Having toured with Christina Aguilera as a backup vocalist and working with big names such as Patti LaBelle and Justin Timberlake, Brandon Rogers has decided that its time to focus on growing his career. When asked why he wanted to venture out on his own Rogers said “If the music belongs to someone else artistically, you can only find so much to connect to. I’m really big on being connected to the music.” What better way to venture out on your own than to audition for American Idol?
Rogers’ song of choice was “Always On My Mind” and he proved why he was able to get up on stage with those other noted performers, he has a very sultry and smooth voice. I actually hear a little Al Green in him. Both Olivia Newton John and Paula Abdul were very taken by his voice with John sighing as he finished his song. “I think out of everyone we’ve seen today, this is by far the best audition” says Simon Cowell who goes on to predict that Rogers will make the finals and Olivia Newton John agreed. With that he received four yes votes and his ticket to the Hollywood round.
You can check out Brandon Rogers Myspace Page for more information about this extremely talented artist.
I didn’t want to rush to judgment about contestant Katie Bernard so waited until today and watched her audition again (I love my DVR) and decided that my first impression from last night was right. What exactly were the judges thinking giving her a ticket to Hollywood? I still don’t understand what she was saying before she sang. I got the part about her having a little kid voice but I think that is an understatement, the woman mumbles worse than my 3 year-old. She has a decent singing voice; if she went around singing everything then she’d be easier to understand. So its obvious that her very unusual voice is not a result of some sort of oral-motor issue but something else; I think she needs to figure it out or her adult life is going to be riddled with confused conversationalists.
Randy Jackson just had to say “I would give this girl another shot.” Ugh, that planted the seed in Paula Abdul’s mind. Simon Cowell, the obvious voice of reason during this audition, quickly gave his negative vote. Abdul invited Bernard’s husband in to help convince her but Mr. Bernard didn’t talk much – we were blessed with more mumble speak from Katie herself. Just to spite Cowell, Abdul gave a big yes vote and Katie Bernard is off to Hollywood. I’m going to file her away with BFFs Antonella Barba and Amanda Coluccio in the “enjoy your trip because it’s going to be short” file.
While browsing You Tube looking for her audition video I found a few other clips of her other performances. The first one is at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL and the second is at Dimples in Burbank, CA. Her singing voice is a bit better in these clips than her audition but I still don’t get a “The American Idol” vibe from her.
American Idol took their auditions to Birmingham for the first time. Home to Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks, and Ruben Studdard; AI knew that Birmingham would have the talent they were looking for. Sadly it didn’t start out very well and in the end only twenty contestants received a ticket to Hollywood.
Chris Sligh, a 28 year old from Greenville, SC, was the shining star of the Birmingham auditions. When he entered the room Simon Cowell immediately said “It’s Justin Guarini!” – Obviously referencing Sligh’s head of curly locks. Randy Jackson asked Sligh why he was there and he quipped “I really want to make David Hasselhoff cry.” Jackson immediately started laughing but Cowell had to be reminded of the cut to Hasselhoff last season after Taylor Hick’s was announced as the winner; Hasselhoff had tears in his eyes. With that Cowell and Paula Abdul both joined in with laughter.
Sligh’s song choice for the evening was perfect; “Kiss From A Rose” by Seal. The song is a difficult one to sing and Sligh killed it, he even had Abdul doing a little girly dance in her seat. When he finished she jumped up and gave him a standing ovation “I like you very much, and you have a good sense of humor, and you’re different.” With affirmative reactions from Cowell and Jackson, Sligh was sent through to Hollywood. A little web-searching and I found Chris Sligh’s Myspace page which linked to his blog where he goes by ChrisSligh. I think we need to keep an eye on him; he has the potential to do quite well.
The other golden ticket contestants showcased were Jamie Lynn Ward, a 17 year old from Reidsville, NC who is already being compared to Kellie Pickler, Bernard Williams, Tatiana McConnico, and Katie Bernard.
Entertainment Tonight’s Jann Carl sat down with Katharine McPhee to discuss her new album (released today!) as well as discuss the Idol controversy. Evidently McPhee has been living in a cave the past few weeks because she was unaware of the controvery surrounding Paula Abdul and her possibly spiked coca-cola. Check your local listings for when Entertainment Tonight will air in your area or view the interview online at ET Online.
Another past Idol contestant will also be interviewed today - Jennifer Hudson will be appearing on the Oprah show. Again, check your local listings for time and channel specifics.
I was sitting in the doctor’s office today thumbing through an US Weekly magazine (1/8/07 issue) and noticed that they had an update of Idol contestants from season’s past. Not just the big names – you know Clarkson, Studdard, Underwood, etc but the ones you don’t hear about but want to. I thought it would be perfect to share some of these with you, the American Idol fans.
Season 1
Nikki McKibbin – After her plot to pull at the heartstrings of America by having her young child give her a flower while performing failed to get her the votes needed to become a finalist in season 1, McKibbin returned home to Texas to bartend. Yup, she’s back in the bar – I wonder if she’s still running her karaoke business? She is also working on a CD but hey, isn’t everyone?
Season 2
Corey Clark – He lives in Nashville and works construction. Evidently he has separated from his wife, I wonder if the rumors of a tryst with Paula Abdul had any bearing on the marriage.
Season 3
Matt Rogers – Rogers is one of the more successful Idol contestants that you don’t hear about daily. He is the host of Discovery Channel’s Really Big Things and is living in California with his wife and son, Brayden.
Season 4
Mikalah Gordon – Even though she wasn’t *The American Idol* Randy Jackson liked her enough to invite her to work with him on an undisclosed “girl group” project.
Season 5
Paris Bennett, Bucky Covington, Mandisa Hundley, Melissa McGhee, Elliott Yamin, and Ace Young are all working on albums expected to be released sometime this year. Let’s see how many of the six actually have a successful 2007 album release. Best of luck to all of you.
For more updates check out the full write-up at realitytvworld.com.
Idolwire.com would like to congratulate Jennifer Hudson for yet another Best Actress in a Supporting Role award – the latest being a SAG Award. The Screen Actors Guild Award is a highly-respected award as the voting body is made up of the nominee’s peers. Upon acceptance of her award Hudson said, “Thank you so much, what a welcome, wow” then went on with the remainder of her acceptance speech.
The staff at Reality TV Magazine has been super-sleuthing to help determine who might make it to the top 40 in Hollywood. They first announced that Sanjaya Malakar, Shyamali Malakar, and Anna Kearns had domain name registrations that coordinated with the Hollywood cuts. Since then they have come up with the following contestants as advancing further in the Hollywood rounds; Jason “Sundance” Head, Amanda Coluccio, Antonella Barba, Jenry Bejarano, Porcelana Patino, and Rachel Zevita. If this is the case then I’m going to have to eat my words as I predicted that both Barba and Coluccio would have short stays in Hollywood. I will be the first to admit I’m wrong; the Hollywood rounds start on February 13.
Right now I’d have to say that the front-runners, in my non-professional opinion, are Jenry Bejarano and Jason “Sundance” Head. If I was a betting woman, okay well I am a betting woman, I’d put my money on a male winner of American Idol season six as of this point in time. We still have auditions in Birmingham, AL, San Antonio, TX, and Los Angeles, CA so I reserve the right to change my mind.
IdolWire.com is more than just Season Six; it is your source for the latest American Idol news. Whether its Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson signing a deal with NASCAR or information on Fantasia Barrino’s tour dates – IdolWire.com has the news.
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Jenry Bejarano wasn’t the only handsome guy with a nice voice during the New York City stop of American Idol’s season six auditions. Chris Richardson, a 22 year-old from Chesapeake, VA, sang a Leon Russell tune and quickly impressed the judges. Randy Jackson jumps in first, “Dude, you know what? I like your voice man.” Jackson then continues on to compare Richardson’s looks and voice to that of Justin Timberlake. This has got to make Richardson feel good, Timberlake is huge in the entertainment industry.
Paul Abdul thought Richardson was “very special” and said “it’s going to be very interesting to see how you do in this competition.” Simon Cowell was also impressed by Richardson saying “you could possibly surprise us in the next round.” Well I’m going to have to agree with Cowell on this one, I think Chris Richardson is going to do well in Hollywood.
Another great male voice from New York City was seasoned Idol veteran Nicholas Pedro. American Idol fans may remember Pedro from last season’s Hollywood round where he had difficulties remembering the words to the songs and chose to respectfully bow out of the competition. Evidently he had second thoughts from that moment onward so decided to try out again. He sang “Fly Me To The Moon” and was very warmly welcomed back to Hollywood. If Nicholas Pedro can keep his composure this season I think the sky might just be the limit!
As Jenry Bejarano stepped into the audition room Paula Abdul’s face took on a serene look, perhaps Bejarano is to Abdul as Perla Meneses was to Simon Cowell. One look and her mind was made up, thankfully Bejarano backed up his refined features with an equally refined voice. In his pre-audition interview he explains that he was adopted by a Bolivian family when he was one year-old and his mother is his biggest supporter; she was there with him giving him last minute tips before he entered the audition room.
The 16 year-old from Rotterdam, NY chose Gerald LeVert’s song “I’ll Give Anything to Fall In Love.” He captivated the judges with his very smooth voice. Upon completion of the number Abdul said “mmmmm” then went on to say she was “pleasantly surprised” and he was “easy on the eyes.” Psst, Paula, he’s only 16! However I’m going to have to agree with her. Definitely easy on the eyes and ears.
Guest judge Carol Bayer Sager commented “You’ve got something really charismatic about you” and Randy Jackson said “I like you man.” With that Jenry Bejarano had four yes votes and was sent out to greet his mother and family. Nothing warms my heart like seeing a 16 year-old still accept a big hug from his momma!
