who described herself as being “overly energetic.” She also caught Steven Tyler’s eye, which was a good thing, since he’s on her short list of people she’d like to kiss . (Two others are Adam Levine and Lady Gaga). Randy described her as “kinda wild, crazy, anything could happen,” while Steven laid one on her and admitted that he was “gonna get in trouble for that.”
Curtis Gray, 28, impressed Jennifer Lopez, who said that he was “good looking and sings great”, while Tyler proclaimed him to be a “major talent.” Richie Law, 19, with his deep, country voice and Devan Jones, 26, with his nice falsetto also won golden tickets to Hollywood. Mathanee Trego, 25 showed a nice vocal range.
Yawn. America wants to see someone crash and burn!
Enter Tealana Hedgespeth, 19. She is a twin, and thinks her sister is more talented. She is also tired of living in her sister’s shadow. Her singing inspired J-Lo to say to Steven, “If you ask her for another song, I’m gonna kill you,” and for Steven to ask Tealana “Have you ever recorded your voice and listened back?” I hope her sister (who did NOT audition) is more talented.
Haley Smith, 18, brought her 60′s-70′s vibe. This vegetarian meat packer lives in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, and put her own spin on a Chaka Khan/Rufus song. Tyler said he was “honored to be here listening to [her] voice,” while Randy called her “a real flower child, doing her own thing.”
Alanna Snare, 22, will be remembered more for working at a bar that is famous for selling Rocky Mountain Oysters (look it up if you’re unfamiliar), rather than her singing. Back to the bar, Alanna.
Aspen brought us our hard-luck story in the form of Shelby Tweten, 17. She has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and has suffered depression since the 4th grade. Auditioning for Idol has given her focus and a reason to stay on her meds. Her audition brought tears to J-Lo’s eyes, and Randy said she was “fearless as a singer”. This young woman from “Minnesnowda” has huge potential according to the judges.
Enter snippets of unidentified hopefuls and their not-so-epic fails.
Jairon Jackson, 19, charmed Lopez with his original piece. “He’s a lover”, you know.
Angie Zeiderman, 25, brought in the crazy…in a good way. Her ambition is to open for and be best friends with Lady Gaga. She did a show tune, much to Randy’s chagrin…he apparently vehemently dislikes the genre. J-Lo just wanted to shut up his rant, so Angie sang Blue Bayou, which completely turned Randy around.
The evening ended with weird, in the form of Magic Cyclops, age unknown, the faux British-accented “contestant” from Davenport , Iowa. Maybe he can live off of his 11,000 air guitars. His performance inspired Randy to excuse himself to use the restroom.
In all, Aspen generated 31 golden tickets. Something tells me Hollywood week is going to be brutal. Please. Something has to break up all this “nice”!
