Originally Posted By trekkeruss Here we go again, folks! As always, remember west coasters don't see the show until three hours after it airs in the east, so don't post any spoilers.
Originally Posted By mele I'm going to post a spoiler...tonight's show will have plenty of tone deaf whackos looking for their 15 minutes of fame. ;-)
Originally Posted By utahjosh A friend of mine is rumored to have made it to Hollywood. I can't wait to watch!
Originally Posted By Tinkerbell819 I liked tonight's show. I was glad there weren't any of the usual insults to Simon that they always have in the opening episodes. There were a lot of contestants I liked and a lot of funny ones, too. Randy the crying rock star was entertaining. So was Xray. Elijah with the deep voice was memorable, and the girl with the pink cowboy hat was starting to scare me a little. (spoiler alert)I was mad they let the bikini girl through. I liked a lot of the contestants. Especially Stevie, Ariana (the girl that started the adopt a grandparent program) and Scott. and...I can't remember who else. I just remembered the guy who sang in the moldy closet! That was too funny. I thought he'd be terrible and he wasn't bad. The new judge fit in well, too. I'm anxious to see who everyone else likes when you all see it.
Originally Posted By mele I've already heard the same thing about bikini girl from 3 other people. Now I'm really curious! LOL
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs A friend of mine auditioned in SF, but she was told that they were looking for a "Carrie Underwood" style of voice.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I didn't think Bikini Girl was so bad. Not great or anything, but so what that they let her through? They've chosen worse in the past. She was better than Brianna, IMO. Randy the Faux Rocker: LOL. I liked Arianna, MIchael the oil-rig guy, and Deanna (who sang Dock of the Bay).
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs Who's going to say no to a blind guy? Who was the guest judge? I tuned in the last 10 minutes...
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains Okay I liked the girl that had the band, the closet guy, the oil guy...and the perkie girl was funny but just okay.. the bikini girl didn't seem any better than the perky girl. I did like horror movie guy and Scott the blind guy...
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains Ohh and I agreed about the pink hat girl - I think she had potential but she did sound like she was trying out for a musical.
Originally Posted By mele Oh man, that cheesy "rockstar in a box" dude. How embarrassing. I couldn't believe it when he started to cry. Anytime someone starts claiming they're a rockstar and then picks a Bon Jovi song to sing, I crack up.
Originally Posted By SFH She's not a guest judge. She is a new regular judge. My guess is that she is there in case Paula makes the Dead Pool this year. I heard they were going to have less of the joke/bad singing tryouts shown this year because people have said enough is enough. But my guess is that people SAY that, but like watching the bad singers (or more precisely, the judges' reactions). I thought that one bad/quiet guy was like Peter Lorre... maybe his long-lost great-grandson or something.
Originally Posted By SFH From Richard Rushfield before the show aired yesterday: <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/americanidoltracker/2009/01/season-8-begins.html" target="_blank">http://latimesblogs.latimes.co...ins.html</a> Season 8 begins: The 20 real rules of 'Idol' auditions 1. Contestants may come from any of the 50 states, so long as it falls geographically between Arizona and Georgia. 2. Contestants must have logged at least 45,000 hours singing in front of the mirror, at family dinners and in church. 3. Any contestants who have received praise for their singing in public are not eligible. 4. Contestants must know with metaphysical certitude that they are destined the be the next American Idol. 5. Contestants must, however, exhibit great surprise and blush deeply when they receive praise from the judges. 6. Contestants must arrive at the audition looking approximately 75% to 82% worse than they plan to look three months hence. Extra points for stringy hair, skin conditions and slouching posture that can be corrected during the middle rounds. 7. Contestants must arrive with a very close family, preferably including one grandparent who played a critical role in their upbringing. 8. Contestants are encouraged to arrive in the midst of heartbreaking family tragedy. 9. Contestants are notified, however, that their tragedies will ultimately work against them when the novelty wears off. 10. If auditioning in the “Painfully Bad” category, contestants will register shock and disbelief at their failure to earn a ticket to Hollywood. When leaving the studio, they will be certain to curse the judges for their blindness to true talent. 11. Contestants should at all times exhibit deep religious beliefs but be careful not to name the religion that they feel deeply about. 12. Contestants with a modeling past may use their appearance to earn a ticket to Hollywood via flirting with Judge Cowell. However, such contestants will exit the season at 18th place and never be heard from again. 13. Likewise, brawny male contestants singing romantically to Judge Abdul will be granted a ticket to Hollywood, where they will be quickly eliminated from the competition. 14. There are slots for a maximum of two sibling pairs and one pair of identical twins to make it through auditions. In Hollywood, they will be asked to stomp on their sibling’s dreams and permanently destroy their family when one sibling is quickly sent home. 15. The “No Goths” regulations remain in effect. 16. If planning to win the competition, do not come intending to audition but merely to support a sibling or friend. 17. Nonetheless, be metaphysically certain that you are the next American Idol 18. In pre-interviews, it is important to emphasize that you are grounded, family-oriented and a down-to-earth wholesome young American. 19. Also, make it clear that your life will be ruined if you are not on the show. 20. Do not get to close to Ryan Seacrest. He acts like your friend now, but when your time on the show ends, his will be the last voice you hear.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I thought there was some decent talent on display, but no one blew me away, or made me think "Oooh - I'd like to see what he/she does next!" I thought Bikini Girl, though not terrific, easily sang as well as plenty they've passed through before. I don't think Kara would have been so tough on her had she NOT been in the bikini. Funniest moment of the show: Simon's hand gesture meaning "and the claws come out" as Kara was criticizing her. It still ticks me off that the pre-judges (the ones who winnow it down from tens of thousands to the relatively small number that the 4 judges see) intentionally pick people who can't sing at all (like the deep-voiced guy) to see the 4 judges, just so they'll have their dreams dashed for our amusement. But I guess that's the nature of this particular beast.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA The cute young girl with the tattoos was our standout favorite from last night. Really cute, and a good voice -- she did 'Barracuda' The Oil Derrick worker was kind of a cool guy. I'll bet the Country labels are already looking at him. The kooky looking smart guy from Studio City was a surprise. He sang a James Ingram song as I recall. Nice voice. The sweet young 16-year old, who sort of resembled Ann Curry, was cute too. Simon mentioned that she needs to be a bit tougher. The blond girl -- pretty in an off-beat way, who didn't have any family there (Ryan Seacrest 'stood in' for her family after she got her golden ticket), was really impressive too. And to me, 'Bikini Girl' -- had she not been in the bikini showing her stuff, would not have made it through. She was pitchy as all get out, and has a really weird style of singing. Of course, who was looking at her face, right? Simon is great. His comments, especially when he bags on Paula, are so funny to me. But I've always enjoyed quick-witted sarcasm. The new judge Kara, is a perfect fit.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <The cute young girl with the tattoos was our standout favorite from last night. Really cute, and a good voice -- she did 'Barracuda'> I forgot about her. She was good. And definitely deserves points for "degree of difficulty."
Originally Posted By DAR <<The cute young girl with the tattoos was our standout favorite from last night. Really cute, and a good voice -- she did 'Barracuda'>> She was rockin too many tats for my taste(I like maybe one or two) but I though she was really good. And I agree with the cute part. Shocking coming from me but the bikini girl was crap and she wasn't that great. I've kind of got a thing for the new judge.
Originally Posted By csgoofygirl I pretty much agree with all of you. This is my favorite time of the show . . . before we know their names so we give them cool nick names: Bikini Girl Closet Boy Oil Rig Guy It's so much more fun than actually calling them by their real names (who can remember, anyway?) I liked the new judge too. I hate to admit that I have an addiction to the show, but I do. The next several months I'll be scheduling my life around watching it. Lame.
