Idol-Talk: Season 10 Auditions - New Orleans

American Idol 10: New Orleans Auditions
Airdate: Thursday, January 20, 2011 [8-9pm]

Audition: New Orleans

After a two-hour opener Wednesday night, Thursday brings us a shorter episode, only one hour. The episode begins with auditioner Blake Patterson, on October 17 as the text on the screen tells us, playing the piano and singing. The text tells us he won't be going to Hollywood. It looks like Blake hasn't taken the news very well.

We see the judges arriving in New Orleans, and Steven Tyler has a little hat on his head, and makes a comment about things that are small that has to be bleeped. :)

In the premiere, it was all about getting used to the new judges. Now that's behind us, and this second episode seemed just like any other audition round from any season. I mentioned this yesterday, but am I a terrible person if I have been watching all three hours this week without really thinking about Simon at all? I'm sure I'll miss him at some point, but I'm loving the new judges too much at this point to think about the past.

The below list of auditioners will work pretty much the same as yesterday, starting out with my favorites and working down to other singers who may not be as good, but I still want to keep an eye out for them in the future, if they should improve and stay in.

My Favorite of the Night:

• Sarah Sellers (Steven Tyler-like lips)

The two names below may not be at the very top of my list, but they have the potential to do well on the show; I'll be keeping an eye out for them in future rounds:

• Brett Loewenstern - "Bohemian Rhapsody" (picked on in school; he kind of looks like Kenny G to me)
• Jacee Badeaux - "Sitting On the Dock of the Bay" (15-years-old; they were pimping him throughout the episode as one to look out for)

Average/Good:

• Jordan Dorsey - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (piano teacher)
• Jovany Barreto (Latin singer)
• Jennifer Lopez is Jovany's Idol and couldn't wait to meet her. At the end of the audition, he took off his shirt, and Steven and Randy Jackson joined in with them, pulling up their shirts some. Jennifer was shocked at what was happening right in front of her.
• Jacquelyn Dupree - "I Stand By You"
• Her father was Randy's football coach back in the day; she brought photos of Randy from high school
• Paris Tassin - Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home"
• Paris got pregnant at 18. She found out that her unborn baby had what I believe is water on the brain. She decided to keep the baby, who now has to have hearing aids. Jennifer was in tears while Paris sang.
• After the auditions were over with (Paris was the final singer) and Jennifer was about to leave, she went over to Paris in the hallway, met her child, and gave her a hug. While still being honest, we can really see how Jennifer is going to be the compassionate judge this year.

Bad:

• Alex Attardo - "Proud Mary"
• Alex went to Idol Camp three years ago and says it was an eye-opening experience that really helped him; if only he knew how untrue that was. Randy said that maybe they should stop the camp (um, Randy, I don't think it's been around for quite a while now), and bluntly stated that "It was terrible." After now having seen three hours of season 10 so far, this has been the only time Randy has been as harsh as Simon and as straightforward as he said he was going to be. Yesterday, I complained that we didn't see any of that; maybe I have to hold my tongue. But we've only been through one week; there's still plenty of time left to see if he will be more Simon-like.

Of the two episodes that have aired so far, my favorites are Devyn Rush (New Jersey) and Sarah Sellers, with Brett Loewenstern and Jacee Badeaux as ones to keep an eye on as well.

37 auditioners advanced to Hollywood.

If you have ever read my Idol-Talk commentary in previous seasons, you will know that my biggest pet peeve with American Idol is the countless times the show runs past its scheduled end time. We're only on the second episode, and it runs over by a minute (9:01pm). As I've done before, I will continue to mark down when this happens and add it up at the end of the season; last year went over about 40 minutes or so over the course of season 9.

Next Wednesday, American Idol's back with another two-hour episode from 8-10pm with auditions from Milwaukee, WI. See ya then...