American Idol 7 Omaha

The ‘American Idol’ season seven auditions moved to the Midwest tonight, to Omaha, Nebraska, a first time audition city. And, for the first time this season, this seemed worth watching.

Tiff: Chris Bernhieser is a huge fan of the show. He brought the judges gifts, and pictures of himself with season one winner, Kelly Clarkson. Inspired, he sang “Since You’ve Been Gone.” Chris, while inspired, couldn’t sing. He also did interesting acrobatics during his performance. While he didn’t make it to Hollywood, he did want to do the Red Carpet at the Finale. Simon agreed, and being unusually nice, invited him to do so for his local affiliate.

Kim: Um….what was Randy doing at the beginning? Anyways, we better see this guy on the red carpet, for reals. He’s like AI’s own Ross the Intern.

Tiff: Jason Rich really let his nerves get the best of him, three times. He sang “When You Say Nothing At All,” and actually had a great tone to his voice, and I really liked it. He finally made it through the song, and the judges thought he deserved a shot at Hollywood. Given how his nerves did, I’m not sure he’ll be able to overcome them in Hollywood. But, he will be one I’m watching.

Kim: His voice wasn’t bad but it was far from great. I don’t think they would’ve given most contestants so many chances.

Tiff: Rachel Wicker looked like Julia Roberts in my opinion. She sang a country song, and the judges told her she didn’t need to do the yodeling embellishment. She had an old-like quality to her voice and performance. And, she was an arm wrestler. They let her through to Hollywood.

Kim: I was thinking Dita Von Teese, but I can totally see Julia Roberts. This girl was so boring. And her hair cut doesn’t flatter the shape of her face.

Tiff: Sarah Whittaker was very interesting. She was a former goth wrestler who wanted to be an American Idol. She was very dramatic, and oddly enough, had a very Mary Poppins like voice, and she sang some odd song I didn’t recognize. Oh, and she didn’t make it through. Shocker.

Kim: Gross.

Tiff: Samantha Sidley was quite shy. Ryan decided to sit in to hear her sing, in place of Paula. She sang “Don’t Know Why” and sounded a lot like Norah Jones. She does need to work on her self confidence, but she was good. And, she made it to Hollywood.

Kim: Oh there’s nothing I love more than a Ryan/Simon squabble. Their lovers quarrels last year were better than anything. This girl does need to work on her confidence, but at this stage it’s sort of endearing, especially from someone who has a pretty good voice.

Oh yeah, and she has the same vocal coach as Katharine McPhee (which happens to be her mom) and has performed shows with her. Just thought I’d share that tidbit!

Tiff: Elizabeth Erkhert, Denise Jackson, and Michael Sanfilipino also made it to Hollywood.

Kim: Apparently Denise is the same “crack baby” contestant from last year. There was a bit of buzz about Micheal Sanfilipo too…..he’s not good.

Tiff: Angelica Puente was only 17. She had a sad story about how she and her dad didn’t see eye to eye, and she moved in with her grandmother. She sang “I’m Your Lady” and had a pretty good voice. She made it to Hollywood.

Kim: I didn’t even follow that whole sob story of hers because it sounded like a soap opera.  She had a good voice, like Simon said she could potentially be very good but all of those runs didn’t do her voice much justice.

Cute skirt though.

Tiff: David Cook is another person I’ll be watching. He sang “Livin’ On A Prayer” and had a good rock-style voice. I liked it a lot, and I think he would have a good recording voice. He made it to Hollywood.

Kim:  Boring with ugly hair.  This guy <<<<<<<<< Michael Johns.

Tiff: Johnny Escamilla sang “Shout” and very amusingly, he danced. It was a very odd version of the song. Despite his best effort, he didn’t make it to Hollywood, understandably so.

Tiff: Last tonight came Leo Marlowe. He sang “A Song For You” and he had a good voice. I also really liked him. And, his reaction upon getting yes for Hollywood was adorable.

Kim:  That’s not an easy song to sing and he did a surprisingly good job with it!  Definitely deserved to go through to Hollywood.

Tiff: Tonight, I don’t feel like I wasted my time so much (which is a very good thing). Tomorrow night, the auditions continue in Miami.

Kim: This was certainly better than last Wednesdays horrible auditions!  And there are a couple of people to watch for tomorrow night, so hopefully it will be good.