'IDOL' WATCH: Denver Auditions

The "American Idol" auditions made their last stop tonight, visiting Denver, the former auditioning ground for one of the biggest rock stars to come from "Idol," Chris Daughtry. Since season five when Daughtry appeared on the show, the number of auditions to be the next "American Idol" more than doubled, bringing the total number of contestants in Denver to over 9,000. Guest judge Victoria Beckham was back on the judging panel, bookending the auditions after joining the show on its first stop in Boston.

The night started with a pleasant surprise in the form of Mark Labriola. A Jack-Black-lookalike, the judges didn't expect a very serious audition from Labriola, but he proved them wrong with his rendition of Tempted by Squeeze. He had a rather impressive pop voice and, in combination with his unique style, earned a ticket to Hollywood. Nicci Nix also surprised the judges with her mousy speaking voice that became deep and full the minute she began to sing. Her performance of Something Kinda Ooooh by Girls Aloud was unexpectedly enjoyable. Before her audition, Simon posed the question, "[have you] eaten any helium today?" But after she finished her song, he was singing her praises. Nix received four "Yes's" and a pass to the next round.

Mario Galvan's terrible audition was different from the typical terrible audition that generally features a talentless singer with very few interesting qualities. Galvan's laugh, however, caught the judges' attention and had them in hysterics throughout his song, mocking his nervous chuckle. When asked the closest he had ever been to a break, he told Simon that he was once cast in the title role in the musical Jekyll and Hyde by Frank Wildhorn. Simon replied, "Did that show actually open?" Galvan and his giggle were sent on their way.

Some contestants were passed through by Randy, Kara, and Victoria, much to the chagrin of Simon, including Tori Kelly and Casey James. Kelly performed Gravity by John Mayer and showed impressive control for a 16 year-old. Simon, however, found her voice annoying. James showed little-to-no personality as he sang Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, also by Mayer, but his good looks and dirty blonde hair was enough for Kara and Victoria to put him through. Don't expect either to make much of a splash in Hollywood.

Composer/football player Austin Paul was egotistical from the minute he stepped on screen. Paul was proud to show off his muscles while singing Bigger Than My Body, again by Mayer, as he groped his pecs and was shown lifting weights with his football buddies. Luckily, he was also pretty talentless. Both Kara and Victoria told him he came off as cocky and Kara seemed to enjoy not sending him to Hollywood, seemingly with the hopes that it would knock him down a peg.

Kenny Everett was equally confident coming into his audition, telling the cameras, "My singing is sort of a public service to others!" This is rather unlikely, as Everett was completely tone deaf and sounded, as Simon put it, "actually like [he'd] been punched." It was almost impossible to tell what song he sang (it was Be Without You by Mary J Blige) as most of his audition was spent screaming on some sort of "ah" sound.

Not all contestants were that pompous. Upon entering the judges' room, Danelle Hayes was immediately emotional due to her struggles with trying to follow her dream of becoming a professional singer and seemed humbled by her opportunity. Hayes' voice was pleasantly gravelly, which worked for her rock-style. Performing I'm the Only One by Melissa Ethridge, Hayes seemed to be one of the only female rock singers seen thus far in the competition and gave a moving audition that really made an impact on the judges. Hayes was given the go-ahead to Hollywood.

The Mile High City received a total of 26 golden tickets, bringing the total number of contestants to 180 for the Hollywood rounds.

Following tomorrow night's "Best of the Rest" audition episode, "Idol" will move to Hollywood for four episodes of cuts. During these cuts, the contestants will be whittled down to 12 males and 12 females for their first live performance on February 23rd. Fans will then be table to vote on their favorite contestants each week until an "American Idol" is crowned.

The next episode of "American Idol" airs tomorrow, February 3rd, at 8PM EST on Fox.

"American Idol" is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted June 11, 2002 on the Fox network and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television. It is currently the #1 TV show in the Nielsen Ratings and is one of only three that have been #1 for five consecutive seasons. The cast of "Idol" includes judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara GioGuardio, and Ellen Degeneres, and host Ryan Seacrest.

The program aims to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nation-wide auditions, and subsequent viewer voting. Through telephone voting, America has chosen past winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, and Kris Allen.

Several "Idol" contestants have been seen on the Broadway stage, including Barrino (The Color Purple), Hicks (Grease), Clay Aiken (Spamalot), Diana DeGarmo(Hairspray), Josh Strickland (Tarzan), Tamyra Gray (Rent, Bombay Dreams), and Constantine Maroulis (The Wedding Singer, Rock of Ages).

"American Idol" airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights on Fox at 8PM EST.

Photo Credit: BryanBoy Blog, Walter McBride

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.