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Mary J Blige American Idol
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The second night of auditions for American Idol 9 took over Atlanta and as you can see, people were pretty excited to be there.
Welcome to Atlanta y’all!
Atlanta saw Mary J. Blige who stepped in as guest judge for the auditions which was pretty exciting for me, I was really looking forward to seeing what she would have to say to potential Idols. The location was particularly daunting, even more than the judges were – hopefuls had to ride alone in a glass elevator up the outside of a building, 27 floors up. Good thing I wasn’t auditioning, the elevator alone would have ruined my shot before I even got started.
The auditions started off with a slump with Dewone Robinson who claimed a lot of Motown connections and a natural ability in music but all he delivered was a strange original song. Simon interrupted him twice to try to figure out what he was singing which was pretty funny, but Dewone blamed Simon for “jumping” on him and messing him up. In the end it was pretty bad and Simon told him it was the worst original song he’d ever heard. Eventually Randy started to jokingly call for security and Dewone finally left.
Luckily we were soon treated to Keia Johnson who won a Miss Congeniality award and proved why with her sweet and bubbly personality. Even better, she sang “My Heart Will Go On” and blew the judges away with her great power and control. Mary J Blige commented that she took a really big song and made it her own. That’s hard to do with overdone songs so that was high praise. She made it through!
Ringing in as my current favorite of all the contestants was Jermaine Sellers. His story was that he had been taking care of his sick mom since age 17 and singing in church and right away I wanted him to do well because I’m a sucker for a good background. He did “What If God Was One of Us” but he completely changed it, turning it into a great, soulful R&B song and I loved it. Randy said he had the best vocals so far. Definitely way up there for me!
Next Christy Marie came in with a super strong and fun personality that was easily explained when we learned she hosts a local TV show. Unfortunately her voice didn’t match her high energy personality and she kind of destroyed “Love is a Battlefield”. They tried to let her down easy but she didn’t take it very well and left telling the cameras that she certainly wouldn’t be promoting Idol on her show. Somehow I think Idol will be fine without that one promotion, honey.
Another hopeful that I desperately wanted to be good enough to make it was Vanessa Wolfe. She explained how she’s a small town girl who feels trapped there, that she desperately wants to get out. She was also worried the judges would look down on her which made me really sad. Luckily when she sang “Wagon Wheel” she was a great country singer. Simon liked her but told her she’s ill-prepared, that she needs more belief in herself but that she’s authentic. They sent her through with a warning to practice and work on her self-esteem; she was so excited she screamed the whole way down.
On day two Jesse Hamilton who had almost died 3 times in his 26 years nearly put an end to Mary J Blige who had such an unstoppable laughing fit that she had to hide behind Kara who pretended that Mary was just upset and crying. Poor Jesse froze up on “The River” sang the wrong words, and ended up taking a last-ditch attempt at “If Tomorrow Never Comes”. Let’s just say that even in retirement, Garth Brooks doesn’t have anything to worry about.
It seemed certain to be a disaster when Holly Harden walked in dressed like a guitar. However, she did a surprisingly good job on “You Ain’t Man Enough to Take My Man” and she won them over with her quirky nature and decent voice. Even Simon – who usually hates gimmicks dramatically – liked her. She got three yes votes, with Mary saying no and adding, “I don’t get it.” Holly reminded me of Lady Gaga in her crazy outfit!
After a few more of the “what were they thinking?” auditions, we got Mallorie Haley who did “Piece of my Heart” and I take back what I said in my recap of the Boston auditions because she did a great job. She sang the country version that Faith Hill did and it was fantastic. Mary said it was the best vocal for her so far and Kara liked that she knew who she was; she got all four yes votes and sailed through.
Kara stopped for a moment to tell the other judges that she was “loving Atlanta” and then we were introduced to Antonio Wheeler, also known as Skibo Ski. I don’t know either. But you know, he put on this song and dance routine but when he finally sang “Heard It Through the Grapevine” he was actually really good. He was fun, funky, and confident, he just really needs to tone it down a notch. He got three yes votes leaving Simon unimpressed.
Every season it seems we get a pair that show up hoping to remain inseparable and it’s a bit ridiculous because of course two people will never make right to the winning moment. However, “BFF” girls Carmen Turner and Lauren Sanders came in, determined that much like their friendship, they would stay side by side all the way to the final night of Idol. You can guess what happened next; Lauren was weak and shaky while Carmen was powerful and quite good so Carmen is going on to Hollywood and Lauren will stay home. Simon wasn’t overjoyed with either of them and told a sobbing Carmen, “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think you’ll be away from each other for long.” Ouch!
After a slew of really bad singers to whom we were luckily not subjected to for very long, Simon decided that he needed a bit of a break so he left for a walk in the fresh air. He sadly missed Bryan Walker who was the surprise of the night for me. He was a cop who looked like he might – at best – be able to manage some karaoke. Along with the judges, I was shocked that he had a really great voice, very soothing, and made some nice changes. Randy said he loved the “fake-out” because he looked nothing like his voice. He got a yes from all three judges.
As always, there has to be someone who acts like a total jerk and in Atlanta we got to meet Lamare Royal who was initially very excited to be performing in front of Mary J. Blige whom he described as an idol herself. He added he would respect the judges and that he loves constructive criticism. RIGHT. He was terrible and pitchy. However, even when they all tried to explain to Lamare that they can hear he’s got a voice in there but that he’s not ready and needs to work on it, he refused to listen. He kept singing over them while they tried to talk to him, cursed at them, and reacted very badly to their words. Eventually security had to escort him out and he cursed the whole way out and all the way down in the elevator. To cap it all off he told the cameras that Mary J. Blige can’t sing at all. Uh-huh.
The last hopeful we saw never had a chance because he was a little over the age limit but he’ll be the one everyone talks about. General Larry Platt asked if he could sing an original and he ventured forth with a hilarious song called “Pants on the Ground”. He wrote it because of all the “fools” who walk around with their pants too low. He had everyone in hysterics, and it was awesome. It wasn’t GOOD, but awesome nonetheless. Simon said, “I have a horrible feeling that could be a big hit” and asked how old the general was. When Larry replied that he was 62 years old he got a round of applause but was told he’s well past the 28 year old cut-off.
Keep an eye out. Larry Platt could be the next William Hung out on YouTube. See how many people are singing “Pants on the Ground” when you go to work or school tomorrow!
Next week: Chicago!
Images: Michael Becker / FOX
Originally posted 2010-01-14 03:46:23. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Related posts:
- Pants On The Ground American Idol
- American Idol Atlanta Auditions
- Has American Idol passed point of no return?
- Paige had to go from Idol and she did
- Lookin Like a Fool With Your Pants On The Ground
Tags: american idol and ellen degeneres, american idol january 12, kellie pickler, mary j blige, mary j blige songs
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