Finally, the end of auditions and the narrowing down of contestants is in sight and we can get to the best of the best and cast our votes on who should be the next American idol. 

This year has been filled with drama when it comes to the judges.  First we had to deal with Paula’s absence and the emergence of guest judges who were for the most part, not up to par.  Add the signing of Ellen DeGeneres as the new full time judge and the departure of Simon after this season and looking for his replacement; it is enough to make this blogger go out of her mind lol.  Hopefully once we get down to the actual competition we will get away from so much focus on the judges and concentrate soley on the singers.

I’m more than ready to get past this week so we can move on from the monstrosity they built around the 3 weeks of auditions and the horrible group round from last week and get down to the nitty gritty of the actual competition. 

How do you feel about all the auditions and did you think there was too much focus on the judges?

Update: Snark Food says American Idol will give us an early reveal of some of the season’s Top 24 singers on Tuesday night as part of the 2-hour episode. Bonus!

Original content from American Idol 2013.

It griped me that for the first half hour it was all Victoria again.  We saw brief peeks at the other guest judges but they are sure making it a point to show Posh in that purple dress an awful lot.  I’m not into her or her judging ability or the, all about how the contestants look, attitude she brings to the table.  I mean look at Susan Boyle.  No one would say she was amazing to look at but what an incredible voice!  She has sold millions of albums so in my opinion, everything Posh has represented at these auditions is a load of crap.

The highlight was seeing all the hopefuls who actually made it into the Top 24.  First up was Lee DeWyze whom we saw for all of 5 seconds and the same with Crystal Bowersox.  Then we had Lacey Brown who sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and Michael “Big Mike” Lynche that was almost disqualified from the competition because his father squeeled the news to a local newspaper that he had made it to the top 24.  We Also saw Aaron Kelly, a 16 year old who was adopted by his aunt.  He sang “The Climb” and had a good voice.

My favorite of the night was Didi Benami who sang “Hey Jude.”  She said she was singing for her best friend Rebecca who had passed away.  She kind of sounded like Nora Jones and I hope she does well.

How did you like this episode and which of these contenders do you want to see more of?

Original content from American Idol 2013.

First up was Mark, the Jack Black look a like.  He sang “Tempted” by Squeeze and had a great voice.  Even Posh said she was pleasantly surprised. 

We then see several people make it through and only a couple of really horrible try outs for the first day.  We saw another Top 24 contestant in Casey James.  I was not impressed with his audition as Simon wasn’t either but then he let down his hair and stripped off his shirt and was good looking so Posh said send him through.  I guess he improves during Hollywood week because he does make the final 12 guys.

The second day starts off slow and we see many competitors leave in tears.  Nicci Nix flew 14 hours from Florence, Italy to make the competition and Simon asks if she had been sucking on Helium.  A pretty rude comment if you ask me but then she sang well and they send her through. 

Our last contestant was Haeley Vaughn another Top 24 contestant who sings pop/country.  I was more impressed with her then Casey James.  I do not count bikini boy as a contestant.  What a freakin weirdo!  I don’t blame the judges for walking out on him.

A total of 21 hopefuls made it through to Hollywood.  Who stood out to you?  Be sure to watch tonight as we see the “Road to Hollywood.”

Original content from American Idol 2013.

In an interview with People online Victoria had this to say about her judging style, “I believe in constructive criticism and I am a very positive person, so I always tried to find something good and helpful to focus on, be it someone’s singing, their looks or their overall style. Having been a performer, I know how difficult it is to be that person standing there being judged. I didn’t want to trample on people’s dreams.”  This doesn’t sound at all like the Posh we saw in Boston.  I don’t remember any constructive criticism at all. 

Posh also said she wanted an overall look and not just strong pipes.  She says, “For me, image is important as that helps sell records. I wouldn’t judge someone just on their looks alone, or what they were wearing; it takes the whole package of vocal, personality and a personal style.”  This explains all the comments on how the contestants looked during the Boston auditions.  It was apparent that was what she valued the most.

And on laughing at the contestants she had this to say, But for every great singer, “there were plenty of break-out laughing moments,” Beckham admits. “You can’t help but laugh. It’s a joyous, natural reaction. And whilst you don’t want to appear rude or upset anybody, people and their comedy moments are just as important as the really talented singers are, because they make great TV!”

So in the eyes of Posh Spice having a good look is as important as singing well and laughing at the contestants who can’t sing is important because it brings ratings for tv.  This lady has it all figured out. (I’m being sarcastic of course)

Do you think Victoria will bring the constructive criticism this go around?

Original content from American Idol 2013.

Neil Patrick Harris was up first and for just a minute I thought we were going to have a repeat of last night’s feud between Kara and Katy only this time between NPH and Simon Cowell but they both handled it with class.  Neil obviously didn’t agree much with Simon and you could see the aggravation on Simon’s face but they both remained civil and no stones were thrown.

And what can you say about Joe Jonas except he is an absolute doll.  He was sweet and polite and my daughter was in heaven just staring at him for the 20 minutes he was on.

The first contestant we saw with a golden ticket was Lloyd Thomas.  Another young man who overcame a past of growing up in the projects to work on the docks for an airline.  Simon said he was his favorite of the day. 

Another standout was Erika Rhodes who came dressed like a dominatrix and swinging a whip.  She was a breeze to go through to Hollywood.

The most precious for me was Dave Pittman who has Turret Syndrome.  The amazing thing is when he sings, there is no sign of the turrets. 

On the second day we saw another of our Top 24 guys named Todrick Hall.  He sang an original song he wrote just for the occassion and it was pretty funny.  He had a great voice and I totally see why we will be voting for him in February.

I definitely put the Dallas auditions as one of the best cities we have seen to date.  Do you agree?  Who stood out to you in last night’s auditions?

Get ready for next week when Idol goes to Colorado and the return of Victoria Beckham as a guest judge.  Matt, I know you are really looking forward to seeing her again lol.

Original content from American Idol 2013.

So let’s move on to better days and Katy Perry.  OMG!  The one I thought would be superficial and juvenile was actually a delight to watch.  I knew from the first words out of her mouth when she said arriving by helicopter was ridiculous that I was going to love her.  She was honest and straightforward and cynical and could quite possibly be Simon Cowell in female form with an amazing voice.  I say bring her on.  She and Shania Twain are my favorite guest judges and think how fun it would be to have them both on the show.  Talk about polar opposites. 

We saw two contestants in our top 24 tonight.  The first was Andrew Garcia and I loved him!  He grew up with both parents in gangs and now is a father himself and wants better for his family.  He had an amazing voice and I am looking forward to seeing him on the show.  The second was Chris Golightly.  Talk about a hard life.  To grow up in 25 different foster families and overcome devastating odds and sing like that, he is my new favorite.  I loved him and I loved his story.  I thought it was hilarious though when Kara was going on and on about his life and how great he was and then looked at Katy and she says, “it’s not a lifetime movie.”  You gotta hand it to Katy, she says exactly what’s on her mind. 

Who stood out to y’all in these auditions and which judge did you like the best?

Update: Did Katy Perry and Kara DioGuardi push their feud too far last night?

Original content from American Idol 2013.

Wednesday we move on to Dallas where Neil Patrick Harris will join Simon, Randy and Kara.  I have high hopes for this man as a judge but don’t expect him to come on full time because he is way too busy.  Besides having the starring role on “How I met your mother” he also hosted the emmy awards this past year and has an upcoming guest role on glee.  He is all over the place. 

So here is who you can watch for in these auditions that have supposedly made it to the Top 24.  Andrew Garcia, Alex Lambert, Lacy Brown, Casey James, Vered Didi Benami, Michael Lynche (he may have been disqualified for breaking the confidentiality agreement).  Michael was supposedly the favorite of the season so if the rumors are true and he really is disqualified; it will be a disappointment to all us idol fans.

Which of these judges do you think can offer the best advice to the competitors?

Original content from American Idol 2013.

This was wiped clean with the next stop in Orlando as guest judge Kristen Chenoweth entered the mix.  Simon, Randy and Ryan apparently had a late night in Miami and were not feeling up to par so Kristen and Kara’s bonding and excessive giggling left much to be desired.  It was quite obvious that Simon was disgusted with the whole scenario and it was no surprise to me that Kristen was sent back to New York for the last day leaving us with only the three full time judges to deal with all the crazies in Orlando.  I doubt we will see the lovely Kristen back as a judge on American Idol but I wish Simon Fuller would try and adopt Shania for the role.  Maybe we should start a petition to bring her in. 

I’m not saying she should replace Simon because I think we need a big time music mogul like Mariah Carey’s ex husband Tommy Mottola, a powerful music executive and talent agent or Gene Simmons, lead singer of KISS, to do that part justice and I hate to say get rid of Ellen when I haven’t even seen how she will do but let’s face it, Ellen DeGeneres is not in the music business.  She is much better suited for her talk shows, which are great.  That is her thing so why not stick to it?  This of course is just my opinion.  Would you like to see Shania as a full time judge on American Idol?  Tell me why or why not.

Original content from American Idol 2013.

Now I am going to get bashed for this but I do not feel that Kara is doing that bad of a job.  You all seem to think she is a hateful, spiteful person who doesn’t deserve to be on the panel but I just disagree.  She is a songwriter with several top 20 hits and knows the music business.  Do you not all remember the first couple of seasons of american idol when everyone hated Simon Cowell?  He was so despised, no one had ever heard of him and they wanted him gone.  Now look at him.  People think the show will crash without him. 

And what about Paula?  I remember so many times when she laughed at the contestants during the auditions and sent them running from the room in tears.  I will concede that Kara is brash and outspoken but so what?  If these kids truly want to be the next american idol then they are going to have to learn to deal with criticism and defeat because it is going to happen a lot.  I just don’t see where all the loathing for Kara is coming from.  She is doing nothing different then any other judge in the show’s history. 

The guest judges so far are just flat and unhelpful.  These competitors need real, fair criticism if they are going to succeed and maybe Shania Twain will be the one to bring it to them.  What do you think of the guest judges so far and do you think Shania will be any better?

Original content from American Idol 2013.

First up will be Posh Spice, or Victoria Beckham if you prefer. Beckham will guest judge for one week and be paid very well with a check for $200,000! Wow.

So what do you think? Good move or bad move by Idol to fill Paula’s empty seat on the judges’ panel? Seems a bit soon to me.

Original content from American Idol 2013.