American Idol, San Diego
American Idol had another first in San Diego, CA: auditions were held on an aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Midway. Of course, this may also be the last time, since the judges and contestants alike were distracted by, and occasionally drowned out by the sounds of horns blasting and jets soaring overhead.
We were treated to more of what we’ve come to anticipate from Steven Tyler…compliments for the female contestants (legally appropriate ages this time), witticisms, limericks…the censors were kept busy!
The first hopeful, Jennifer Diley, 19, was this season’s first “Bikini Girl.” Her “patriotic” attire may have caught the attention of Ryan and the judges, but her voice got her promptly dismissed. I guess she’ll be working with animals or kids when she isn’t working on her tan.
Ashley Robles, 26, DJ and single mom, displayed a powerful voice. Steven predicted “that you’re going to be big.” Jayrah Gibson, 26, has a plan. Only ONE plan. His #1 goal is to be an artist. His confident demeanor and R&B style won him a golden ticket to Hollywood. Oh, he also wrote a song for J-Lo that was about shaking her moneymaker.
Aubree Dieckmeyer, 20, described herself in the pre-audition video as a singer and America’s Next Top Model. Oops! Her sweet voice, natural talent and cutesy interchange with Steven turned out to be in her favor.
Ali Shields, 19, has a flair for getting noticed. She got on the Ellen show by writing Ellen DeGeneres a song simply because she wanted to meet her. Ellen invited her on the show, and then sent her to the American Music Awards, where she got her very first kiss(es) from Mike Posner and Usher. The giggly contestant performed a rap number, demonstrated her version of “ghetto dancing”, and then also sang. The judges said she could “sing a little”, and was “crazy enough to make it.” Time will tell.
Day 2 was off to a start with Steven Tyler grousing that he “can’t wait to hear 40 people singing the same Adele song for 6 (bleeping) hours”.
Luckily, 19-yr old frat boy Kyle Crews was declared “the best male voice we’ve heard yet” by Tyler. He was advised to work on his look, though.
After a brief (very brief) clip of an apparently horrendous audition, we were treated to a clip of Tyler stating “I went through 4 hours of hair and makeup to listen to this (bleep)”. This is the American Idol we know and love!
Jane Carrey, 24, got pointers from the judges to use when she moved on in the competition. By the way, she’s the daughter of Jim Carrey, and J-Lo remembers her as a toddler when Lopez was a Fly Girl.
The auditions wrapped up with Jason “Wolf” Hamlin. The 24-yr old golf course mechanic brought along his “git-fiddle” (guitar) built by his late father. He did a decent CCR rendition, but blew the judges away when he accompanied himself on a Johnny Cash song. I predict he’ll be one to watch.
53 lucky contestants out of 10,000 will be moving on to Hollywood. Steven Tyler predicted 7 sets of triple-threats..that’s 21 to regular folks… from the San Diego auditions. We should be in for a treat come Hollywood Week!
