So Far, So Good

Having been sucked into the AI world for the first time last season (I tuned in because there was supposed to have been a girl from RI, and stuck around because I got hooked on David Cook, who turned out to be the son of a friend of a friend), I decided to give it a go this year as well, starting with the auditions (didn’t catch them last year because all the hype painted them as excruciating to witness: so not my thing).

Anyway, some of my favorites made it through (yippee!), but some didn’t:

Rose Flack (Never Loved a Man) – her rendition of this song was perfection, but the poor kid fell apart … I hope she tries again next year.

Ju’Not Joyner (Hey There Delilah) – really would like to hear him sing more; his audition of Elton John’s “the Blues” was, dare I say it, awesome!

Mishavonna Henson (Drops of Jupiter) – great vocals, style, and personality, period … I have no earthly idea why she didn’t make it through.

Kai Kalama (What Becomes of the Brokenhearted) – whiskey-soaked vocals, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” is one of my all-time favorites, and he rocked it at the auditions.

Kristin McNamara (Give Me One Reason) – helluva voice, viciously picked on by judges, a little dense, but has definite potential.

Nick Mitchell (And I am Telling You) – horrible and campy, but I’d love to see him take this seriously and show us what he has … his "Amazing Grace" during the auditions showed a glimpse of true talent.

And my absolute least favorite, who thankfully did not make it through:

Tatiana Del Toro (Saving All My Love for You) – [groan] do not get me going on this trainwreck … her theatrics ruined her chances … too bad, because judging by the one song she performed repeatedly (er, ad nauseum), she can really sing (this one song, at least) … but she was exhausting, and I would have stopped watching until she was voted off; that’s how annoying I found her.

Finally, although I didn't think he was one of the best, he was very, very good:

Von Smith (You're All I Need to Get By) – terrific ... normally I'd not have followed him, but it turns out he's a local (even more so than David Cook was), and I would have supported him all the way through because of that ... it would have been great fun, I think.