Nothing like a day of sailing to prime the senses, including the ears, and the “American Idol” San Diego auditions this Sunday were smooth sailing for some and choppy waters for others, but they revealed some surprises no one expected!
Jennifer Diley meant to be sweet in gushing to Jennifer Lopez that she watched her as a Fly Girl on “Living Colors” when she was little, and those words were the last sweet thing to be heard from young Jennifer, who put her hopes in her skimpy jean shorts and striped top to pass for patriotic and get her through. Her singing was bad enough to sink the ship, unfortunately, so so much for stardom!
Ashley Robles was one of the few to tackle “I Will Always Love You” and really pull it off, provoking Steven Tyler to praise that she brought the competition back to “sea level,” and Randy asking “Where have you been?” of the multitasking single mom. She may be sailing through several weeks. “The Dawg” Randy didn’t stop there with praise. When Jayrah Gibson did his rap-turned-R&B offering, Randy exclaimed he was ready “to make records,” and the “mad good” talent got his yellow ticket! Aubree Dickmeyer was a hoot in her profile, never quite articulating the correct title of the show she was auditioning for, calling it “America’s Next Top Model” instead, but the girl sure impressed the panel, and she passed easily. Ali Shields put out a unique rap to get panel recognition, and it worked, letting her go from “yellow bottle” to her yellow ticket, too.
Kyle Crews dared to do a Monique song, “Angel of Mine,” and when the judges sang his praises, his wide blue eyes were priceless in expressing his surprise and delight, truly an “eyes wide shock” moment! A funny interlude followed, with foghorns and ship signals doing all the censoring that Steven Tyler needed, then a meek-mannered contestant named Jane Carrey walked out, and Randy began inquiring if “father knew” about her audition, to which she responded in the affirmative. Jennifer Lopez was lost, asking, “Who’s father?” so out came the cat from the bag. She offered a soulful “Something to Talk About,” surprising the judges, and clearly delighting her dad on the other end of her cell phone after the vote. She wanted this for herself, and it will be interesting to see how far her dedication, not her name, takes her.
Jason Hamlin prefers to be called just “Wolf,” and strum on his hand-made, self made “git-fiddle.” He closed the evening with “Midnight Special,” and then really sealed his vote with “Folsom Prison Blues.” Wolf is definitely something different, and time will tell if America takes to him like the panel did.
“American Idol” airs Wednesdays and Thursdays on FOX at 8 PM ET.
Source: “American Idol” telecast, January 22, 2012 FOX TV.