11,000 “Idol” hopefuls arrived at the Cowboys stadium in Dallas for auditions, but Neil Patrick Harris was on the scene and ready to smash dreams from the guest judges seat.
Julie Kevelighen returned to “American Idol” after disappointment in her first tryout. Neil and Simon made fun of her sign, and she tried to change their minds with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” but there was no “Idol” pot of gold for Julie this time around either, and she had to be helped out of the audition by the stage crew. After her audition, the ladies took the morning by storm, with a handful of talented hopefuls making the cut.
Lloyd Thomas was the first man of the morning to astonish the judges with a Stevie Wonder cover. Thomas came to audition because he wanted to prove to his daughters that anything was possible if they dreamed it. Way to set a golden example for your girls, Lloyd!
The showdown between Neil and Simon was nearly as catty as Kara and Katy going at it last night in Los Angeles. When jazzy Kimberly took the stage, everyone thought she was unique and powerful, but Simon, who called judges’ panel mutiny. The panel drama didn’t stop there, but carried on through every audition to follow, or so it seemed.
I thought I’d seen everything, and then a dominatrix showed up singing the theme song from Barney. Turns out like all child actors are prone to do, she grew up. The judges agreed that she brought a unique energy to her performance, and the Barney dominatrix was on her way to Hollywood.
Dave Pittman was not going to let Turettes syndrome hold him back from his dreams. The judges liked his voice. I knew they would, Simon had that clever smile he gets when he really like someone. After thirteen other yesses, Dave Pittman was the last golden ticket of day one.
Day two said goodbye to Neil Patrick Harris, and Jonas Brother Joe took his spot on the judges panel.
Todrick Hall wrote a song about his audition to impress the judges with, but his vocals would have been enough. That guy had pipes! Randy said he was one of the best he’d seen all season, but Simon said he wasn’t impressed with his voice. Despite his lack of enthusiasm, it was a four yes celebration that led to a whole host of other great auditions.
Megan may not have impressed Kara with her sense of personal style, but Simon liked the surprise element and her sense of personal comfort, and she was waved on to Hollywood.
While Ryan was hanging out with the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, Vanessa Johnston was upstairs scaring the judges. In fact, Simon’s had nightmares about her. Poor girl. At least her hair pom-pom was cute. Next! Or not. Ryan took a moment to show us how hard it is to be Simon Cowell, which completely explains why Simon’s not only critical, but incredibly grumpy.
The last audition of day two was cancer survivor Christian Spear who belted out Etta James, “All I Wanna Do is Cry.” All four judges thought she had what it took to go on to Hollywood, and the sixteen-year-old was golden ticket number seventeen.
Thirty-one out of 11,000 is an incredibly small number, but to those 10,969 who didn’t make it, there’s always next season. I hear Simon’s hanging up his judges chair, so maybe you’ll get lucky next time.
