American Idol Season 7 Premiere Recap and Live blogging

American Idol season 7 is underway in Philadelphia!!!!  I’m so excited!  I’m putting the people who made it to Hollywood in blue.  Also, please click on smaller images to enlarge

First up - Joey Catalano (he has recently lost 204lbs.).  He’s singing Maroon 5’s song, "Sunday Morning."  He’s really, really good.  Simon says he’s done well but is worried about whether he’s an "American Idol."  Still, he gets three yeses and is through to the next round!

Watch the video of Joey’s performance!

 

More after the jump!!!!

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Next up Alaa Youakeen (of Egypt) sings the Bee Gees hit, "How Deep is Your Love?"  Paula says she appreciates the work he put in to it and the fact that he learned to pronounce the words in a foreign language.  It’s a universal no."

WATCH Alaa’s Audition:

 

Melanie Nyema is next (IMAGE COMING SOON).  She sang backup for Taylor Hicks who she says didn’t talk about American Idol much on tour.  She sang "Unwritten" and Paula liked it and Simon is "neither here nor there" but Randy liked her and encouraged her to make a bigger effort in Hollywood.

Watch the video of Melanie auditioning!

James Lewis is a Philadelphia tour guide who was encouraged to try out by his coworkers.  He sang "Go Down, Moses" and it was absolutely atrocious.  Paula and Randy could not stop laughing.  There was silence and then he started singing again.  They finally stopped him and apologized for laughing.  James says he will try out again next year.

WATCH James’ Audition:

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There was a "Bad Group"

• Nick Stano - "Unchained Melody" (I didn’t think it was that bad…)
• Sybill White – "I love You I Do"
• ZhengZhong Yu – "All the Pretty Little Horses"

WATCH all three auditions!

 

And a "Good Group"

• Junot Joyner -  "I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues"
• Jose Candeleria – "Unbreak My Heart in Spanish"
• Jonathan Baines – "A Little More You"

WATCH the three auditions!

 

Temptress Brown is a 16-year-old football player and definitely intimidating.  It was pretty funny but she seems like a great girl.  Her mom is ill and Temptress does all that she can to take care of her.  She says her parents are very proud and always rooting for her.   She sang "And I Am Telling You" and there’s no, no, no, no way she should have sung that song.  They were so gentle with her, thankfully, and started crying.  Aw, I’m so sad for her.  Paula and Randy give her a hug.  She tells them that she can’t walk out rejected but they all walked her out and were extremely supportive.  It was one of the better moments I’ve seen during the auditions on any American Idol show.

WATCH Temptress’ Audition:

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Mark Hayes (from NJ) – likes making funny noises.  He sang "White Christmas" and I was surprised that it was so bad.  Randy’s face was so funny!

WATCH Mark’s Audition!

 

Udgett (Udi) Sampat incorporates music into the workplace and went to work once dressed as a pimped out Elvis and did the Hammer dance.  Wow… lol.  Sang "My Way."  It was so choppy but not really off tune – just bad in every other way…  He actually suggested singing the song again.

WATCH Udi’s Audition:

 

Next was a montage of bunch of people singing "I Love Rock and Roll" and then the whole stadium sang it too.

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Alexis Cohen – who they call the "scariest woman in Philadelphia."  She says that she is like a pirate and loves how she looks.  Ryan says she smells like incense.  She lives in a studio apartment with her mom and has two cats and a dog because she’s studying to be a vet.  She’s also an artist (draws). Randy greets her with "peace!"  Says she’s been compared to Janis Joplin, Grace Slick and Pat Benetar.  She sings Slick’s "Somebody to Love."  I actually liked her but they seemed to think she best suited for a 60s cover band.  She was disappointed in front of the judges but totally freaked out outside.  Simon later said she looked like Willem Defoe.  I almost peed myself – it’s so true.  Her mom seemed to try to reason with her but it didn’t work.  She just kept going.

WATCH Alexis’ Audition:

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Angela Martin, 26, from Chicago.  She became a teen mother but when her daughter was 2 years old they discovered she had Rett’s Syndrome.  Angela’s family is very supportive -they are all there with her for the audition and they talk about how they have all pitched in to help raise this little girl.  Simon said that she’s very cute.  She has a band and does weddings, corporate parties, etc…  She sang, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and it was very good!  Simon said he liked her but needed to lose the "wedding band" mannerisms.  She got a "yes" from all three judges!!!!

Watch Angela’s Audition:

 

Simon pointed out what he thought was weird about America.  He said "you’re genuinely happy when someone does well" and added that he couldn’t help someone else celebrate!!!  Funny!

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We start with a string of bad auditions:

• Alyse Wojciechowski – she was dancing in the waiting area and it was terrible.  She sang "Feeling Good" and it was pitchy and loud.
• Teresa Anello – I don’t even know what she sang but it was also loud.
• Bradi Park – sang "Alone" and it was even louder
• Milo Turk, 39, (a social worker) sang a song he wrote himself – "No Sex Allowed"  I cannot even believe what I’m seeing!!!

WATCH Milo auditioning!

 

Kristy Lee Cook lives in a log cabin in Oregon and trains for cage fighting.  Says it’s good to know self-defense since she’s needed it a few times.  She had to sell one of her horses to travel to Philadelphia to audition. 

She sang "Amazing Grace" and it was really good.  Simon liked her and thought she was really sincere.  Kristy made it to Hollywood!!!

 

Watch Kristy Lee’s Audition:

 

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Ben Haar shows up in a cloak and Simon’s face clearly shows his irritation.  When Ben unveils his costume, I almost choked on my water.  Because Paula could not get past the chest hair, he went to wax it and said he’d be back.

• Pedro Rivera sang something unintelligable.
• Shekhinah Bathyehudah sang "America, the Beautiful"

Paul Marturano sang a love song he wrote for Paula Abdul – the song was really creepy, to tell the truth.  He sang about "caulking" and "stalking" Paula.  Simon and security eventually kicked him out!

 

Beth Stalker sang "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" and I really enjoyed it.  Her voice is unique but Simon said he thought she wouldn’t stand out.  Fortunately, Paula and Randy liked her.  She made it to Hollywood!

After thinking about it, I’m not sure if Beth will stand out in Hollywood but only time will tell.  I’m looking forward to seeing what a voice like hers will sound like during the group performances!

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Ben Haar is back and his entire chest is waxed.  He sang "Dontcha" by the Pussycat Dolls and after a few words he was stopped and asked to leave.  Poor guy!

Chris Watson sang Uncle Kracker’s song "Follow Me" and it was really good. 

I like his style and I think, like Simon, that Chris looks like a star.  I really look forward to hearing what he does in Hollywood. 

All three judges said yes – he’s going to Hollywood! 

Watch his audition video:

 

 

 

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Christina Tolisano – I’m a Star Wars/Star Trek fan so I’m trying to be nice and I understand her wanting to leave her small town but wow… She said that she believes she has a good voice and sang "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me" and I didn’t think it was that bad.  Randy and Paula said they didn’t think she was right for the competition.  Simon said to give his love to the Wookie. 

She came out really mad and blamed her failure to make it on her odd appearance. 

Watch a video of her audition:

 

Brooke White works as a nanny to twin 1-year-old girls and she seems to love her job.  She said that she’s never seen an "R" rated movie and doesn’t drink or smoke.  She is married (Simon and Randy joked that her husband probably watches "R" rated movies when Brooke isn’t around) and sang "Like a Star."  They unanimously voted her through to Hollywood.  They joked about her purity and how they were going to corrupt her, lol.  She’s cute

Here’s a video of her audition:

29 people were voted through to the Hollywood round.  They didn’t show case each of these auditions, though.

Tomorrow night’s auditions will be from Dallas, Texas.