• Nashville, TN – July 17th @ Bridgestone Arena
• Milwaukee, WI – July 21 @ Bradley Center
• New Orleans, LA – July 26
• East Rutherford, NJ – August 3 @ IZOD Center
• Austin, TX – August 11 @ Frank Erwin Center
• San Francisco, CA – August 19 @ AT&T Park

A sea of umbrellas is all that could be seen as the morning began for the Boston auditions.  Simon, Randy, and Kara arrived but the new judge, Ellen Degeneres, wasn’t there.  Instead, the beautiful Victoria Beckham was the guest judge.  Victoria,  in my opinion, is a better choice for replacing Paula Abdul.  She is a platinum selling pop star and fashion icon among other attributes.  Her sweet personality is a good contrast to Simon’s unfeeling honesty.

The auditions began with the bouncing belly of Janet McNamera.  Someone should really inform her that she should not wear shirts that show her belly roll.  Not in shape at all, it was hard to pay attention to anything other than her horrendous attire and her gut hanging out.  From Somerville, MA this 26 year old played the American Idol video game and honestly believed the game when it told her how wonderful she sings.  The game is so wrong.  She was horrible.  Not only was she bad, she must not follow American Idol news that Paula is no longer a judge.  Janet pointed to Kara and called her Paula, making the mistake several times.  Kara’s decision, “absolutely not” to put her through to the next round.

As the skies cleared, the next audition tugged at our heart strings.  Maddy Curtis, 16, from Bluemont, VA, is the 9th of 12 children in her family and has always put her family first.  Her brother has Down’s Syndrome as well as 3 adopted brothers who also have Down’s.  She had a sweet demeanor as she sang Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.  She sang beautifully and stayed in key, her voice gave goosebumps to the skin.  Kara called her voice, “old soul, coming from your heart.”  With 4 yes’, she is on her way to Hollywood.

The morning’s worst audition was performed by Pat Ford, 17, from Derry, NH.  He attempted Britney Spears’ ‘Womanizer.’  Wow!  Was he…entertaining!  He yelled at the top of his lungs, belting out a horrible noise.  Anyone watching would beg him to just stop,  and that’s exactly what Sassy Simon (as Pat referred to him as) asked him to do.  Randy told him to “stop singing forever.”

The girls were dominating the morning auditions.  Others to make it through were Jennifer Hirsh, 22, from Manhattan, NY; Claire Fuller, 23, from Philadelphia, PA; and Jess Wolfe, 24, from Brooklyn, NY.  By noon, only girls had made it through.

Then came Mr. Italian Pride, Amadeo Diricco, 28, from Providence, RI.  He sang a great version of Hoochie Cooochie Man by Muddy Waters.  When he announced that he would be singing that songs, the judges just laughed but he surprised them!  It was Randy’s favorite audition of the day and Kara felt like she was, “home with her cousin.”  Amadeo has a huge, passionate voice and may just go far in this competition by just having a huge family (and a great voice).

What do you get when you cross Chris Brown and The Eagles?  I don’t know but it’s not Derek Hilton, 19 from Bellingham, MA.  But that’s exactly how he explained his singing.  Derek sang, “Sorry seems to be the Hardest Word,” by Elton John, straight from his nose.  Simon said it sounded like there were “20 of you and all horrible.”  It was laughable to say the least.

Following that was an Anime freak named Mere Doyle, 24, from Walpole, MA.  Her rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Take Another Piece of My Heart” was actually scary!  She seems to be yelling the song instead on of singing it.  Simon was kind when he said it was “verging on terrible.”

The waiting game is all part of these auditions but Andrew Fenlon, 25, from Boston, let his annoyance show when his turn came up.  He walked into the room with an attitude that Kara picked up on right away.  Simon called him a “smartass”.  When telling the judges that he’d be singing, “House of the Rising Sun,” he asked, with attitude, “do you know that song?”  Are you kidding me.  Wow.  Kara didn’t hold back that his attitude pissed her off, she doesn’t like him at all, and he needs a spanking .  Simon said he had bad energy.  Simon would have said yes to him going through, had he not had such a bad attitude and who knows, he may have made it through to Hollywood.  He was an ass.  But, he ladies!  He’s single!  Go figure.

Ashley Rodriguez, 21, from Boston, had the whole package.  She had some strong pipes and a commercial look.  She was Victoria and Kara’s favorite of the day.  She is beautiful and has a great voice to match.  Simon said she may have it. Another fashion hit of the day was Tyler Grady, 19, from Nazareth, PA.  Apparently, he likes to climb trees but trees do not like him.  He just broke his wrist and ended up with some titanium plates and screws in his wrist after falling out of a tree.  But his 70′s look caught the judges attention.  He has a good voice but personally I didn’t appreciate the attire and hair as well as the judges did.  I hated his look, he needs a haircut, then I might like him.

Day 2 brought more people closer to their dream of being the next American Idol, but that was not the case for Lisa Olivero, 24, from Billerica, MA.  It wasn’t her singing that Randy and Simon appreciated, actually they thought her singing was horrible, but they really liked watching her leave!  Lisa was wearing some shiny black tights and stilettos that showed off her rear-end.  She may have been sexy but she stinks at singing.

There were 2 touching stories told on day 2.  The first comes from Katie Stevens, 16, from Middlebury, CT.  She just wants to realize her dream of singing before her Grandma, who has Alzheimer’s,  forgets who she is.  She sang wonderfully and impressed the judges.  Randy said she had good natural talent.  She is definitely one of the best girls to come out of Boston.

Justin Williams

The guy who is definitely is the best thing to come out of Boston is Justin Williams.  Gorgeous, hot, and sexy…and he sang well, too!  He has beautiful eyes and a wonderful smile.  His story is also moving.  At the age of 20, he found out that he had cancer and 7 years later, he is now a survivor.  He received four yes’, of course!

….And the award from worst everything goes to….Norberto Guerrero, 18, form Reading, PA.  Was this guy for real?  He walked in with huge, long, curly, voluminous jet black hair and a sparkly silver sequence vest on with matching shiny shoes!  Big, bushy eyebrows and a beard.  He attempted to sing Cascada’s “Everytime We Touch.”  Not only did he forget the words, he sounded like a girl.  Simon said it best when he said Norberto “sings like a 3 year old girl, dress like Latoya Jackson, got a beard, the whole thing is just weird!”  Well put Simon.  Thank goodness, he received 4 NO’s.

Randy’s favorite of the day was Leah Laurenti, 22, from Medford, NY.  She sang “Blueskies” and did a wonderful job.  She had a nice soulful voice.  And that was the end of day 2 in Boston. 31 were chosen to move on.  Overall, Boston didn’t bring out their best.  While there were many nice singers, there were only 3 or 4 that stand any chance…..now off to Atlanta, Georgia!!!

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.