American Idol 8 Kansas City Auditions

Tonight, American Idol heads to Kansas City to see if they’ve got any talent.  Come back for the live blog of tonight’s auditions!

Let the live blogging begin!!!

Over 11,000 people showed up in Kansas City to audition for American Idol this year. That’s incredible (Kansas City, Missouri – in case anyone was wondering which KC they were in)!

Jason Castro greeted Paula Abdul at the door since his brother will be auditioning.

Chelsea Marquardt premised her audition by saying how amazed people are when they hear this big, powerful voice come out of her little body and I thought there might be hope. And then she started singing “I Can’t Live (If Livin’ is Without You)” and I was positively stunned. The 19-year-old waitress from Parsons, Kansas was definitely one of the worse I’ve ever heard. I say that mostly because she genuinely thought she was good. So sad.   Kara DioGuardi and Paula had to tell the boys to be less mean since Simon Cowell said that she sounded like a cat jumping from the Empire State Building and Randy Jackson it also sounded like a siren was coming to deal with the cat. Awful.

More after the jump!

Ashley Anderson chose to sing “Footprints in the Sand” by Leona Lewis. A song that was actually co-written by Kara. She kept almost saying footsteps instead of footprints. She actually sounded a bit like Leona and I thought she did a good job. She got four yesses from the judges!  Kara revealed that Simon actually wrote the song. Wow!

Casey Carlson, a 20-year-old bubble tea maker from Minneapolis, Minnesota sang “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton and, while she wasn’t perfect, she really was charming. I liked the personality behind the vocals and I think she’s just adorable. It could be really interesting to see what happens with her.

Brian Hettler, a 20-year-old art student from Kansas City, Missouri sang Aretha Franklin’s “Think” and it was absolutely terrible. Randy laughed through the entire performance. Simon said it was just awful. He then broke into Josh Groban’s signature tune “You Raise Me Up” which, of course, was horrendous.

James Michael Avance (20 y.o. from Edmonds, OK) sang “You Say it Best When You Say Nothing at All” and, I didn’t think he was off-key but his voice was really annoying.

Billy Vinson (20 y.o., nurse from Lebanon, MO) sang “Reflections” and, well, it was terrible.

Chris Jones (21 y.o., Mission, KS) – I don’t even know what he sang but it was bad.

Deandre Hopkins (22 y.o. college student from Kansas City, KS) sang “Amazing Grace” and it was really, really bad.

Von Smith (22 y.o. singer from Greenwood, MO) sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and I think the nerves really got to him but he does have a good voice. Ugh, gotta wait for the commercial break to be over before we find out if he makes it through.  Randy thought the vocals were pretty good and was impressed. Simon said that he’s got a good voice. Paula said “absolutely yes” and Kara told him that he’s got a really good instrument. He got a yes from all four judges! Woohoo!

Jason Castro’s brother, Michael Castro (20 y,o. from Rockwell, Texas), proves that poor interview skills run in the family. Michael said that Jason is more girly (uh, Michael is the one with pink hair…lol). Jason took offence and Ryan Seacrest took cover. Hilarious. In front of the judges sang “In Love With a Girl” and it was pretty good. He’s interesting. Kara said he gives off an “I’ve got a secret” vibe and they ended up all voting him through to the next round.

Vaughn English sang “Do You Want a Banana” wearing a loud yellow outfit. It was absolutely ridiculous, lol!!!

Matt Breitzke (a 27 y.o. welder from Bixby, OK) said that he put off his music after becoming a father but wants to give it a shot. He chose to sing Bill Withers‘ “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone” which is one of my favorite songs. Matt did a decent job but it wasn’t enough for Randy. Kara and Paula both liked him and Simon agreed so Matt is through to the next round.

Jasmine Joseph (17 y.o. from Norfolk, NE) sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and wow… it was awful!  She said that Idol is her entire life right now. Good thing she’s still in high school.

Jessica Page Furney (19 y.o. from Wamego, KS) lives with her 93-year-old grandmother which I really respect because I also love my grandma a lot and spend as much time with her as possible. She chose to sing “Cry Baby” by Janis Joplin. Simon said he likes her because she stands out. The other judges agreed and wished her a happy 20th birthday! Hooray!

Sisters India and Asia sang an original song called “Cookies” which was awful. WOW. This can’t be for real. Asia McClain and then India Morrison took turns singing and Asia was terrible but India was better. They sent India through but not Asia.

Jamar Rogers (26 y.o. bartender from Milwaukee, Wisconsin) sang “California Dreamin‘” and I thought it was good. It was a little over-the-top but there is some potential there.

Jamar’s friend Danny Gokey (28 year old music teacher from Milwaukee, WI) was up next and it was so sad. His wife passed away just four weeks before the audition and he was just so emotional. He sang “Heard it Through the Grapevine” and I thought he did a good job. Paula said that she didn’t expect to like him so much. Kara said that she is a fan of his and Simon said that he really likes Danny. Randy said that Danny is one of the best they’ve seen this year. He got four yesses and is on to Hollywood.

Anoop Desai (21 y.o. Chapel Hill, NC) sang “Thank You” by Boyz II Men and it was actually quite good. The judges appreciated it even though Simon said that he looks a bit too geeky. They put him through to the next round and told him to work on the stage presence and clothing. WOW!

Andrew Lang (19 y.o. ice cream server from Columbia, MO) had cheerleaders announce his entrance and I thought it was actually quite hilarious. How creative. He sang “My Girl” and he would have been fine if he hadn’t tried to be so over the top. Simon said it wasn’t fantastic and that the cheerleaders didn’t help.  Randy was going to say yes until Andrew sang “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” but his ultimate rejection brought the cheerleaders to tears. So sad.

Asa Barnes (28 y.o. a middle school band director from Kansas City, MO) sang “The Way You Make Me Feel” by Michael Jackson and it actually wasn’t too bad. The judges seemed to like him and he was put through to the next round.

Michael Nicewonder (20 y.o. sandwich maker from Grand Island, NE) is related to Hank Williams Jr. and sang an original song. It was such a disaster. WOW.

Dennis Brigham (19 y.o. floor maintenance technologist from Glen Carbon, Illinois) had a dream about Simon the night before but he didn’t say what it was about. He sang “With You” by Chris Brown and it wasn’t bad. He got three yesses and was put through to the next round.

Mia Conley (27 y.o. janitor from Kansas, MO) sang “Loving You” by my mother’s former classmate, Minnie Ripperton. It was not good. Wow. She really had a hard time staying on key. She was sent away and she freaked out about not being given a golden ticket.

Lil Rounds (23 y.o. customer service rep from Memphis, TN) sang “All I Do” by Stevie Wonder and it was great. She sounds like so many of the greats (I even heard a little Dionne Warwick in there) and Paula told her that she was one of the best they’ve ever seen. Simon said she was very retro and fantastic. Randy said she was like Fantasia and Mary J. Blige. Kara echoed what Paula said and said that she thought it was so great that Lil didn’t even know how good she is. Amazing. They, of course, put her through to the next round.

The judges said that Kansas City was great so that was really good