Recap: American Idol - Birmingham

My random musings from the home of Ruben Studdard, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks, etc...

The ones that really surprised me once they started singing:

• Katie Bernard - Has a squeaky, youngish talking voice, but actually has a very different, deep, mostly pleasant singing voice. After some pleading, Paula and Randy reluctantly send her to Hollywood.
• Bernard Williams - I thought he was going to be another delusional singer. And I became more worried when he announced he was going to sing Michael Jackson's "Rock With You". But you know? I thought he was really good! Simon liked him immediately and thought he had a lot of potential. Paula, however, thought he was completely off key. Randy decided to send him through.
• Jamie Lynn (the Kelly Pickler of season 6) - Sang "Reflection". First one where Simon agreed with Paula - good when she sings softly, but is nasal on the "power" parts. She also had the most interesting sob story - she's been taking care of her father who is paralyzed after he shot himself when he caught his wife (her step-mother) cheating on him. Yikes!
• Chris (Jack Osborne-ish) - I thought this one was another joke singer, especially after he mentions how people compare him to Osborne or Jack Black but he really saw himself as more of a Christina Aguilera. He had a lot of other little funny quips. Example, when asked why he was there, his response was, "I really want to make David Hasselhoff cry." The judges got a kick out of that. He shocked me with his voice - he sang Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" and he might be one of my favorites!
• 17 yr old Nichole of "Team Nichole" - I was so sure she was going to be a disaster. I really liked her rendition of "Something to Talk About". She had a very rich, deep voice and I thought for sure she was in. But, alas, Simon thought she was too old-fashioned and sang through her nose. Randy told her to keep working on it and come back.
  

The bad singers whose friends and family convince them they are good singers:

• Erika Skye (sort of looks like Jane Krakowski) - Belted (screamed?) "Unchained Melody". Simon's response "It was like a neverending torture."
• Diana - Sang "Saving All My Love for You". Did Randy really ask her if she had a Michael Jackson thing going on? Simon just couldn't get over her outfit.

Good but just not good enough:

• Victoria Watson with the 6 ft long hair - "Sang You Lift Me Up" by Josh Groban... She didn't get a ticket to Hollywood, but Randy called the hair "hot". Was he for real?
  

The "oh, dear..." category:

• The chicken lady, Margaret - Seriously, what was up with that? Loved Simon's facial expression when she walked in with her big furry yellow dress with matching headgear.

Loved the montage of Southern manners, even when they were insulted by the judges:

• Judge: "It was possibly the worst version I've ever heard." Singer: "Thank You."
• Judge: "That was absolutely useless". Singer: "OK, thanks for your time."
• Judge: "That was a complete and utter mess." Singer: "I appreciate your honesty."

And finally, it was nice to see Simon struggle with the audition room doors as well.

Next stop: Los Angeles!