Next up in the Idolwire.com spotlight is 24 year-old Alaina Alexander from West Hollywood, CA. In her AmericanIdol.com interview she exposes a special talent she has – burping. Yes, you saw that right, she is great at burping. Hmm, I don’t know what is more interesting – the fact that she considers it a talent or the fact that when asked what other talents she has that’s the only thing she could come up with. Burp on sister!
A fan of both the Beatles and Mariah Carey; fans may be surprised to know that she also has a Michael Buble album. Alexander is definitely an interesting character. In her Los Angeles audition she chose the song “Feeling Good” by Buble and instantly had Simon Cowell on her side; “Alaina, I thought that was really, really, really great. I like you a lot.” Randy Jackson felt she was pitchy but all three judges gave their yes votes and sent her on her way to Hollywood. Well we know how well she did in Hollywood. After making the long trek down to the lone chair in front of the judges in Pasadena she initially chose to stand up. After a bit of encouragement from the judges she took her seat and they gave her the good news – welcome to the top 24 Alaina Alexander!
Now that the confirmed American Idol top 24 has had time to sink in I’ve come to realize that the way it ended for the girls just left a bad taste in my mouth. If you’re going to cut an amazing songstress like Marisa Rhodes at least give her the courtesy of sitting next to someone at the end who can sing well – Jordin Sparks or Lakisha Jones would have been better. Seriously, putting her next to half of the BFF duo from New Jersey is really kind of a slam in my opinion. I don’t know Antonella Barba so can’t make a judge of her character but she did poorly in Hollywood based on what was shown – she forgot her words on several occasions. She also lacks pizzazz on stage – she reminds me of a wet noodle, a wet noodle who forgets her words.
Marisa Rhodes was clearly upset with the results. She was overcome with tears and fell to her knees in the elevator ride down. I can’t imagine that it was an easy ride with Barba right there next to her but she handled it professionally and didn’t say what was on her mind until she was outside. Then her absolute bewilderment was obvious, she said that everyone was surprised she didn’t make it and no one would have expected her to be cut. You and me both sister.
The top 40 contestants met at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium to find out their fate. The confirmed top 24 finalists for American Idol’s season six are
Top 12 Males:
1. Sanjaya Malakar
2. Brandon Rogers
3. Phil Stacy
4. Chris Sligh
5. Blake Lewis
6. Rudy Cardenas
7. Paul Kim
8. AJ Tabaldo
9. Nicholas Pedro
10. Chris Richardson
11. Jared “JL” Cotter
12. Sundance Head
Top 12 Females:
1. Melinda Doolittle
2. Gina Glocksen
3. Haley Scarnato
4. Jordin Sparks
5. Stephanie Edwards
6. Leslie Hunt
7. Alaina Alexander
8. Sabrina Sloan
9. Lakisha Jones
10. Nicole Tranquillo
11. Amy Krebs
12. Antonella Barba
We now know the last names of the mysterious Amy and Nicole and hopefully have the correct spelling of Lakisha’s name now. Check in tomorrow for more spotlights on this season’s top 24.
This is an American Idol blog, right? Then why am I talking about a quartet? Well this specific quartet is the talk of the town after last night’s airing of American Idol. Just a quick definition of quintessential - the most perfect embodiment of something. Yes, this sums up the quartet of blonde beat-boxer Blake Lewis, British Boy Bander Tom Lowe, the Latin stylings of Rudy Cardenas, and curly-topped Chris Sligh. Those four magnificent singers teamed up during day 3 in Hollywood – the infamous groups round, to perform the song “How Deep Is Your Love. This was a match made in heaven.
While the folks at Fox chose not to show us their entire song they gave us a sneak peek – part-way through Lewis busted out with some freestyle beat boxing as the other three sang. It flowed so smoothly – as smooth as melted butter! The choreography among the four men was fantastic and completely on point. Their voices, wooooo their voices. Those four together made magic, absolute magic with that song. I really wish they’d have shown the entire performance. Watch the performance on YouTube.
Tonight’s episode marked the beginning of the five days of hell in Hollywood with 172 people set to show their stuff at the famed Orpheum Theatre. There is no room for error here – contestants must bring their A game or go home. Day one featured the 114 female contestants and by the end of the day it was whittled down to 58; nearly half of the females were sent home.
The show started off with a bit of a bust as contestants were taken backstage in groups of six and then each went onstage to perform a quick 30-second solo. Jory Steinberg, a favorite from the New York City auditions, was the first up. While she thought she did a great job the judges appeared to disagree sending the entire first group of six home. Other casualties from day one were Ashlynn Carr, Porcelana Patino, and Sarah Burgess who snuck out of the house to attend her initial audition.
The second day featured the males. Brian Miller, a 19 year-old from Placentia, CA, was first up – after his performance Randy Jackson commented on the fact that the day already started off better than the day before. That has to be a good sign for the males. When day two was finished 34 of the 58 males made it on to the next round in Hollywood including fan favorites Chris Sligh, Nick Pedro, and Sundance Head.
The third day was the infamous group day. The 92 contestants were able to form their own groups and pick a song from a choice of nine. Some groups quickly teamed up while others straggled around trying to find a home. At the beginning of day 3 Simon Cowell harshly reminded the contestants “do not forget the words.” As with every season of Idol there were those that would inevitably forget their words; those that did were mostly sent home.
The episode ended with the infamous rooms – the contestants were split into three rooms with only two rooms receiving the good news. Sanjaya Malakar and his sister Shyamali Malakar were separated as were BFFs Antonella Barba and Amanda Coluccio. Two rooms filled with 40 contestants were given the great news. When the two rooms merged into one to celebrate Barba quickly noticed that Coluccio was not there. Sanjaya Malakar was in no mood to celebrate when he didn’t see his sister come in and quickly ran downstairs to console her. In a touching brother/sister moment they embraced as tears ran down their cheeks.
Tomorrow night the 40 contestants will be cut down to 24 – the top 12 male and top 12 female contestants. It will be exciting to see how those line up with the predictions made by those in the know at Idolforums.com .
Check back tomorrow for more specific information about tonight’s show including the fantastic performance by Chris Sligh, Blake Lewis, Rudy Cardenas, and Tom Lowe.
Next up in our tour of the top 24 is Rudy Cardenas. Rudy, the son of Univision anchor Rudolfo Cardenas, is a 28 year-old originally from Venezuela but now calls North Hollywood home. Evidently Cardenas auditioned in both Memphis and Seattle with only his Seattle audition being aired. He very aptly chose a Journey song – “Open Arms”. For those that don’t know, Randy Jackson played bass guitar for Journey from 1983-1986; Cardenas was smart picking a song so near and dear to one of the judge’s hearts. He did a spectacular job but Simon Cowell cut him off and immediately said “It’s a no.” What? Wow. Thankfully Paula Abdul jumped in with a “one million percent yes”. Now it was up to Jackson – “Well, I do love the song, you know, it is an amazing song. I do think that you have a good voice” and with that gave his yes vote and Cardenas received his golden ticket. Watch his audition on YouTube.
Now Cardenas is no stranger to performing – he is a member of a group called M-Pact which is always touring plus has a CD available for purchase on their website. M-Pact has been called “one of the best pop-jazz vocal ensembles in the world” (San Francisco Chronicle) and has received numerous honors including Billboard’s Best Unsigned Band of 1999. Yes, M-Pact has been around for awhile. I wonder how the band is going to do on their tour without Cardenas as he’s going to be in Hollywood belting out the songs to try to make it to the top!
American Idol fans first saw 25 year-old Blake Lewis of Bothell, WA when he auditioned in Seattle, WA. He started off by doing a little beat-boxing at Randy Jackson’s request; Lewis said he was the local beat box champion and quite frankly he’s pretty good. After impressing Paula Abdul and Jackson, and apparently boring Simon Cowell, Blake Lewis started in with his version of “Crazy” by Seal. Simon Cowell felt that Blake was “good, you’re just very over the top Blake.” Randy Jackson felt that the beat boxing was “better than the singing, I just think it was the wrong song.” All three judges gave their yes votes – Welcome to Hollywood Blake. Watch Blake Lewis’ American Idol audition and judge for yourself.
Lewis definitely has The American Idol “look” – he’s unique enough to stand out of the crowd but not too over-the-top. He seems to have a genuine attitude and while confident doesn’t quite reach the cocky realm. If you check out Blake Lewis’ MySpace page you’ll gain a little insight into “BShorty” as he calls himself. His music choice includes his own rhymes mixed over his own beat boxing. It has a funky beat to it. He also has two other songs that can be downloaded from his website: Blake Lewis’ website.
I hope to see a little more dynamic from him while in Hollywood; when I first saw him although his voice was OK he wasn’t memorable. I had to go hunt down his audition video and rewatch it to remember who this “Blake Lewis” in the top 12 males was. Wow me in Hollywood Blake!
Wednesday night’s episode featured the Beat of the Rest from the audition round; the best of the best and the best of the worst. They also highlighted the six Do’s and Don’ts for making it to Hollywood.
Lesson 1: The Look
Lesson 2: Seek Inspiration
Lesson 3: Never Give Up
Lesson 4: Audition on Your Own
Lesson 5: Shake Your Money Maker
Lesson 6: Clarity
In addition to these six lessons for making it to Hollywood there were several new faces with good voices. I’ve already beamed about Paul Kim and his spectacular performance. His counterpart on the female side for the night would be 26 year-old Lakeesha Jones from Fort Meade, MD. Lakeesha Jones was previously leaked as Lakeesha Young, a top 12 female finalist. Last night when Jones opened her mouth and let out Aretha Franklin’s “Think” viewers across the country knew why she’s been predicted to be in the top 12. That…girl…can…sing! As soon as she finished Simon Cowell immediately started in with “love this girl, love you Lakeesha, good old-fashioned belter, great, great voice, very likable, that was on the money” and Paula Abdul quickly responded that Jones was “brilliant.” With that she received the yes votes she needed to make it to Hollywood.
Another rumored top 12 female finalist also performed last night; Gina Glocksen. Glocksen was there putting Lesson #3 to the test – Never Give Up. This was her third time auditioning and second time making it through to Hollywood. You know what they say; the third time’s the charm! This year’s song selection was “Black Velvet” – her performance was OK in my opinion. Randy Jackson said “I liked your voice” and Simon Cowell felt that Glocksen has “…soul, which I like about you.” With that Glocksen received her ticket to Hollywood. I’m guessing she really stepped up her game in order to advance on to the top 12 females.
Like most American Idol fans I am looking forward to next Tuesday’s show; the first of the Hollywood round performances start. This is where contestants need to bring their A game or go home; and a lot do just that – go home.
Tonight’s auditions were considered the “Best of the Rest”; the best and the worst that we haven’t seen. The show isn’t over yet so I can’t do a show recap at this time. My DVR is currently paused, Paul Kim just performed and I’m nearly speechless; I have a tear running down my cheek; I am absolutely wowed. I must say first that I have a soft spot in my heart for his song choice – Shai’s “If I Ever Fall In Love” – lots of fond memories of the song from back in the day. I closed my eyes and listened to Paul “PK” Kim kill that song – it was just beautiful. I am absolutely moved right now. Can you tell I like the guy?
When Simon Cowell cut him off I was blasted back to reality with the British accent and gave the TV screen a dirty look – shh Cowell, I was having a moment there! Randy Jackson started off with “Dude, I thought that was excellent, one of the best male voices I’ve heard.” Olivia Newton-John commented on his tone calling it “soft and smoky”; Paula Abdul also commented on his beautiful tone “it’s soothing, wonderful.” Cowell was in a hurry to get the votes and with four yes votes Kim received his ticket to Hollywood.
Idolwire.com readers already know that Kim has been projected to make the top 12, I can definitely see why. If you missed the show and would like a sampling of his voice he has a few songs to choose from on his MySpace page. In reading his MySpace page he says “Soul music is my lifeforce.” I absolutely saw that during his performance; he was completely consumed by his music. I cannot wait until next week when the Hollywood rounds start; I need me some more Paul Kim!
I think Idol fans may now know the identity of “Haley” listed as a top 12 female candidate – Haley Scarnato a 24 year-old wedding band singer from San Antonio, TX. Her song of choice for the audition was Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” Her performance was good and vocally she was very pleasing. There seemed to be a bit of a spark missing from her audition though, obviously in Hollywood she brings that up a notch if she makes it through to the top 12 as predicted.
When she was done singing Paula Abdul was the first to weigh in with her opinion saying “Real nice control of your voice, very lovely.” Randy Jackson, however, kind of hesitated then said “I thought you were good and controlled, it was ok” to which Simon Cowell quickly agreed. Cowell went on to add that it sounded a bit “cabaret” and that “in terms of the unique factor, I have a slight problem.” However all three judges decided she deserved a second chance and she received her ticket to Hollywood.
I have yet to see confirmation on the spoiler sites as to whether or not this Haley is *the* Haley that made it to the top twelve but I am pretty confident that she is the same.