American Idol, St. Louis
American Idol road auditions wrapped up in the Gateway to the West, St. Louis, MO. This is the city that brought Carrie Underwood to American Idol 8 years ago. Would history repeat itself?
Johnny Keyser, 22, wowed the judges, who kept interrupting his audition to pelt him with questions, and then told him to keep singing. Surely this won’t be the last time we hear, “Johnny’s in the house!”
Insert silent movie-style clips of bad auditions. Gratitude that there was no sound is presumed.
Rachelle Lamb, 26, is another contestant going through a divorce, accusing her ex-husband of holding her back from her dream of singing. She put her energy and tone into singing a country song that her husband didn’t like. On to Hollywood.
Insert interviews with a crotchety cab driver. He’s a character, all right.
Oliver McCrary, 26, led off a series of clips of really bad singers. Unfortunately for him, he was the only one identified.
Reis Kloeckener, 20, was bullied in high school, but during his senior year joined the choir after a teacher heard him singing in the halls. His beautiful voice brought Tyler to tears. Prediction: he’ll be advised to open his eyes when he sings.
It’s a good thing that Steven Tyler gave pep talks to the contestants, because it made all the difference for Ethan Jones, 22, who dropped out of school to play in a band with his dad. His dad ultimately left the band to go to rehab and get away from the bar scene. This back story resonated with Tyler, who told him “I love the way you sing”, and Randy told him that “You don’t sing anything like you look.” Cut to tearful call to dad to share the news of going to Hollywood.
Mark Ingram, 28, works at the hotel where the auditions were held. He brought his posse of coworkers along to the audition for support. They loved him; the judges…not so much. Of course, his voice gave out on him, and his attempt at a second song didn’t help his cause.
Lauren Gray, 22, works for her family business, a one-stop wedding shop. Oh, and she and her dad sing together in a southern rock band. Her bluesy voice and song selection made J-Lo cry; Tyler told her she had great delivery, and Randy told her she was fearless. “One of the best female voices we’ve heard,” recapped Lopez.
St. Louis auditions provided 46 golden tickets, and according to Ryan Seacrest, this season held “the most successful road auditions we’ve ever had.” On to Hollywood, where “survival of the fittest” isn’t just an evolutionary theory, but every contestant’s reality.
Posted in FOX, TV News
By Anne
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