S15.E01: Auditions #1

[MarkHB]

The fun begins for this farewell season when host Ryan Seacrest and returning judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick, Jr. travel to Denver and Atlanta, to discover the city's best talent.

[VanSensei]

If you give that kid who sang Cash a good decade more of voice lessons, he'll come out an operatic baritone. He has the voice quality for it. Not what I was expecting.

 

There's been an overall increase in actual talent... probably because it's the final season, but oh well. More later.

[Ohwell]

I loved that Indian girl so far.  She puts Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato to shame.

[Quickbeam]

Opera Boy was kind of full of himself. Special snowflake and all.

[LexieLily]

For a minute there I thought it was going to get uncomfortable between the husband and wife with the adorable baby, with the wife's off-hand comments at the end regarding her obvious issues with being in her husband's shadow. And then it stopped. Lol

 

I loved seeing Clay, Ruben, Taylor, Kris, and even Lee again! 

Edited January 7, 2016 by LexieLily

[Ohwell]

The wife with the baby should try getting gigs singing at children's shows.

[susannot]

Wow, some really good singers.  Cash kid, Indian girl, and husband/new father,and now chubby Carrie-singing girl.

Kanye West, you're a good rapper but this show is about SINGING.

[Happy Belly]

Is that the same Shelbie who was on The Voice?

[Ms Blue Jay]

I loved, loved, loved the weird guy who sang Death Cab.  He really moved me, shook me up.  The cute black kid who sang "I See Fire" was likeable, but I also really like when anyone sings that song.  Other than that , whahhhhetever.

 

That couple was so beyond obnoxious, and then

 

1)  The husband could not give 3 fucks that his wife didn't make the show and that she was clearly devastated , and would not comfort her, he just threw something on the floor for her to pick up, and

2)  The wife was so not happy for the husband and super jealous of him.  What a couple of winners.  

 

I thought that the judges would hate the husband's reaction in number 1 so much they wouldn't pick him out of spite, but alas.

 

I think I missed the Indian girl.  I went to get food.

 

I'm really sad that this is the last season.  Where's Dunkleman?  Why did I think he was returning?

I wish the judges would sing more together but wtf, that song, really?  I loved when they sang "Cupid" by Sam Cooke last year.

 

Kris Allen looked soooooooooo fine in that tiny clip, holy shit.  Took me a long time to recognize Taylor.  I thought he was a supervisor of the auditions.  How long ago was that season?  LOL.  I would have liked it if they let the past contestants speak a LOT more.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[susannot]

Forgot to say I also loved the emo hipster Death Cab guy.  Thing was, he was really feeling it.  Raw emotion.

[Primetimer]

American Idol opens its 15th and final season, and it's exactly everything you would expect it to be -- plus Seacrest Hair Snark™.

Read the story

[mtlchick]

THIS is...your last season! (frosting my hair tips.)

 

I only saw a few minutes and will need to watch the rest but I did she the yodeler and her really long story.  Keith "I can listen hearing you talk all day" Harry: "You just did."  HA!  This bromance is miles ahead of Adam and Blake on the Voice.

[VanSensei]

I loved, loved, loved the weird guy who sang Death Cab.  He really moved me, shook me up.  The cute black kid who sang "I See Fire" was likeable, but I also really like when anyone sings that song.  Other than that , whahhhhetever.

 

That couple was so beyond obnoxious, and then

 

1)  The husband could not give 3 fucks that his wife didn't make the show and that she was clearly devastated , and would not comfort her, he just threw something on the floor for her to pick up, and

2)  The wife was so not happy for the husband and super jealous of him.  What a couple of winners.  

 

I thought that the judges would hate the husband's reaction in number 1 so much they wouldn't pick him out of spite, but alas.

 

I think I missed the Indian girl.  I went to get food.

 

I'm really sad that this is the last season.  Where's Dunkleman?  Why did I think he was returning?

I wish the judges would sing more together but wtf, that song, really?  I loved when they sang "Cupid" by Sam Cooke last year.

 

Kris Allen looked soooooooooo fine in that tiny clip, holy shit.  Took me a long time to recognize Taylor.  I thought he was a supervisor of the auditions.  How long ago was that season?  LOL.  I would have liked it if they let the past contestants speak a LOT more.

Yeah, if he gets far, they'll be on an episode of Divorce Court lol

[LexieLily]

I forgot to mention that one of my favorite parts of tonight was watching the judges sing the Laverne and Shirley theme song! Hee!

[toodywoody]

Why do people pick songs that don't showcase their voice? The wife's song was just no. You can't go into auditions with that song and then play your little pink guitar. Just no.

I also loved rhe Laverne and Shirley song.

And KW and KK get the hell off American Idol you famewhores. I'm sorry but that pissed me off, just get off my TV, both of them.

Edited January 7, 2016 by toodywoody

[PhD-Purgatory15]

The first 15 year old girl could've been a stand-in for any of a thousand 15 year old auditioners this season. The opening backstory would've been exactly the same (minus the weird crying Scott McIntyre video). Not sure why she got to be that special snowflake.

 

Josiah the Johnny Cash kid was interesting. I want to hear him do an Ed Sheeran or *gasp* a Bieber/Derulo pop R&B jam. It was a warm, appealing low voice which you don't hear every day

 

I'm of two minds on the married couple. Maybe it was totally a calculated act to try and make sure at least the guy made it through, but if I'm the wife why would I agree to that? Didn't they see the treatment that Fradiani and his gf at the time got last season? If you have a light and airy voice, the last thing you want to add to the equation is distractions...the after audition stuff was bleak too.

 

Sonika is ridiculously gorgeous. Also with so many intentionally quirky artists, singer/songwriter folksy types, and hardcore throwback traditionalists (country and otherwise)....it was nice to hear a really pure "pop" voice. And distinctive enough to not be a clone of someone else. Cough, cough, I'm looking at you Xtina clone (Lindita or something?).

 

Lee Jean......I could see him being the Daniel Seavey of this season. Camera ready, nice kid, decent voice, etc. etc.

 

Jeneve Rose....hey it's not quite Rancher Garrett who came from a town of 4, but close. She reminded me of a cross between Ellen (the Banjo girl) and Gina (the girl that sat down on some sort of contraption and provided her own percussion) from last year. Definitely another 15 year old to watch out for.

 

The Cop lady....a perfectly illustrated, decent "gimmick" audition. No issues that she got through (she'll be fodder in Hollywood) but if not for the handcuffing of HCJ, why did they waste 7 minutes on her?

 

Aww....poor Billy Bob. Guarantee they will give out multiple golden tickets to auditioners noticeably worse than him in the coming weeks.

 

Keith Courtney...the guy who did the Death Cab song was awesome and scared PhD-Mom. Probably has no shot, but I enjoyed him....and his backstory was particularly on the nose.

 

Shelbie Z....Reject from the Voice. She has one gear, and can do one type of country song. They better find better country representation than her, that's all I'm saying.

 

The other Worship Leader guy whose wife had the baby....is the unholy (holy?) amalgam of Lee, Kris, Philip, Nick, and various other Idol WGWG success stories. Do they really want Version 7.0 to win the farewell season?

Edited January 7, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[MarkHB]

Is that the same Shelbie who was on The Voice?

 

Yes indeed.

[Ms Blue Jay]

And KW and KK get the hell off American Idol you famewhores. I'm sorry but that pissed me off, just get off my TV, both of them.

 

Well I'll never disagree that KK is a famewhore, but at this point, isn't American Idol using THEM for the fame? I picture Idol begging them on their knees to appear.  I'm shocked they even deigned to.  

[stcroix]

I know the wife was devastated that her husband made it through and she didn't.... but for her to act so mad at him about it when they went through the door was odd.  Someone said something about the judges being distracted or something like that and she quickly picked up on it by pouting,'' Well Jordan was distracting them by making the baby dance" .  I backed it up to see if he was doing that and he clearly wasn't, he was barely jiggling the baby like anyone would do to keep a baby happy.  I know she was disappointed, but I felt sorry for him-- this was his moment even if it wasn't hers.  Now I'm wondering if he'll make it past Hollywood in order for us to watch how they act.  Will she still be adoring from the audience, or will Hostile Wife be there?  He did have a good voice, though.  Maybe she'll get past her disappointment and cheer him on.

[BogoGog24]

The 15 year old was meh. Decent voice but there have been many 15 and 16 year olds who auditioned for this show that blew her out of the water (Jordin, Jessica Sanchez, Lauren Alaina) No words for that horrible sense of style either. She looked like a bad quincinera or something. Get the stylists on her quick!

I quite liked Josiah, Scotty McCreery 2.0. The thing is, part of it felt put on, like he was going lower than his natural voice to "impress" and that style can get real old real quick. It doesn't give him much to work with except covering Cash, Scotty, and Josh Turner songs.

The girl who had lost weight was great but overdid it on the runs for sure.

I don't get Sonika. I have to listen to her again because I don't get the fuss everyone is making (she also got rave comments over on MJs). Her voice was average at best IMO. If she wasn't as pretty as she is, nobody would give her a second look.

I felt bad for Billy Bob. It was unfair how they told him no because his pitch was inconsistent but they said yes to the next kid who had the very same exact issues. Why? Because he was cuter, younger, and more marketable. What happened to "We're only putting through the ones who are ready"? Most of the time the ones who have issues like staying in tune in the auditions carry that through the entire competition. We don't need CJ Harris part 2. The kid has a nice tone and he is quite cute, but come on. For the final winner? He ain't ready yet.

Ok I was not feeling Death Cab guy. His whole schtick seemed copied out of something he saw all those emo rockers do and trying too hard to be quirky and dark. Just no. Also, I hate it when contestants use sob stories about something that didn't even happen to them. I'm sorry his mother died of cancer and I get that it impacts his music, but it's not like he's the one who had cancer. It's like last season when Jax used her sob story of her dad being a 9/11 responder. NO.

The first worship leader whose wife had a baby was quite good, likeable.

The second couple was awkward as hell. The guy clearly had a better voice, no question. The judges did say something about the baby being distracting but they also told her she didn't have enough passion or substance in her performance. Her angrily blaming her husband and saying it's because he was playing with the baby was not only false anyway, but also really awkward. I love to sing too and even tried out this year as well as The Voice but I've never felt bitter towards other people for making it over myself. And especially if it was somebody I loved, sure you're disappointed, but you can also be happy at the same time that someone you love made it through.

What was the point in the Kanye audition? Wasting screen time on somebody who doesn't need it versus an unknown trying to get 15 minutes of fame? I just didn't even understand what he was doing there, it's not like he was there to assist with the auditions or anything. It was shoehorned in for ratings and nothing more. Aside from that, an overall promising premiere, packed with the right amount of talent, joke contestants, and nostalgia.

[Ketzel]

I stopped watching AI a couple of seasons ago, bored by the inane judging, the teenagers convinced they were shining stars taking their one and only shot in life for success, and all the dying-relatives-who-raised-said-teenagers-under-bridges family drama. But out of nostalgia for the olden days, I figured I'd tune in for The!Last!Season! I was sad to find out that The!Last!Season! appears to be every reason I stopped watching times a thousand, Now!With!Added!Kardashian! Bye, American Idol.

Ketzel, out.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Ketzel

[Rick Kitchen]

Ugh, little special snowflake who knows all of the winners and seems to have brought her entire town with her was annoying.

 

All of the people singing for the Idols were horrible.

 

Damn, Johnny Cash kid was great.  Loved his voice. But I wish the judges would stop talking and playing around during the audition.

Kosovo girl was awesome.

 

Anybody who has "everything riding on this" is ridiculous.

 

Lee Jean was good.  Nice voice.

 

Did they tell us how many golden tickets were given out in Atlanta?

 

What's with the Seacrest beard?

 

Cello girl was different.  And entertaining.

Sonika is beautiful! And nice voice. I'm in love.

I hated Joseph Kohlruss from the very beginning.

 

Oh, God, goat girl can just shut up!

 

I really liked Joshua Wicker, but I know the show is not going to go for a WGWG on their final season.

Wife of the wife and husband pair has a really annoying nasal speaking voice. And husband has an annoying man bun. Pink ukulele was annoying. Husband had an annoying singing voice. And where was the piano music accompanying him coming from? And their squabbling was annoying.

Kerry Courtney is also a WGWG but he's quirky, too.

Shelbie was way too nasal.

 

Kanye West can stfu and die.

[holly4755]

every one was  so sweet tonight, my teeth hurt. Except for the bitter wife. That marriage is in the dumpster. She should have made a better choice for song,. a lot of times people get to perform a different song if the judges did not like their first choice, guess not anymore. have to save time for Kanye and the judges to perform.  Sorry, I thought the rehearsed Laverne and Shirley song was just a time waster. that is why I don't enjoy shows about the judges. 

[BogoGog24]

Ah yes I forgot about Shelbie. She was superior to the majority of contestants shown tonight, especially confidence wise, but she was incredibly nasal and too twangy, if she dialed some of that back a bit she could be good.

Michael Orland was accompanying everyone on piano.

[Rick Kitchen]

every one was  so sweet tonight, my teeth hurt. Except for the bitter wife. That marriage is in the dumpster. She should have made a better choice for song,. a lot of times people get to perform a different song if the judges did not like their first choice, guess not anymore. have to save time for Kanye and the judges to perform.  Sorry, I thought the rehearsed Laverne and Shirley song was just a time waster. that is why I don't enjoy shows about the judges. 

 

A lot of the time they do get a second song, but we never see it.

[looksee]

How to quickly ruin a show that's supposedly family friendly: Give Kanye and Kardashian air time.

 

SO and I haven't watched Idol in years and thought we'd come back for the final season. We enjoyed it up until the very end when the two KK asswipes showed up. WHY.

[Snakelite]

Jeneve Rose may be living "off the grid", but on the show and in the back story she was dressed and styled like a Sundance catalog model. Extremely expensive clothing and accessories meant to have a cool Western/ Rocky Mountain state vibe. Those were some pricey boots she was wearing.

[Ms Blue Jay]

The name of the Wicker baby was really funny.  I forget what it was but I thought it was so funny at the time.  No offense

[PhD-Purgatory15]

I believe it was Branch Eisley. Eisley's a pretty name.....but I'd really like to know the story behind Branch. A long time ago the Major League Baseball commissioner's name was Branch Rickey, and using last names as first names is particularly common in the South but that's about all I've got.

 

As loathsome as KK and KW are, this was probably a case (similar to Ms Blue Jay's point up thread) of asymmetrical power in this relationship w/ AI. If they made overtures to the show about wanting to take part in some capacity then I can't see how AI passes up getting Kanye to do one of his most famous rap verses in front of the 3 judges. It certainly helps the buzz/Q rating/whatever you want to call it.

Edited January 7, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Looooved Josiah (Johnny Cash) and Billy Bob.  Any grasp of the real deal on this show makes me happy.  Josiah is toast in Hollyweird, but his authentic self will not go down.

 

Worship hubby had a fantastic tone, evocative of Meatloaf.  What he won't have for many more years is that wife.

 

To me the whole show had an air of "freedom" about it.  I did not feel the constant pressure coming through to be "edgy" and "relevant."    Yeah, they threw out all the jidging standards to get Death Cab guy to Hollyweird, but to me, that was really the only obvious producer shenanigans.  

 

The backstory visits/home edits were too long, though.  Give me more auditions.  

[cinsays]

   I usually just start watching this once the auditions are done and they are into the final 12, but figured, last season, I'll watch the whole thing.

   That first 15 year old girl was nothing special, except in her own mind.  The 500 people storming the room when she got her ticket was annoying.

   Then the "judges" started the nonsense with the sitting on the floor, in the corner, sprawled across the table.  Waste of time.

    I checked out soon after that and decided to watch the Newlywed Show (and that's an act of desperation), so just flipped to AI when they went to commercial.

    A yodeler?  other strangely dressed folk......

   Luckily I missed the egomaniac Kanye and his slutty wife - another waste of time, space, breath.

   And what was with JLO's gunked up hair in the talking heads? Was that supposed to be cute?

   I may not bother with this at all......very disappointing.

[SmallTownMom]

I heard that Kanye was going to be on. When they started announcing him and JLO said "what are you doing here" like it was some big surprise, I changed the channel. How fake. I was wondering if they would bring Bertha Butt out, now I see that they did. I didn't want to see his " black pissed off" look, or her vapid self. They think they are royalty. His nasty songs show no talent. My daughter asked why are thy on? Guess cause they didn't get any attention this week. Liked kid who sang Cash and Kosova girl. (Darn auto correct!) 15 year old at the beginning was nothing special. Bitchy wife was hard to watch. Love Keith Urban! Did the yodeling girl go through?

[designing1]

Isn't Seacrest responsible for foisting that no-talent Kardashian clan on the public? I assume he called them up and asked them to appear in an attempt to pull the sad souls who watch all that Kardashian crap into the AI fold for the Best!Season!Ever!

 

While some of the contestants were OK there was no one who blew me away with their talent and star potential. I was waiting for the amazing singers they were talking about and (not surprisingly) they never materialized. They kept featuring the large African American woman with the huge hair and the baby, so maybe she'll be a knockout.

 

Like others here, I cringed at pissed off wife, and that 15 year old with the braces, the average voice, and the pretty princess dress can't get off my screen fast enough.

[tobeannounced]

I really enjoyed the show, except for the sob stories.  I didn't even hate Kanye.  I figured the tie-in was KK and Ryan.  Doesn't he produce her show?  Maybe they just happened to be in town at the same time.

 

I thought pink guitar lady is probably hot poop in the worship leader circuit and that that song was a big hit when she performed it in church, especially with the teens. She mentioned something about never being good enough.  Not sure what that was about, but she's probably overshadowed by the hubs a lot.  And maybe it's just me, but when he was gushing over Celine Dion ... I don't know.  Maybe wife has bigger issues on the horizon than not making American Idol. 

[Qoass]

Well, I just sailed through this show with the biggest grin on my face.  I suspect I'll lose the love once the competition starts because it may go country-heavy, but I just found it all so entertaining.

 

Is worship leader an actual paying job?

[marketdoctor]

 

The backstory visits/home edits were too long, though.  Give me more auditions.

 

I've tried different methods for dealing with this, including changing channels and taping it (it's not just that the show is that old, for years I was too cheap to get a DVR).  Record and fast forward works best for me, because it covers if I accidentally miss something.  A DVR is ideal, because I can still watch it "live"-ish, and the show only takes about 40 minutes, including the fast-forwards.  (In a perfect world, I'd want the backstory AFTER they sing, since if you've got an interesting story but can't sing, I'm not going to get a chance to vote for you no matter what.)

 

 

 liked the Laverne & Shirley theme, because it wasn't completely impossible and looked fun.  Usually the "fun" looks forced.  I also liked how they played the Kanye audition straight.  I'm not sure they needed to do that, but it probably keeps the crew from getting bored.  If I were a contestant, I'd be annoyed they took away a spot from someone who needs exposure, but if it were in place of a bad audition, not a big difference.

 

I also liked that we were shown more "good" auditions. They had to reject more people than they took, but they finally got the memo that bad isn't always good.

 

Welcome back, AI, enjoy the journey.

 

 

Is worship leader an actual paying job?

 

edited to add:  yes, in some churches (the bigger the church, the more likely it is to be.)  In some cases it's a part time job, and sometimes it's a volunteer job, but it can be full-time--and if you're really lucky, it pays full time as well.

Edited January 7, 2016 by marketdoctor

[Qoass]

 

Record and fast forward works best for me, because it covers if I accidentally miss something.  A DVR is ideal, because I can still watch it "live"-ish, and the show only takes about 40 minutes, including the fast-forwards.

 

That's how I watch EVERYTHING.

[MarkHB]

My thought is that that 15-year-old is the closest they're ever going to get to a contestant who was born after S1 premiered, hence she got the hype prize.

[Nedsdag]

And KW and KK get the hell off American Idol you famewhores. I'm sorry but that pissed me off, just get off my TV, both of them.

When I found out those two famewhores were going to be on the show, I decided to watch other shows instead. I get it. Seacrest is an EP of their stupid reality show, but come on. 

 

I just saw the video of Michelle Marie (Lecza) singing. I guess she'll be in the finals. Spare me the Little Miss Sunshine wannabes.

[Duke Silver]

Indian girl & Kanye were the only performers I didn't put on mute after the first couple bars (opera guy I didn't even bother listening to a single note, pretentious fuck that he & his crew were).  I came into this totally prepared to be underwhelmed, and the first night didn't disappoint.  :fingerscrossed: that it gets better, however.  I've despised this show for years, but I sincerely hope it goes out on a positive.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Sometimes I even tape a show, then eight minutes after it starts, I start watching THE TAPE of it, because that's the perfect amount of time to watch it so that you can fastforward through the commercials.  And you'll finish along with everyone else!  Watching live without the commercials.  

Edited January 7, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[ari333]

If I have to listen to a whole season of runs/melisma, I'm out.

 

Also, why do folks think that going to Hollywood is going to change their lives forever? It is a great step, but not, "THIS IS IT !!" Don't more than half get sent right home, as in, turn around before you unpack your bag?

[ari333]

How could they hear BillyBob with Keith singing the whole time?

 

I'm sure Harry's wife loved that JLo's ass was in Harry's face as she posed on the table. And I say this as a JLo fan, but wow, stop it.

 

I kind of liked off the grid cello girl. Im a doof. How does a generator work for off the grid folks?

 

I loved Indian girl.

 

I enjoyed deep voice 17 yr old golf guy.

Edited January 7, 2016 by ari333

[RemoteControlFreak]

I thought pink guitar lady is probably hot poop in the worship leader circuit and that that song was a big hit when she performed it in church, especially with the teens. She mentioned something about never being good enough.  Not sure what that was about, but she's probably overshadowed by the hubs a lot.  And maybe it's just me, but when he was gushing over Celine Dion ... I don't know.  Maybe wife has bigger issues on the horizon than not making American Idol. 

It's not just you.

 

She was obviously blind to the reality that the judges didn't like her weak singing. The cute baby was not a distraction. Whichever judge said this, was not serious. She didn't hear all the comments about her musicianship.  So, she may be missing some other realities about her life.

Edited January 7, 2016 by RemoteControlFreak

[ari333]

Uncool that the judges made fun of low note guy after he left. He was delusional, but that was mean.

[MarkHB]

I kind of liked off the grid cello girl. Im a doof. How does a generator work for off the grid folks?

 

I would imagine that there is some level of house wiring, and it ties into that the same way it would in a less-isolated house.  Hopefully they have some solar or a windmill to drive refrigeration at the very least... I'd hate to be waiting around for the iceman in this day and age.

[ari333]

Keith's jawline. That is all

[MrsMoltisanti]

Keith's jawline. That is all

 

Oh ari333 how I have missed you.  It's on like donkeykong again. 

I am glad the show is back, although I don't know why.  It's like some crazy old relative that shows up at Christmas time for a big helping of your sweet potato pie and they are the last one to leave but then you miss them when they are gone and you can't wait until next Christmas.

Edited January 7, 2016 by MrsMoltisanti

[ari333]

Oh ari333 how I have missed you.  It's on like donkeykong again. 

I am glad the show is back, although I don't know why.  It's like some crazy old relative that shows up at Christmas time for a big helping of your sweet potato pie and they are the last one to leave but then you miss them when they are gone and you can't wait until next Christmas.

 

*snort* ! I feel the same! I even forgot about the show but the DVR caught it. :) I will bitch when it is gone though.

[ari333]

I hate runs with the heat of a thousand nuns.

 

MAKE IT STOP!