S17.E05: Auditions (5)

[MarkHB]

Quote

Auditions from Los Angeles CA, New York NY, Louisville KY, and Denver CO see if they have what it takes to move on in the competition. An audition surprises the judges.

This is the final auditions episode... Hollywood Week is next!

[stcroix]

No one on here commenting yet? I barely made it through the 2 hrs- thank goodness for DVR and fast forwarding.  Was there any singer who didn't have some kind of weepy storyline? Was that a requirement for this year? (sarcasm) I just want to hear them SING.  And I was waiting to be blown away when the Kenny Rogers discovery opened her mouth-- what was I missing?  Oh well, we got through all the auditions (with storylines anyway) and now on to Hollywood! I can't quit this show.

[Annber03]

Liked the surprise with the "goth" contestant :D. 

Also glad that "Merica!" guy didn't go through. He seems nice and all, but the whole thing felt a bit much. Also, my mom suggested they might as well change this show to "Country Idol" with how many country singers are trying to audition. 

Yay, Hollywood Week is next. Looking forward to seeing how some of these people fare there. 

[sempervivum]

I can't believe I'm writing this, but my favorite of the episode was Jorgie, the gay guy from Israel. I thought he gave by far the most emotionally connected performance, and had a really good, unusual voice. 

And yes, sooooo many sob stories and country singers. 

I'm actually enjoying a lot of the interaction between the 3 judges, it seems as though they genuinely like each other. Don't totally understand why we have to keep seeing the 'overcome with lust' stuff, though (looking at BOTH Katy and Luke).

[Prairie Fire]

If they're going to emphasize sad stories, could they at least make them more like the one featuring the girl whose brother attempted suicide? That to me was an incredibly tragic thing she and her family went through, but she demonstrated an amazingly positive perspective and then they focused on the music aspect of her audition rather than personality/story. And she was really good!

I also don't get why these producers love montages so much. I tune out when they go into montage mode. Do we really have such short attention spans? Or not know by now that the judges are zany and wacky? These montages take the contestants almost totally out of the picture and are all about the panel.

[snarkylady]

• Considering how many country singers appear in the audition shows I would be interested in knowing what percentage of total auditions fall into this category.  Maybe we see so many because there just are so many.  I love country music but would appreciate hearing other genres as well.   

• I don't enjoy the show getting mileage out misfortune or tragedy.  Don't make these families relive it on national television.

• Regarding "judge lust" -- not entertaining or believable from Katy.  From Luke....was this the first time we've seen it?  Sometimes I just listen and don't watch the screen so perhaps I'm wrong.  He still has a long way to go before reaching Steven Tyler's level.   Happily there's none from Lionel although he may smile at Luke & Katy.   

[TeeMo]

I was actually super uncomfortable with the segment on the singer whose brother attempted suicide and ended up with a serious brain injury. Clearly he is someone who has struggled mightily with mental illness and has now ended up in a truly heartbreaking situation. But his story isn't hers to tell as an interesting backstory to get her more attention on a reality competition show. It all felt very exploitive and icky to me and a violation of his privacy. 

[ForReal]

It seemed to me that every time they showed a back story, the person went through (and yes, many of the back stories felt exploitive). It's reached the point where there is no suspense -- if they spend time filming someone, then no matter how the person sings, he or she is going to Hollywood.

[marketdoctor]

My best guess is that the producers/directors get bored with seeing hundreds of hours of "sing badly, going home"/"sing well, going forward", so they want to spice it up.

They don't realize that the audience only sees less than an hour of that an episode, so we aren't as bored with it--it's why we watch the show. 

OK, the goth fake-out was funny, but I need ONE of those a week...maybe once per year.  Then show me people I'll be able to vote for, and round it out with some "almost good" and some "well, you tried", just to keep me guessing, and you've got a show--because although they think otherwise, for me the singing is the show, and I'm fast-forwarding anyway, I'll miss the commercials and the product placement.

[Ladyrain]

I absolutely HATE the back stories.  Did they do those in the very beginning years of Idol?   I didn't watch the first 3 years, except for the final coronation episode,having read all about the singers in magazines.  (Before the internet, at least for me).  I do not watch the show in live time; I DVR it and ff through the sob stories, sometimes catching a bit here and there by accident.  I do the same with The Voice.  Sometimes it is glaringly obvious that the singer is going through, given all the drama and trauma in their lives.  The judges would come off like soulless ogres to boot someone after those tearful stories.   I don't mean to come off as heartless.  I don't mind hearing a little bit of the histories, but only after the singer has progressed a little bit in the competition.   I hate the audition rounds relying on sob stories to push certain people through who may not otherwise have made it.  Just my opinion. 

[twilightzone]

This was the worse rated episode in the show's history.  Is another cancellation lurking?

[Ladyrain]

21 hours ago, twilightzone said:

This was the worse rated episode in the show's history.  Is another cancellation lurking?

This is the third or fourth time I've heard or read that question in the last week or so.  So many people seem to be fed up with Katy's antics and the emphasis on the judges and on the contestants' sob stories.   Unless interest picks up in the Hollywood rounds and then the top 20?15? 12?  (I have no idea; they keep changing the number), I don't see this show being renewed.   Plus I read that Katy is paid $25,000,000.  The other two, something like 10 or 12 million.  Ryan, $15,000,000.   That's preposterous, given the quality of the show.

Edited March 21, 2019 by Ladyrain

[tobeannounced]

Oh, gawd, y'all, I did it! I made it through five episodes of the Katy Perry show and the search to find the best singers among trauma survivors. Anyone remember the old TWOP where you had to read the last 15 pages of a thread before posting in it? That's what watching the auditions is like. You just slog on through so you know the basics. Unfortunately, like many others, I can't quit this show, but I do think if there's another season, I will just skip the auditions and pick up during Hollywood Week. I really will not have missed a thing, and I think I'll enjoy the show a lot more.

[Sounder]

ABC repeating mondays episide.....for those who may have chosen the Voice's sob show over this one.  It's a very different show now...... a lot less entertaining...... a ton of crying.    Is our world really this sad?    I was big on this show once......they could keep doing it...... I won't notice.