American Idol Season 7...Hollywood Recap....

We have finally got through all the horrible auditions, sending 164 contestants to Hollywood...out of those 164...114 were sent home last night...leaving 50 that will be whittled down to the top 24 Wednesday night.

This year, Hollywood week was a little different than previous Hollywood weeks..the contestants were allowed to use instruments along with their singing...which may not have been a good thing for some, has many that chose to do this, ended their performance in disaster...sending them home.
This year, Idol also eliminated the group performances...you know where they usually place groups in rooms, misleading them, then dropping the bomb that they are going home...no contestants trying to sing together..no drama between contestants, as we have seen in prior years.....boring, boring, boring, if you ask me.

All 164 contestants were allowed to sing, with or without an instrument. If they received three yes's from the judges, they were instantly approved for the final round...which took a little pressure off of them and gave them a few days to relax. If not, they had one more chance..kind of a double elimination. The non winners were lined up on stage, each one got to sing a few minutes, sans music, then from that song, the judges then decided who would move on to the final round of Hollywood week and placed in the top 50, which I said earlier, would be whittled down to the top 24.

It would take absolutely forever for me to review every single second of last nights two hour show, so I am only going to cover the most memorable....I have two little ones at home, remember....so, I kept getting interrupted from my Idol viewing, so I will recall things as best I can for you.

Here goes...

Brooke White..the pure and wholesome chick is up first...


Girl did a fab job..she sang "Beautiful" by Christina Aquilera, playing her keyboard...I thought it was awesome..she is a great musician and singer..although, in a few areas, her voice was a little shaky; I think it was just nerves. Her biggest obstacle is going to be her confidence..she needs to work on building that up a little bit. Simon told her she had great potential, sounded a little like Carly Simon.
She received a yes from all three judges....sending her onto the final round.

The next not so notable contestant..little miss cheerleader...no sex before marriage advocate...Amy Flynn....

Little Miss Pep Squad was terrible...she blew it. I don't recall what she sang, because I just could not get past the shrieking....She also blew her second try...and was sent home.

After Amy...there were a lot more contestants that totally went down in flames...none that were memorable enough to mention...except for maybe Jake Mellema....




and only because he attempted to play the drums while he sang.
He was told he sounded like Denver and the Mile High Orchestra...he attempted to sing Hooked on a Feeling and it was horrible...even Paula stated it was horrible and Simon said the only redeeming quality was the fact they stopped it early. Randy felt it was very karaoke and Simon stated it was a ridiculous idea...I have to agree..he should have not attempted to play and sing at the same time..it may work for some, just not him..so dude was sent home.

David Hernandez was up next..dude kicked ass...it was awesome.

He sang "Love The One You're With" and it was fantastic...the judges went crazy for him. Even his stage prescence was truly unbelievable...dude has got it going on. Randy liked it from note one and Simon said it was the best he had seen. We are definitely going to be seeing a lot more from this guy.

Then, my hometown rocker..Amanda Overmeyer...followed David...

They started out showing that a week prior to Amanda heading to Hollywood, girl was in a terrible auto accident...looking at the pictures...she is lucky to be alive. She told Ryan she staples in her head and a couple cracked ribs..she is very lucky indeed.
Amanda sang the Doors..as Simon said, "Of, course"....her song choice.."Come on Baby, Light My Fire"....she was great...I totally give her four stars out of five...
Randy told her that she definitely has the Janis Joplin, 60's revival thing going on..she is definitely an artist that could make a come back with that type of music...even if not through Idol..she is that good.
Paula adores her..yet, Simon was a little critical..he told her she was very predictable..that now he knew what every song she sang was going to sound like. He advised her to work on light/shade with her voice, so it doesn't become monotonous.
Girl got three yes's and was safe to the final round.

Then..we had more of the unforgettable...by unforgettable, I mean contestants that were totally forgetting their lyrics..what the hell is up with that? How can you make it to Hollywood, only to be eliminated because you forgot your lyrics? Seems to me these idiots were partying up a little too much, not spending enough time practicing before their Hollywood auditions.

Lady Killer...(not in my opinion)....Ghalbe Emachah....the weird Egyptian dude...

attempted to sing and play guitar....I honestly do not know how he made it to Hollywood...what were the judges thinking? He sang, "Everything I do"...very shaky, very karaoke...Simon told him he sounded like a waiter, that just randomly picks up a guitar in a restaurant and starts singing, totally murders the song. He received three no's.

Homeless kid, Josaih Leming performs next..


He does a fabulous rendition of Mika's "Grace Kelley" while at the same time playing the keyboard. He gets through to day 2 and then almost blows it. He dismisses the band, attempts to sing "Stand By Me"..the way he hears it in his head...it is bloody awful...I truly hate to think of what else he "hears in his head"...the judges must really feel sorry for him, because based on his past performances, they give the crying whiner a shot to make it to the top 50...unbelievable.

David Cook follows Josiah..

He is a band frontman from Missouri, he comes out and sings "Everything I do"....which is vastly improved from when Ghaleb attempted it. Randy liked his range and tone, said he seems expierenced...Randy also liked him, but Simon felt, that without his guitar...he would be totally vulnerable. I disagree with Simon..remember, he didn't like Chris Daughtery either....David made it to final round.

Lots more good contestants followed:
Jessica Brown
Perrie Caltado
Syesha Mercado
Asia'h Epperson
Colton Berry
They all did fantastic....I don't have pictures or info on these five, due to some pesky little kids interrupting me...but they all make it to the top 50.

Moving on...

Michael Johns...

He is the Australian rocker..he is very good. I don't recall what he sang, but he gets lots of praise from the judges....he is moving on to final round.

Kyle Ensley from Dallas...I don't know if he is going to be the next future president or American Idol...the ladies seem to love him though..must be the glasses or the curly hair....MMMmmmmm...

After his audition, I don't think American Idol is it..he better stick to politics.
In the first audition he is horrible...how did this guy even make it to Hollywood...come on judges....really? Paula thought it was corny, but he was a sprited contestant..what the hell does that mean? Somehow, he makes it through to round 2; but during round 1 Simon ends up walking out, when he attempts to sing Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up"....but even without Simons vote...he makes it to the top 50....I think Paula and Randy are on crack or something..give me a break!

Day 2 of eliminations sent a large amount of contestants home....the performances were all sans music..acapella....lots of tears were shed, from the not so good contestants, as well as I am sure, viewers from home...I still question the judges on some of their choices....Wow.

Kristy Lee Cook...our nature girl..horse loving hottie....did a phenomenal job.

I don't recall what she sang...(kids remember?) but she was good...and is moving on...if nothing but on looks alone.

Jeffrey Lampkin and his sister perfom....she is cut, but he makes through to day 2...

He is as effervescent as always..and attempts to sing " A Whole New World"..dude totally butchers that song..his time is up..he is going home.

Cutie pie David Archuletta is up following Jeffrey..

Hard to believe his vocal chords were once paralyzed..he comes out and totally nails his first audition. He sings Bryan Adams "Heaven" and it is amazing. He has an absolutely beautiful voice. Randy was very impressed, telling him it was the best audition yet..Paula told him he was a gem and Simon told him he had so much going for him...he is young, good looking and a great voice..he easily makes it to the top 50.

Brooke Helvie is next...the beauty queen just didn't cut it..at least not in Paulas eyes..

and I have to agree with Paula..it was terrible. She totally loses it at the end. Simon says yes, Randy says no, so it is up to Paula...Brooke sings part of her song again, even after Simon tells her no, not to sing again....but, it wasn't good enough for Paula and for once, she says no. Brooke totally cries about how unfair it is, that she should have been given a fair chance, just like "everyone else"....Um, she got to resing..so I think she was given a fair shot...she blew it.

Well, thats a wrap folks..that is all I have for you....
Tonight, the judges have to cut down the 50 to just 24...if you can't wait...well, I have a top 24 spoiler for you..courtesy of Slimtainment
...

If you don't want to know...then leave now..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Top 12 Boys
* Chikeze Eze (San Diego) -
* Colton Berry (Charleston) -
* Danny Noriega (San Diego) -
* David Archuletta (San Diego) -
* David Cook (Omaha) -
* David Hernandez (San Diego) -
* Garret Haley -
* Jason Castro (Dallas) -
* Jason Yeager -
* Luke Menard (Atlanta) -
* Michael Lee Johns (San Diego) -
* Robbie Carrico (Miami) -

Top 12 Girls
* Alaina Whitaker (Dallas) -
* Alex Lushington (Atlanta) -
* Amanda Overmyer (Atlanta) -
* Carly Smithson (San Diego) -
* Amy Davis -
* Brooke White (Philidelphia) -
* Kristy Lee Cook (Philidelphia) -
* Kady Malloy (Dallas) -
* Ramielle Malubay (Miami) -
* Syesha Mercado (Miami) -
* Joanne Borgella -
* Asiah Epperson (Atlanta) -

Until tonight...Dixiechick..out!