Americal Idol Guest Judge: Kristin Chenoweth
MINI-RECAP
*City: Orlando, FL
*Celebrity Judge: Kristin Chenoweth, “Wicked”ly awesome, but only for a day
*Number of Contestants: 10,000
*Name to Remember: MATT LAWRENCE, seeking redemption through music
*The One You Hope To Forget: JARROD NORELL, the audition so bad he gets arrested.
*Most Heart Warming Story: MATT LAWRENCE, the jailbird turned songbird
*Quote of the Night: Simon: “You walked in like a cocktail stick and sang as if you sat on a cat.”
FULL SHOW RECAP AFTER THE BREAK
THEO GLINTON, 22, Fort Pierce, FL – Theo is wearing glitter and a cape. ‘Nuff said. He wants to own hair salons, be a fashion designer and a singer. Simon doesn’t seem amused. Theo says he is going to sing Pat Benatar’s classic, “Heartbreaker.” He doesn’t quite hit it. Okay, he completely misses. I guess we are back to bad first performances. He actually compares himself to Jennifer Hudson. Four NOs.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Apparently Kara and Kristen are now BFFs. Cute montage of them flexing their girl power. Best Seacrest line: “They annoyed the {bleep} out of Simon.”
After many, many bad performances, we meet…
SETH ROLLINS, 28, Lakeland, FL — Seth has one of those heartwarming stories, so we already know he’s good and going to Hollywood. Seth’s son is austistic and that has put a strain on the family. He is hoping he can make a career in the music industry. His son cries as his daddy walks into the audition room. Seth, of course, is great. His rendition of “Someone To Watch Over Me” is fantastic and his voice has a great tone. Kara said she wanted to keep hearing him. Four YES votes and Seth is Hollywood bound.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
JERMAINE PURIFOY, 24, Cleveland, TN — Jermaine is a Season 7 auditionee. He admits he wasn’t prepared the last time, but thinks he has what it takes to pull it off now. I have to say his version of Tony Bennett’s “Smile” is really, really, good. Randy calls him the best of the season so far. Easily four YES votes and Jermaine is LA bound.
SHELBY DRESSEL, 18, Avon Park, FL— Shelby is another heartwarming story. She suffered a facial muscle ailment so, as she says, she doesn’t smile properly. My gut tells me she is gonna be good though. Shelby has a very nice country twang to her voice and her tone is awesome. Suddenly, she forgets her lyrics and yells, “Holy S**t” to which the judges break out in laughter. Simon gives her a YES, but with a small “y.” The other judges chime in and Shelby is off to Hollywood.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Day 2 begins without Kristin Chenoweth. She was “called back to NY.” What the hell does that mean? You either commit to two days or you don’t. Bummer.
JAY STONE, 26, Miami, FL – Jay is going to sing “Come Together” by The Beatles. Apparently, it’s the scratch version b/c he starts miming a phonograph and making weird noises. Even when he sings it sounds really weird, almost robotic. I’m not sure what he’s trying to do. I’m not impressed. Will the judges??? Simon doesn’t appear to be. Kara immediately gives him a YES. Randy wants to know if he can sing and Jay breaks into “Ain’t No Sunshine” and I have to say he does it well. I still think Simon doesn’t care. Randy doesn’t because he says NO. Simon says NO. But Kara says YES and pushes Randy to change his mind. And he does because Jay walks out with a golden ticket, albeit, tucked under his shirt.
We now get three performances back to back:
JANELL WHEELER, 24, Tampa, FL –
BRITTANY STARR JAMES, 23, Coral Springs, FL –
KASI BEDFORD, 19, Seminole, FL –
I think I am in a Simon mood b/c while I thought they were good, none of them wowed me. However, all of them got Golden Tickets to Hollywood.
And there was… CORNELIUS EDWARDS, 24, Boynton Beach, FL – Cornelius says he is singing “Rolling” by Tina Turner when he really means “Rolling on The River.” He better bring it cause nobody does it like Tina. Bring it, he does, but not in a good way. During his mediocre audition, Cornelius does a harrowing split and his pants literally rip apart. Simon is so impressed with the split he gives him an automatic YES and the others agrees. Cornelius will be cut in Hollywood b/c he simply doesn’t have the goods (not after that split).
COMMERCIAL BREAK
BERNADETTE & AMANDA DESIMONE, 27 & 23, Cherry Hill, NJ – Sisters who decide to audition together. They work in a family hair salon in Jersey. Bernadette says her sister has the talent to go all the way. Amanda doesn’t return the compliment. They walk in together but Bernadette goes first. She sings Ray Charles’ “Hit The Road Jack.” Amanda sings Whitney’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” I thought they were okay. The judges seem confused too. Randy gives them a thumbs up. Kara agrees. Simon says YES Bernadette and NO to Amanda, but they both sail through to LA.
JARROD NORRELL, 28, Marietta, GA — Now if you have paid attention during the teases you know that Jared is not leaving his audition with a Golden Ticket. He is, however, leaving in handcuffs. Let’s meet the only IDOL auditionee so bad that he gets arrested. Once he starts singing “Amazing Grace” it’s easy to see why. He’s not bad, he’s horrible; really, really bad! When he finishes, Kara responds, “Oh Good Lord, what was that? Do you really think you’re a good singer?” Jarrod can only humbly respond, “Are you serious?” They cut him, but he says he’s “trippin.” Randy tells him that music isn’t his thing, so naturally, he starts singing again. It’s just as bad the second time. Security is called in. Jarrod refuses to leave, so they force him to leave. We hear a loud crash and then we see Jarrod on the ground being handcuffed. Them Idol folks don’t play. They cut back to the judges staring in disbelief and Simon, being the jokester, asks, “Yes or No?” That’s definitely three NOs and a court date.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
MATT LAWRENCE, 25, Stark, FL — The tease before the break told us that Matt spent some time in jail and he was at Idol to make a new start. He robbed a bank with a BB gun when he was 15 years old. He spent 4 years in jail for it. Now he is out to prove he has changed his life. Something tells me that Mr. Lawrence is about to blow us away. He enters the audition room and tells us he will sing “Trouble.” He is definitely not in trouble with his voice. He has a very tone and a soulfulness to his voice. Simon calls him “Brilliant” and adds “You can really really sing.” Kara says she completely agrees with Simon. Randy says, “You are so genuine, dude.” With three YES votes, Matt Lawrence gets his shot at redemption. Kara utters as Matt leaves the room, “He’s gonna go top twelve.”
And then wraps up Orlando, FL. NEXT WEEK…LOS ANGELES.
Until then…MENDHEIM OUT.
i can usually tell the ones that can't sing 'cause they talk so much about how good they can sing. when i hear them talking, i say to myself, "they can't sing", and i'm right. i also find it amazing that out of 10,000 or so people that audition in each city that only 15-35 make it thru. that's a whole lotta dilusional people who think they can sing,____my laugh of this week was Cornelius Edwards, who split his pants. i nearly split my sides laughing.____i couldn't believe Jerrod Norrell would rather be arrested than to leave quietly. if he worked for me, i'd fire him after this.