S21.E03: Auditions, Part 3

[Ms Blue Jay]

Quote

A search across New Orleans, Las Vegas and Nashville, Tenn., to find the next singing sensation.

Episode aired Mar 5, 2023.

Next week, Idol airs after the Oscars.  The Oscars always run late.  Adjust your DVRs accordingly.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[Foghorn Leghorn]

This is the first edition show I have watched this season so first time seeing Katy this season.  She looks like she lost weight and loves showing off her body now in some tight fitting pants.   She looks good!

 

Just now, Foghorn Leghorn said:

This is the first edition show I have watched this season so first time seeing Katy. She looks like she lost weight and loves showing off her body now in some tight fitting pants.   She looks good!

 

Hit quote instead of edit!  Lol

[SnarkAttack]

Sorry, guess I'm cold hearted, but I'm sooo tired of the sob stories.  Just sing.

[dizzyd]

Byrd and Soli, nuf said.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Is Byrd the one that said "This is country with a K" what the heck did that mean?

Soli........... Olivia Soli?  That's someone who felt suspiciously good.  She has an IMDB page and has performed in a movie.

[dizzyd]

4 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Is Byrd the one that said "This is country with a K" what the heck did that mean?

Soli........... Olivia Soli?  That's someone who felt suspiciously good.  She has an IMDB page and has performed in a movie.

Marybeth Byrd was the radio host from AR. She has a single out too, like Olivia Soli. They were definitely a step above everyone else. I guess it’s becoming increasingly common for contestants to already be slightly established and to use AI to make a bigger name for themselves. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[twilightzone]

For me, Olivia Soli lost points for an uninspiring and overdone song choice - Hello.  It's the difference between someone who is a vocalist - vs someone who is an artist.

 

[Annber03]

That was an...interesting take on "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". Hm. I love that song, but that version was...yeah. Very slow.

The redhead girl who auditioned looked a LOT like one of my friends :p. It kind of freaked me out how similar they looked, LOL. She wasn't bad, though, I liked her. Also pleasantly surprised by the girl with the high-pitched voice who did not sound like that when she sang. 

35 minutes ago, SnarkAttack said:

Sorry, guess I'm cold hearted, but I'm sooo tired of the sob stories.  Just sing.

Some of these are beyond "sob stories" to "Holy shit, this is fucking depressing..."

[Ms Blue Jay]

19 minutes ago, twilightzone said:

For me, Olivia Soli lost points for an uninspiring and overdone song choice - Hello.  It's the difference between someone who is a vocalist - vs someone who is an artist.

That's one of my favourite songs so I don't criticize the song but she could have chosen anything.  The way she sang the song bore no resemblance towards it.  She would have sang any song that particular way.

19 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Some of these are beyond "sob stories" to "Holy shit, this is fucking depressing..."

Yeah I have to watch it a bit late so I can fast forward or else it's like being held hostage by these stories.

[Maya]

Did the mother and son singing/piano duo creep anyone else out? 🤣

Edited March 6, 2023 by Maya

[Annber03]

10 minutes ago, Maya said:

Did the mother and son singing/piano duo creep anyone else out? 🤣

My mom was VERY weirded out by them. She kept commenting throughout their segment on how creepy the whole thing was. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

LOL @Annber03that is so funny!

Honestly though I felt bad that he didn't go through.

[cowgirlwen]

13 hours ago, SnarkAttack said:

Sorry, guess I'm cold hearted, but I'm sooo tired of the sob stories.  Just sing.

I couldn't agree more.  It's just like every other show on TV nowadays... you have to have a story to get on.  I watch reality shows and competition singing/talent shows to be entertained.  I don't care to be dragged through everyone's sappy backstory.  I want to see true "diamonds in the rough" who can sing beautifully, but need this platform to get "discovered".  

[sempervivum]

Well, that was an improvement over last week's group, imo, but I still haven't heard anyone that I really want to hear again. (The autistic guy is a great pianist, so I might be interested in more of that, but unfortunately, his mediocre voice and super-wordy lyrics would be included, so maybe not).

 

[JayDub1987]

Much better overall group than E2. 

Mary Beth Byrd's song choice was brave. Any time you tackle a song that Chris Stapleton sang, you better be able to nail it. The bar is set high. She definitely pulled it off. She's my current pick to win. 

[Blissfool]

I think Katy has said "He's definitely top 10!" to more than ten people 🤣

[Blissfool]

I did not like the original song done by the guy whose mom committed suicide. The lyrics were so literal and the melody (?) seemed familiar. 

Honestly, I thought it sucked and was surprised that the judges liked it.

[JayDub1987]

8 hours ago, Blissfool said:

I did not like the original song done by the guy whose mom committed suicide. The lyrics were so literal and the melody (?) seemed familiar. 

Honestly, I thought it sucked and was surprised that the judges liked it.

I don't think they actually liked it. I'm not sure anyone with ears could. BUT, when you roll in with a whole "Wah, I lost a parent" sob story, they're gonna send you through. The guy who has autism is another good example. Dude can wear out that piano, but his singing was awful. But hey, sad story! 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Finally had a chance to race through the DVR.

The first girl was exhausting. Almost as bad as the 15 time audition girl. But a major eff you to Katy and (to a lesser extent) Lionel and Keith for pushing this narrative (again) that you are only worth their time, and AI's time if you are literally willing to sacrifice a firstborn child to become a famous singer. Those are the people that I would worry about. If you have a more level-head about the whole situation (or some legitimate trepidation about what overnight fame would do to you), good for you. That's a healthy dose of perspective.

Marybeth Bird definitely ascended to the top of the line for female country singers (and country singers regardless of gender) so far this season. I even thought they might bust out the Platinum Ticket for her. How does one get a Radio DJ gig at 20 or 21, anyway? Did she graduate from college super early?

I'm going to disagree w/ those upthread, I thought Preston Duffie's original showed excellent songwriting. Melodically it was interesting and it blending both narrative structure and this stream of consciousness writing style that is becoming super popular in Nashville (especially on Sirius's The Highway) these days. Bonus points for not sounding like a Luke Combs copy too.

I will agree though that Mikey and his piano playing Mom was just odd. Or weird. And I think she kind of sabotaged him. Had he have just sang the Foreigner song a capella or with a more anonymous accompaniment, I think maybe he gets through..

I worry for Adin during Hollywood week. If these were the glory days of Simon, you just know they would set him up in the group or duet round to fail. Or at least meltdown spectacularly..

Anyone know (like last week w/ the Girl who rocked out to Kids in America) if Bre the dueling pianist got a golden ticket??

 

[MarylandGirl]

8 hours ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Finally had a chance to race through the DVR.

The first girl was exhausting. Almost as bad as the 15 time audition girl. But a major eff you to Katy and (to a lesser extent) Lionel and Keith for pushing this narrative (again) that you are only worth their time, and AI's time if you are literally willing to sacrifice a firstborn child to become a famous singer. Those are the people that I would worry about. If you have a more level-head about the whole situation (or some legitimate trepidation about what overnight fame would do to you), good for you. That's a healthy dose of perspective.

...

I will agree though that Mikey and his piano playing Mom was just odd. Or weird. And I think she kind of sabotaged him. Had he have just sang the Foreigner song a capella or with a more anonymous accompaniment, I think maybe he gets through..

I worry for Adin during Hollywood week. If these were the glory days of Simon, you just know they would set him up in the group or duet round to fail. Or at least meltdown spectacularly..

Anyone know (like last week w/ the Girl who rocked out to Kids in America) if Bre the dueling pianist got a golden ticket??

 

I agree with this first part. The contestants who are like, "My life is over if I don't get this," I worry about them, too. And as someone in my mid-40s, I admit I have to laugh a bit at 16-year-olds who are like, "This has been my lifelong dream!" Like, you still have plenty of other chances to make it. (I also cringe when they say they've been watching AI since they were 5...but that's just because it makes me feel old!)

It almost feels like Katy thinks that if you don't really want it, then you should leave so that the ones who really want it have a shot, regardless of their talent level. (Hm...maybe Katy was also one who always really wanted it? So she identifies with them?) I like the stories of the contestants who, say, didn't really think they had much talent then got encouraged to try out by a friend or family member.

Also agreed that Mikey might have done better without his mom. It felt like she made it about her to some extent. I know they seem to like the family stories, but it felt like his mom wanted the stardom, too?

I also worry for Adin. The fact that they focused on his autism so much and his sensitivity to sound suggests that something will happen later, leading him to have a meltdown on stage and/or potentially withdraw from the competition. I say this as the parent of an autistic preteen daughter with sound sensitivity, so I imagine that's making me feel especially anxious on his behalf.

I'm guessing that the two you asked about didn't get golden tickets, or they'd have shown it. I wish the girl singing Kids in America had gotten in--I miss having true rockers on the show, as that's more my genre. I don't like how it mainly seems to have become country idol, though I do like some alternative country (or whatever the official name for it is).

ETA: I feel like I should end this with "Get off of my lawn!"

Edited March 8, 2023 by MarylandGirl
adding a thought

[ruffy666]

3 hours ago, MarylandGirl said:

I also worry for Adin. The fact that they focused on his autism so much and his sensitivity to sound suggests that something will happen later, leading him to have a meltdown on stage and/or potentially withdraw from the competition. I say this as the parent of an autistic preteen daughter with sound sensitivity, so I imagine that's making me feel especially anxious on his behalf.

sounds like a perfect excuse to have something ambiguous happen on stage, do a little dramatic slo-mo, cut to a lengthy commercial break and then come back, recap what happened (or didn't happen) and it turns out to be a big pile of nothing.  typical AI!  :)

[JayDub1987]

11 hours ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Marybeth Bird definitely ascended to the top of the line for female country singers (and country singers regardless of gender) so far this season. I even thought they might bust out the Platinum Ticket for her. How does one get a Radio DJ gig at 20 or 21, anyway? Did she graduate from college super early?

If she's from a town as small as she said in her video package, it's probably not necessary. When I was 19, I was a DJ at a local radio station for about a year. I had no experience, no degree, no nothing. I knew somebody at the station and loved music. It's probably a similar situation with her. 

[twilightzone]

On 3/7/2023 at 5:28 AM, JayDub1987 said:

I don't think they actually liked it. I'm not sure anyone with ears could. BUT, when you roll in with a whole "Wah, I lost a parent" sob story, they're gonna send you through. The guy who has autism is another good example. Dude can wear out that piano, but his singing was awful. But hey, sad story! 

Preston's song was charting on ITunes.  It reached as high as #12.  The judges were praising him on his song writing.  Same with Keelan.  Neither are professional singers, which is what Idol was intended to be. 

But as Kathy said, expect those who have more experience to be judged harder.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 3/6/2023 at 10:07 PM, Blissfool said:

I think Katy has said "He's definitely top 10!" to more than ten people 🤣

Oh my god.  I don't usually complain about her, but this is such a pet peeve of mine.  She says it so often it loses all meaning.  No point.  I wonder if the producers tell her to do that because it's ALL. OF. THE. TIME.

On 3/8/2023 at 12:10 AM, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

I will agree though that Mikey and his piano playing Mom was just odd. Or weird. And I think she kind of sabotaged him. Had he have just sang the Foreigner song a capella or with a more anonymous accompaniment, I think maybe he gets through..

Damn.  Maybe you're right.  Maybe she insisted on being there which is.... really kind of sad and stage mom-ish.