American Idol auditions wrap up tonight for season 13 in Omaha, Nebraska. We’re kind of sad they are over because it’s been such a fun ride. However, we know from American Idol spoilers for Hollywood Week that the talent is only going to get better from here! Plus, we can’t wait to see American Idol judges Harry Connick Jr., Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez really let loose.
One contestant in particular we are looking forward to seeing in the American Idol 2014 auditions tonight. Thanks to some pre-season leaks from The Idol Pad, we know North Dakota native Andrina Brogden auditioned in Omaha, and we hear it was a stellar performance. From the videos we’ve found of her online, we are excited to see what she pulls out for the American Idol judges this evening.
Another American Idol season 13 hopeful we are eager to see perform is Jack Janowicz from De Pere, Wisconsin. From his videos on YouTube, Jack seems to have a sweet, smooth voice we could definitely hear coming out of the radio in a hot minute. Plus, we’ve already learned here at the site from e-mails and comments that his fans are hardcore!
Before we start the final auditions of 2014, we revisit The Chamber where the contestants have to wait for their time in front of the judges. We really hope they get rid of that thing next year. It’s just weird.
Our first hopeful of the night is college student Quaid Edwards. Interestingly enough, his mom, Jolie Edwards, actually toured with judge Keith Urban back in the day. Thankfully, he isn’t trying to get to Hollywood just by name dropping alone though. He actually has a nice voice and he looks the part too. He’s going to Hollywood with three yes votes.
After that first good American Idol audition, now we have the no vote parade, including 17 year old Simon Hauck, who needs a lot more work before he tries out for a show like this again.
Then it’s time for Madisen Walker, 15, who has a pretty enough voice but she’s just flat, boring and drab. The judges apparently feel the same way a bit but decide to take a chance on her and give her a Golden Ticket anyway.
Now we have small town girl Alyssa Siebken, 20, who says she needs a victory selfie with host Ryan Seacrest if she gets through. She does a kind of weird performance of an odd version of a rap song, but parts of it are actually fun. Harry doesn’t think her voice is good enough and says no. Keith and J-Lo, as usual, decide to be the softies and put her through. Looks like she’ll be getting that selfie!
Tyler Gurwicz, 25, isn’t really our cup of tea. He just all over the place and he comes across kind of mean when he performs! Harry doesn’t think Tyler has enough versatility. J-Lo, of course, says yes even so. Keith says no. Harry has to make the final decision… And he decides, after Tyler pleads and sings something else, to give the guy a Golden Ticket for one more try at impressing them in Hollywood.
More sad no auditions and begging to the judges, which they just aren’t really having any of. Then we move on to Tyler Marshall, 23, who only needs just the one chance to impress the American Idol judges. Harry doesn’t even bother to worry about what Keith and J-Lo think, he just gives the guy his ticket to Hollywood. If his music doesn’t work out, he’s also a great presidential impersonator!
Next up is C. J. Jones, who ends up having a fun moment with Harry Connick Jr. when he announces he’s going to sing “Stand by Me.” Harry decides that is exactly what he is going to do and goes to stand by C. J. while he is singing. Amazingly, this does not freak the guy out and he has a pretty great voice. It’s three easy yes votes and another Golden Ticket.
Now we have a duo of yes votes with Dajontae Lenear, 16, and Dylan Becker, 17. J-Lo gushes over the cuteness of Dajontae. Thankfully, he can also sing and gives a lovely performance of “Nothing Can Change This Love” by Sam Cooke. Dylan is also cute and has a nice voice, although we think he’s not the most standout singer and kind of fades into the background a bit.
We also have another yes vote for Air Force Band member Paula Hunt, 20m who has a killer sweet voice. The judges are quite impressed and J-Lo thinks Paula has even more to give as her talent blooms. It’s a Golden Ticket for Paula and we look forward to seeing what she does in Hollywood.
Andrina Brogden, 18, is one of the singers we were most intrigued to see tonight after learning about her in pre-season spoilers. She has a stunning voice in the YouTube videos we’ve watched, but she fails to translate it all that well into her audition for the judges. We’re guessing she has a bad case of the nerves. It’s touch and go on whether or not the judges will pass her through… but in the end they decide to give her another chance and a Golden Ticket to the next round.
Then we have Christian Scholl, who should have stuck to calling swing dances and not tried singing Willie Nelson. The judges are not impressed and he’s heading home with no Golden Ticket.
Now we have 21 year old Casey McQuillen, who gives us a roaringly fabulous performance of “Skyscraper” that really probably should have been the last song of the night. Alas, we only get a tiny clip of it instead. The judges would have been crazy not to give her a Golden Ticket and happily, they apparently agree.
Last up tonight we have country singer Tessa Kate. She has a smooth, bright voice and a nice vibe going on, but we don’t think she is crazy awesome. At least, not in this audition. The judges like her well enough though and send her off to Hollywood. We wish we had gotten a really kick butt singer to close out the auditions, but there you go.
Before we close though, we are bummed that they did not show the audition for Jack Janowicz on the show tonight. We really wanted to see him after watching some of his videos on YouTube. So here is a gratuitous clip of one of him singing, which you can pretend was his audition…
And where the heck were the rockers this year? Seriously, there was not enough rock! You’d think with 212 Golden Tickets handed out, they would have at least shown us a few real rockers for season 13!
Join us again next week for the Hollywood Week rounds, where some of those 212 singers won’t even get to unpack their bags before they’ll be headed home again. It’s going to be a big week full of LOTS of drama, so stay tuned!
Anyone notice the guitar in Tessa Kate’s hands magically changes in the middle of the song?
Great catch! I completely missed that.