For A.I. Fans Only: Auditions Begin
By Cathy Sokolowski
Sokocathy(at)gmail.com
I was very surprised to see that the format hasn’t changed from previous years. I heard all kinds of rumors about not seeing the antics of the non-singers any more. Well, they were all there. We loved the very hyper Aundre a.k.a Xray and wondered if Elijah Scarlett might have the deepest voice in all of America.
Our favorites from Phoenix, Arizona were: Emily Hughes, the pink-haired singer in an all girl band. J.B. Ahfua, the guy whose Dad and brothers were waiting for him outside the audition room. He explained that he was auditioning for the “chance to change the lives of my struggling family.” Arianna Afsar got a couple of votes for favorite from co-workers. She was the 16 year old who performs for seniors in nursing homes. A family member picked Deanna Brown as one of her favorites. She was the blonde who sang “Dock of the Bay” and came alone to the auditions. Two co-workers liked Michael Carver, the construction worker with the young family. One family member liked Alex Wagner Trugman but, she admits, more for his sense of humor than his singing. He was the kid who practiced singing, then got sick, in his closet. Randy compared Alex to Joe Cocker. Simon then made a comment comparing Alex to a Cocker Spaniel to which Alex replied that “It would have been a good joke if it made sense.”
My favorites of the night were Scott McIntyer, the “almost” blind pianist who entered college at 14 and graduated at 19. He sang Billy Joel’s, “And So It Goes.” I felt like he was singing from his heart and I was very impressed. One co-worker agreed with me. My other favorite was Stevie Wright. She was the long brown haired 16 year old who was named after Stevie Nicks. Simon thought that she needed to toughen up a bit if she wanted to be successful in the music business. A co-worker remembered that Simon told her “You need to sharpen your teeth.” I wasn’t the only one who picked her as one of the best of the night. She was actually picked by everyone I talked to. I’ll be really surprised if she doesn’t make it to the finals.
What can I say about bikini girl? I did think the exchange between her and Kara was entertaining but have nothing else to say about her but I heard that a couple of male viewers had some comments. A co-worker told me that her husband commented that “she didn’t have anything to show off” and a family member said her husband wondered why bikini girl felt like she needed to audition in a bikini when “she had a really good voice.”
Kansas City was the location of Wednesday night’s auditions. Co-workers were talking about the “very cute” (as she was described by a 15 year old nephew) Chelsea. “Simon was really mean when he told her that she sounded like a cat being thrown off the Empire State Building.” The cheerleaders for Andrew Lang were liked by a couple of co-workers. We were amazed at the talent of the girl who did the split at the end of the cheer.
Talented hopefuls we think could make it to the finals were: Casey Carlson who sang ‘A Thousand Miles.” One reader thought she was a “cute girl in a really cute dress.” Others who got one vote for the night were Matt “the welder” Bradsky. He was the bald, heavyset dad with the beard and mustache. Anoop Desai whose voice did not fit his looks and Asa Barnes, the 28 year old dad who was a band director.
A couple of my choices of the night were Michael Castro and Jessica Page Furney. Michael is the brother of Jason Castro of Season 7. One family member agrees with me when we wonder if we like Castro for his singing or because we were huge fans of Jason. Another family member chose Jessica and with her we wondered if we liked her singing or her cute 93 year old grandma. I think that both Michael and Jessica have talent and I will most likely be putting them on my list of Top 12. The top vote-getter for Kansas City week, who was also on my list, was Daniel J. Gokey. He was the guy whose wife died 4 weeks before his audition.
Finally, no one had any negative comments about the “new girl.” Actually, we think we like Kara so far. Her interactions with Paula sometimes are kind of silly though. I could see Kara replacing Paula one day which wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
I let you know what some of us are thinking. I’d love to hear if you agree or disagree with our picks.