Hooray for Hollywood

Finally! Idol has made it to Hollywood, and now the real contest begins. This is the part of the competition that separates the Sinatras from the Sanjias. Or so we hope.

So here’s the premise – the contestants get a first turn in front of the judges. If they get a “yes,” they go hit the pool or hotel bar and are good until Thursday. If they get a “no,” it’s back to the drawing board to prepare for a second chance on Wednesday.

Brooke opened up the night with her rendition of Beautiful during which she played the keyboard. This is the first year the contestants are allowed to play an instrument during their audition/performance. And I am LOV-ing it. As someone who does not play an instrument (which means the following statement should be taken with a grain of salt), I’ve always believed that singers who are also musicians are far more credible than those who aren’t. And then there are the triple threats – singers who write their own lyrics and compose their own arrangements and then play them. Now, they are the real musical geniuses. So, do we have some Alicias or Princes in the Idol mix. After tonight, it’s not looking good. I mean there were some hits, but probably more misses. And when they missed, Simon was relentless.

Here are the highlights: “You have the stage presence of a flea.” “You should take an axe to that.” “Shawn, don’t do that again.” “There was nothing redeeming about that performance except that we stopped it early.” OUCH!

Turns out plain old singing works just fine.

Case in point: #4713. Just in time for Valentines Day, this Elliot Yamin-esque crooner won over the judges (and me) with “Love the One You’re With.”

Sidenote: Speaking of Elliot Yamin … If you haven’t peeped his CD, you should give it a listen. True, my favorite Idol loser is a big hit among the Radio Disney demographic, but his themes are mature enough that you won’t feel like a loser buying the album.


Back to present day: The Latin Lover (is that PC?) – with his accent and slick headphones -- made the ladies smile, but his performance made Simon cringe, and unfortunately for him, Simon is the one who counts. Would Josiah from Hotlanta fair better? Hell to the yeah! (as Whit Whit would say) His performance was off the chain –despite his creepy look and even creepier name. I mean “Josiah” doesn’t say Idol as much as it screams Children of the Corn. Tattoed Carly from Cali was another of the night’s unconventional contestants that blew away the competition. And even Harry Potter made it through to the final 24. Could this be the year of the anti-Idol?

I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait to find out!

…. As long as no one ever, ever, never, ever, ever sings “Everything I Do” ever again. Somewhere some 16-year-old in the ‘burbs is asking her mom, “Who the heck is Bryan Adams?” My sentiments exactly.