American Idol Guest Judge: Victoria Beckham
It’s the Mile High City – Denver, CO. It’s where Chris Daughtry got his start in 2005 and he didn’t do too bad. Can someone from the Denver auditions follow in his footsteps?
MINI-RECAP
*City: Denver, CO
*Celebrity Judges: Victoria Beckham (Skeletor is back)
*Number of Contestants: Unknown (they didn’t say)
*Name to Remember: DANELLE HAYES — She will be Top 20 and will be HUGE!
*The One You Hope To Forget: KENNY EVERETT — He thinks he should be Top 20 (he also thinks he’s the male Mary J. Blige).
*Most Heart Warming Story: HAELEY VAUGHN — “The Miracle Child” who wants to be the first African-American pop country singer.
*Quote of the Night: Simon: “Victoria wants to know if you have eaten any helium today?” before NICCI NIX’s very powerful audition.
MARK LABRIOLA, 28, Aurora, CO — A Jack Black look alike and he kinda sounds like him, but I think Jack Black can carry a tune pretty well. Can Mark? Well, if past auditions tell us anything, numero uno is usually el stinko. Hmmm? He does have an interesting story though. His mother kidnapped him from his father when he was 4. You don’t say! Anyway, on to the audition.
FULL SHOW RECAP AFTER THE BREAK
Mark sings “Tempted” by Squeeze and I have to tell you that I was not expecting that voice from that face. He’s pretty good. Victoria Beckham agrees with me, great voice. The others are quite taken too so it’s 4 YES votes and Jack Black, I mean, Mark is off to Hollywood.
MARIO GALVAN, 25, Denver, CO — Okay, Mario has this freaky little laugh and an odd look, so I know he’s not going far in this audition, especially since Mark was so good and the show just started. Mario laughs all the way through the introductions and then tells the judges he is going to perform Elvis’ “Jail House Rock.” Note to Mario: No one, but no one, can replicate the King. Bad song choice, dude. He opens his mouth and…see my note above to Mario. Ugh. Simon gives us one of those “Why are you wasting my time?” looks. It’s an emphatic NO across the board. Sorry, Mario.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
We come back from the break with a montage of people yelling, cursing and flipping off the cameras. That’s good TV.
KIMBERLY KERBOW, 24, Marina Del Rey, CA – We meet Kimberly’s charming 5-year-old daughter and then hear her amazing voice. Of course the best lyric is the improvised one about buying Simon Rogaine which was quite odd, but she sang it well. With 4 YES votes, she is off to Hollywood.
DANELLE HAYES, 24, Seattle, WA – Danelle hosts a live karaoke event and does songwriting and singing. My spidey senses tell me she is going to be good and I definitely like her look, groovy, head wrap, but stylish. She too is a single mom; a lot of single moms this year. She’s also very humble, the best usually are. She sings “I’m The Only One” by Melissa Etheridge. WOW! WOW! WOW! Sign that girl now. She will make the Top 20. There’s a gravelly, raspiness to her voice, but I love it. It’s different. Simon says “…you are almost broken. You may have come in here just in time to rescue you…” Kara calls it “the most moving audition.” The judges tell her to prepare for stardom and give her 4 resounding YES votes. Look for her! She’s gonna be BIG!!!!
COMMERCIAL BREAK
We come back to a montage of crazy get ups and costumes, hair and clothes. What the H-E-double hockey sticks are these people thinking? Is this really how you want to make your television debut?
CASEY JAMES, 27, Fort Worth, TX — Casey was in a serious car accident when he was 21-years-old. It changed his life and his sad, emotional story can only mean one thing. He will be going to Hollywood. Now, at 27, he is ready for his big break. He is a good singer, I’ll give him that. Not sure what he was singing, but there was almost no emotion in his performance. Simon immediately says Casey’s audition was bad. Randy agrees, but Kara disagrees and so does Victoria who asks him to take his hair down. I agree with the ladies, he has a great look, but Kara knows there is a personality issue. She tells him he will have to work hard on it. Kara then has him take off his shirt. WHAT? Casey begs Randy to let him through and says he won’t regret it. Simon says Casey will regret taking off his shirt (hit the gym, scrawny). Randy caves in and Casey goes to Hollywood, against Simon’s better judgement. Prediction: He’s cut during Hollywood week.
TORI KELLY, 16, Canon Lake, CA – Tory says she really wants her shot at the American Idol title, but her 8-year-old sister, Hope, only wants to meet the judges and brings them drawings. Victoria immediately says she loves Tory’s look and dress, so she’s off to a good start. She says she is singing “Gravity” by John Mayer. Her voice is quite good!! Although Simon thinks her voice was “annoying.” But Kara, Randy and Victoria love her, so she makes it through.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Day 2 in Denver
AUSTIN PAUL, 22, Washington, DC – Austin is the jock. He plays football at the University of Colorado. Nice looking guy, but he doesn’t seem too bright (personal opinion). He says he sings all the time and on his list of things to do before he dies, #42 is make it to Hollywood on American Idol. Will he get to scratch #42 off his list? Mmmmm, I don’t think so. Better stick to football. Kara says he comes off cocky. Simon says his voice could be annoying. Of course, Austin disagrees with Simon. Victoria says the audition was arrogant. Randy says he didn’t get it. Four NO votes and Austin needs a new #42. Although he is very much shocked by the decision.
KENNY EVERETT, 24, Durham, NC — Kenny calls himself the world’s best singer and considers himself the male Mary J. Blige. So we know already that he sucks. He calls his singing “a community service to others.” He sings the female Mary J’s “Be Without You” and yes, he does it very badly. I can definitely be without him. Simon says, “It sounded as if you had been punched and you were screaming at us.” They quickly give him four NO votes and he says, “You’ve got to be kidding me. I am a great singer.” Simon replies, “No, you’re not and you never will be.” So Kenny starts singing again. This time “No More Drama.” They tell him to leave. He starts singing again, but they give him the boot. In his post interview, Kenny says, “How can four people tell you that you can’t sing and you know that you’re a good singer?” Oh, Kenny. Poor, stupid, Kenny!
COMMERCIAL BREAK
We come back to a series of very, very bad auditions. Thank you, Idol, for not identifying these people. It’s less work for me.
NICCI NIX, 22, Florence, Italy — Nicci traveled from Florence, Italy for her audition. I hope she sings better than she sounds b/c she has the speaking voice of a 6-year-old girl. She says music is the only thing she really wants to do. Simon says, “Victoria wants to know if you have eaten any helium today?” Well color me surprised b/c Nicci can sing pretty darn good. Wow! Simon comments that her singing voice is lower than her speaking voice. Victoria loves her. With four YES votes, Nicci’s 14-hour trip is worth it!!!
COMMERCIAL BREAK
HAELEY VAUGHN – Born pre-mature, we learn about Haeley’s early struggles with life. You can almost see the golden ticket, can’t you? She was called “The Miracle Child.” Her father died when she was 10 and now she is ready to be the first black pop country singer. She sings Carrie Underwood’s “Don’t Even Know His Last Name” and does a nice job with the tune. Simon calls her a “cute little thing” and tells her she has a great smile. Victoria calls her bubbly. Kara says she loves that Haeley has a big dream. Haeley brings her family in to meet the judges and they give her the good news. Four YES votes and off to Hollywood.
And finally…
TY HEMMERLING, 25, Denver – Ty thought “Bikini Girl” got a lot of attention last year so he figured the same would work for him. So he auditions in a bikini…top and bottom. He only gets one line out of his mouth when Simon stands and says “I’m going back to Los Angeles” and walks out of the room. The other judges follow suit. Yes, it was that bad. Although, Ty looks pretty good in the bikini.
That’s a wrap for Denver. One more audition show before HOLLWOOD WEEK. Finally.
Until tomorrow… MENDHEIM OUT!