S19.E01: Auditions, Part 1

[peachmangosteen]

Quote

The auditions begin in 3 California cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ojai. Judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie return, along with host Ryan Seacrest.

Airs Sunday, February 14th.

[Annber03]

So. Claudia Conway gets through. As long as I don't have to hear or see her mom, I can deal with it, but I do wonder how long she'll last. 

I kinda get the feeling part of the reason the judges didn't let Danice go through was because of her pushy dad. Dude needs to dial it down about twenty notches, holy crap. I feel for the poor girl, 'cause I really did like her voice. But I do agree with the judges that maybe another year or two might help her. 

Nia. Wow. Definite favorite. 

That model in his speedo, and the song he sang, were...something. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I'm so happy the show is back.  Usually I fast forward through sob stories blah blah blah, but I watched pretty much all of it.

The overbearing Dad was really, really funny.  I watched it twice.

The nice , hugging Dad was great.  That whole segment was really sweet.

It was a really entertaining show.  

I am just really grateful that the show is back.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Growsonwalls]

I too think the judges were uncomfortable with the dad. All of them work in the business so they probably have seen these pushy, Joe-Jackson-type dads many times and don't want to encourage that sort of behavior.

I am going to be a minority opinion and didn;t like the girl crying that much in the audition. She had a good voice, but I didn't find it that professional for her to cry that much in an audition.

Claudia is average. Has an okay voice. Not the strongest singer but she didn't embarrass herself. And ... compared to her parents, she is pretty.

 

[Kleav]

Overbearing Dad was already obnoxious in the background video, when he asked what she wanted to sing and then dismissed her choice. I feel sorry for her. 

[Maya]

They sent through some very mediocre people tonight. 

Navy dad was an asshole. 

[nickp1991]

From the network that brought you Sean Spicer on Dancing with the Stars

[Diana Berry]

Last contestant Grace looks like Katherine Heigel.

Ryan needs to cut his hair and get rid of the beard.

[Maya]

8 hours ago, Diana Berry said:

Ryan needs to cut his hair and get rid of the beard.

He looks so thin. I guess I haven’t seen him in a while. 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Maya

[SnarkAttack]

Navy dad was a prick.

Claudia shouldn't have gone through.

I understand Katy is going for crazy outfits, but please find some that also flatter.

[Bad Example]

Claudia Conway was nowhere near the level of the others who went through, but Katy needed to make sure we all know how awful she thinks Claudia's parents are.  Unfair to Claudia, unfair to everyone.  And Claudia makes weird faces.

As for crying girl, I didn't love her voice but she really got to me.  I hope she's able to have that effect on people when she's not singing something so deeply personal. 

I loved Country Boy who Luke sang with and the girl in the orange dress (looks up name... Nia... freakin' amazing).  As for the last girl, I thought Natural Woman was a much better song for her than the first song she sang, since that first one was just all over the place out-of-control.  The advice to the girl with the Navy dad seemed spot-on and I hope she heard it.  I liked her a lot but she needs some more polish.  

I found the cute-boy "I just started singing last year!" to be entirely boring and mediocre.  I disagreed with the judges on Jason Warrior and the woman with Tourette's, neither of whom really did much for me.

[sempervivum]

17 minutes ago, Bad Example said:

Claudia Conway was nowhere near the level of the others who went through, but Katy needed to make sure we all know how awful she thinks Claudia's parents are.  Unfair to Claudia, unfair to everyone.  And Claudia makes has a weird faces

FIFY. She was very mediocre. 

Nia (in big orange dress) was outstanding, for me. I like the sweet tone of Analisa (?) the girl with Tourette's, and was happy to see them connect her story with James Durbin's, who was a favorite of mine all those years ago. Grace has a great voice, but nowhere near the control of Nia, and (shallow note), whenever the camera pulled back, I was distracted by her lower half; it looked like she was smuggling a down comforter under that billowing skirt.

6 hours ago, Diana Berry said:

Ryan needs to cut his hair and get rid of the beard.

I thought he looked cute, but definitely older, and his beach bum outfit was a needle scratch-he's always so natty.

Tik Tok Boy, Old Soul Country Boy, and 3-Time-Singing-Show-Loser Guy were all forgettable.

[MarkHB]

When Ryan's mom showed up i expected her to say, "what's that thing on your face?"

Telling a 17 year old to come back in a couple of years [which,  she definitely needs] also means "come back when we don't need to bring your Dad to Hollywood."

Edited February 15, 2021 by MarkHB

[seacliffsal]

I turned in late, but turned out again once Katy Perry started schooling us on political correctness by sympathizing with the Conway girl about her horrible (implied) parents.  Giving her a second chance to try to justify advancing her was just too much.  Oh, and just having to make fun of Kevin Trump's last name for far too long?  Get over it and give the guy the same break you gave 'poor, sympathetic' Conway girl.  

I just want to be entertained.

[blackwing]

It’s ridiculous that this Claudia Conway was sent through.  She’s mediocre and everyone knows the only reason why she got through is because she is some kind of minor social media personality and because of her parents.
 

She’s getting a lot of media attention, and I guess that’s what the show is hoping for.   

[Ms Blue Jay]

Well I don't want the show to be cancelled, so I guess if they have to milk things.... I'm for it.... 

[LennieBriscoe]

I'm  watching my recorded  episode  now, so for now my impressions  are:

---NIA RENEE FTW, Baby!

The re-in-damn-car-NATION of Aretha! OMG. CHILLS!

---That Country boy Alex Miller had me in tears, because  he took me back to my childhood, listening  to  Eddy Arnold, Conway Twitty, Jimmie Rodgers, et al. He's the real deal TRUE COUNTRY music. And his original song was brilliant!

---Anilee with Tourettes was pretty good, like a soprano Carole King. It was actually  cool to see James Durbin again. 

---D. J. Johnson, the Motherless Child, was excellent! What wickedness was thrust upon her and her siblings. Major kudos to D.J. for using her art to transcend her hurt. Yeah, I cried here, too. 

So far, I'm truly enjoying this season!

 

 

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

3 hours ago, blackwing said:

It’s ridiculous that this Claudia Conway was sent through.  She’s mediocre and everyone knows the only reason why she got through is because she is some kind of minor social media personality and because of her parents.

I ended up missing her singing, but I figured she would get put through for the publicity aspect. And I'm sorry if I come off unkind, but she has a hatchet face and looks like an enormous brat. 

I was really feeling Old Soul Country Boy a LOT. His voice reminded me of an old school country singer  - I was thinking Freddie Fender ("Wasted Days and Wasted Nights") but that's not quite right. Luke was wanting to put that kid in his pocket. 

Ryan needed to clean up a bit. Maybe it's the COVID look, but he looked very unkept, particularly for him. 

I'm trying to figure out the timetable for when these auditions were actually done - because Katy does appear to have a good amount of baby weight in some of the auditions, and not as much in the others (not picking on her for the weight, but her tummy was obvious when she did the whole runway thing). Maybe they were done out of order? 

[Fostersmom]

28 minutes ago, ItsHelloPattiagain said:

I ended up missing her singing, but I figured she would get put through for the publicity aspect. And I'm sorry if I come off unkind, but she has a hatchet face and looks like an enormous brat. 

Yeah, she's not a pleasant girl at all.  And am I the only one who thought she was on something? 

I haven't watched this show in years and years, but nothing else was on and I wanted to see if the Conway kid could sing or not. She wasn't horrible, but she wasn't anything spectacular either. I loved the girl in orange and the last one. I wasn't blown away by the girl who sang about her mother leaving and I honestly felt like her father should have signed the whole family up for therapy, not a reality show. The song just felt very exploitive and cringey. Didn't she say she was in the middle of the 10 kids her parents had? I'm guessing not all of the siblings appreciate the whole world knowing their business right about now, even if Dad apparently had no issue with it. It doesn't speak well of the guys that I literally only remember the ones who didn't go thru.... the speedo guy and the kid who sold his jacket. I don't know if I'll watch again, but it was something new to watch, so it at least had that going for it. 

[LennieBriscoe]

---I was hoping Speedo Model had a voice, but alas! 😉 

---The Conway Daughter, in the immortal damning with faint praise of Randy Jackson, was "just a'right, dawg."

---Final Girl---Well, she can belt, but I wasn't sure about her hitting every note. 

Until next time, Fellow Idolaters! 😁

 

[mamadrama]

Alex Miller is local and we've all loved him for years. I don't think he'll get far on the show but hopefully the exposure will help. He's a good kid. 

[KHenry14]

No way Claudia goes thru if her name was Smith or Jones. The girl with Angry Dad was better than her and she went home to be embarrassed by her Dad.

I really liked country boy Alex. He's got more polish than most his age. I predict a very long run for him

Crying Girl D.J. has something. I don't know that she'll get out of Hollywood, but I want to hear more.

Nia and Grace seem destined for the final five. Grace needs a little work, but the talent is undeniable.

 

Good start to the season

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by KHenry14

[leocadia]

I really wasn't sure I was going to tune in this season.  In particular this iteration of the judging panel works my last nerve.  I am not here for Katy's attention grabbing antics or Lionel trying to steal some spotlight back by being ultra serious and over the top in his praises.  I am also not here for the sob stories...I just want to hear people sing well.  My solution was to have it on in the background and only pay attention if/when a voice caught my attention enough to pull me away from whatever I was doing.  It worked fairly well but only Analeigh and Nia were enough to pass the test.  

[UrbanShocker]

15 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

Yeah, she's not a pleasant girl at all.  And am I the only one who thought she was on something? 

I haven't watched this show in years and years, but nothing else was on and I wanted to see if the Conway kid could sing or not. She wasn't horrible, but she wasn't anything spectacular either. I loved the girl in orange and the last one. I wasn't blown away by the girl who sang about her mother leaving and I honestly felt like her father should have signed the whole family up for therapy, not a reality show. The song just felt very exploitive and cringey. Didn't she say she was in the middle of the 10 kids her parents had? I'm guessing not all of the siblings appreciate the whole world knowing their business right about now, even if Dad apparently had no issue with it. It doesn't speak well of the guys that I literally only remember the ones who didn't go thru.... the speedo guy and the kid who sold his jacket. I don't know if I'll watch again, but it was something new to watch, so it at least had that going for it. 

This is exactly why Claudia is on the show, to get people to watch the early episodes.  Her voice is the perfect "Barely good enough for a golden ticket but not nearly good enough to get out of Hollywood week" voice as far as I can tell.   But the show is getting publicity and that's what the producers want, especially at this stage.

[Quickbeam]

I hate the sob stories, I kept thinking “mom left after kid #10.....well yeah”. She was kind of sweet but I don’t see her going that far. Plus it was way too close to the Kelly Clarkson song about her father.

 

[ForReal]

20 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

I hate the sob stories.

 

Same. This round was all about crying and dads.

[MarkHB]

I was waiting for someone to tell Claudia to open her eyes, and the way she was holding her neck was... strange.  But I'll give her personality a bit of a pass because this kid's life is so messed up that a month or so ago she legitimately thought that her own mother had posted revenge porn of her (and remember, she's still a minor).  Apparently it was a hacker and she and her mom are okay but imagine thinking that could be a possibility in your own teen years (and my heartfelt sympathy to anyone whose youth was such that that does indeed seem like it could have happened to them).

[JayDub1987]

The old school country boy was definitely the highlight of the episode. I've been to the town where he's from, so I automatically felt like rooting for him. Love his sound, his confidence, everything about him really. Loved when Luke said he could make a phone call and get him to the Opry.

Hey Katy, we know you hate Trump, but the over the top facial expressions based on a guy's last name who was auditioning? Totally immature, attention-whoring and generally pathetic. Not everyone who shares a last name is related. Get over yourself.

Conway girl? God love her. Her mom's a whackjob, her dad's a jackass and she really can't sing that well. Major publicity grab and her Tik Tok following will probably watch until she gets outclassed by 80% of the people they've sent through. 

Navy Dad? Thanks for your service, but it doesn't give you a license to be a complete dildo to everyone who doesn't agree with you. Sorry, not how it works. I think the daughter would've gone through, but the show knew they'd have to deal with him and her abilities aren't worth the headache he is.

Crying girl without a mom: Perfect example of "tell a sad story, sing moderately OK and get pushed through. Pity vote, won't last.