And Then There Were 40 ...

Well, just as we suspected, Idol is following the script so far. From who and what we were shown, no one on the leaked list of the 24 semi-finalists was eliminated Tuesday night, though we must admit we were tense waiting to see how everything played out.

The guys had a much better shot at making the Top 40 than the ladies. Of the 172 Golden Ticket to Hollywood holders, 114 were girls and only 58 were guys. So a bit more than a third of the guys, or roughly 34 percent percent were going to make the Top 40, while only about 19 percent of the girls would get there.

And after seeing the behavior in Hollywood, we weren't that upset at seeing a lot of the women leave. Although they did nothing in particular wrong on the Hollywood segment, we still applauded as we saw Porcelana Patino and Jamie Lynn Ward get the bad news. We had already heard too much of their sob stories. And then there was Sarah Burgess, who cried so much at her New York audition, we thought the city was going to run out of Kleenex. Fortunately, we only had to suffer through sniffles here.

The night started out rather brutally, with the first six girls eliminated in a blink -- 30 seconds each of singing and the whole line was dismissed by Simon with disdain. This included Jory Steinberg, the transplanted Canadian who was impressive in the New York edition and sounded good to us again in Hollywood, but we guess not good enough. The show tended to concentrate on the Golden Ticket winners the audience had already seen in the audition shows, so alas, many of the 172 who made it to Hollywood will never be seen by the national audience, though local girl Lisa Morrison, 26, of Selden, who we hadn't seen or heard about before, had a fleeting 5 seconds of fame before she was eliminated with the rest of the first line.

(We also saw about 5 seconds of Coram's JL Cotter during his group sing rehearsal. He had partnered with professional back-up singer Brandon Rogers and two females. It appears that both Cotter and Rogers made it through to the Top 40.)

Familiar faces who never made it beyond Hollywood Round 1 were Army Reservist Rachel Jenkins and blonde Michelle Steingas, who both were sent to Hollywood from Minnesota (though after the group round, the ground would be littered by other rejected Minnesotan candidates we had previously seen, including sailor Jarrod Fowler, annoying Colombian-born flirt Perla Meneses and sad sack Matt Sato, whose parents accompanied him neither to his initial audition nor to Hollywood. His relationship with them played out through a series of cell-phone calls).

And we won't have to worry about Ashlyn Carr's funny faces or criminal status any longer, because she, too, was eliminated in the first round.


In one of the show's more annoying moments, Nicole Turner, against her better judgement, decided to sing "Ain't No Way," for her mother and aunt, rather than what she wanted to sing. She was eliminated, and after a weep session with her mother outside the auditorium, her mother insisted on talking to the judges to tell them it was her fault, not Nicole's. Nicole joined in, telling the judges it was the song, at which point she got into a screaming match with Simon, who kept yelling, "It's NOT the song." This went on way too long for someone who would be going home anyway. As the two left, Simon and Paula got into a tiff over his "rudeness," while Randy asked everyone in the auditorium to give Nicole a hand. Shut up Randy, just shut up. Don't encourage bad behavior by losers.

Best group of the night honors went to the foursome of beatbox guy Blake Lewis, funny guy Chris Sligh, British boy-band guy Tom Lowe and smooth-singing guy Rudy Cardenas , whose routine and harmony was so polished, it received a standing ovation from Paula Abdul , as well as appreciative looks from Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson. All four made it through to the Top 40.

And as reported here on Tuesday morning, we did see "My Grammy Moment" talent search winner Robyn Troup on the show, but she lasted only as long as the group sing, in spite of the fact that she and another girl partnered with Sundance Head, who, by his own admission, had bad solo and group sessions but somehow managed to land in one of the Top 40 candidates' rooms in the end. Although when Paula put Sundance through in the group round, Simon leaned over to her and told her she was generous as Sundance messed up two days in a row.

Also falling in the group round was Fidel Castro-Jesus Christ look-alike Sean Michel -- who had pulled back his hair and appeared to have squared off the bottom of his beard by the time he was eliminated -- as well as rolling-skating carhop Ebony Jointer.

But we cheered loudly when Amanda Coluccio finally got her comeuppance, not only because of her unbearable arrogance, but because she probably caused Baylie Brown to be eliminated in the group sing round. We suspect that the 16-year-old Texan is the contestant that Nigel Lythgoe referred to as his favorite during a conference call with the press last week. He also said she had already been eliminated because she couldn't remember the words in the group sing.

The contestants were allowed to form their own groups this year, and Baylie unfortunately joined up with "best friends" Coluccio and Antonella Barba. We can only imagine that a lack of self esteem led someone such as Barba, who appears to be a relatively nice person, to wind up with a best friend such as Coluccio, a woman so full of herself, she could explode with the next breath. You may recall that when the women auditioned in New York, Barba always deferred to Coluccio as the better singer because she had training. The judges felt otherwise and only reluctantly let Coluccio through to Hollywood.

Well, the two best friends couldn't agree on a song for the group performance and while other trios and foursomes were already practicing and preparing, Baylie helplessly sat and rolled her eyes as the friends bickered over song selection. It was pretty late by the time they started rehearsing and the more they rehearsed, the more Baylie forgot the lyrics to their song, "This Old Heart of Mine." Both Baylie and Antonella wanted to continue rehearsing, but after a while Amanda decided she was tired of rehearsing and went off on a hunt for male contestants to flirt with.

At their performance the next day, Barba did fine, but Baylie totally blew the lyrics, barely remembering a word. Coluccio remembered most of her part and, unfortunately, the judges put her through to the next round one more time. Poor Baylie was distraught, knowing she had worked harder than the other two, but Coluccio shrugged her off with a "whatever." But what really pissed us off was when Coluccio turned to the camera afterwards and said, "You know why [I've succeeded so far]? Because God likes good people." Guess God got her number the next day, because she wound up in that last lethal roomful of contestants being sent home.

So, unless our eyes were playing tricks on us, we can tell you these people definitely are in the Top 40, because we spotted them in one of the two rooms of contestants that were told they were going forward to the next Hollywood round:


AJ Tabaldo - Santa Maria, CA





Blake Lewis - Seattle, WA





Brandon Rogers - Los Angeles, CA





Chris Sligh - Greenville, SC





Jared "JL" Cotter - Coram, NY





Jason "Sundance" Head - Porter, TX





Matthew Buckstein - Denver, CO





Nicholas "Nick" Pedro - Taunton, MA





Paul Kim - San Jose, CA





Rudolpho "Rudy" Cardenas - Hollywood, CA





Sanjaya Malakar - Federal Way, WA





Thomas "Tom" Lowe - Boston, Mass.





Philip "Phil" Joel Stacey - Jacksonville, FL





Antonella Barba - Point Pleasant, NJ





Gina Glocksen - Naperville, IL





Jordin Sparks - Glendale, AZ





Leslie Hunt - Chicago, IL (?)





Melinda Doolittle - Brentwood, TN




And although we didn't spot these contestants in either of the rooms that went forward, according to our leaked information, they also made the Top 40 cut:


Anna Kearns (Audition City: Seattle)





Tami Gosnell





Bernard Williams II (Audition City: Birmingham)





Marisa Rhodes (Audition City: East Rutherford)





Tatiana McConnico (Audition City: Birmingham)





Thomas Daniels (Audition City: Seattle)





Christopher "Chris" Richardson - Chesapeake, VA




Alaina Alexander - West Hollywood, CA





Sabrina Scherff-Sloan





Stephanie Edwards




Justin Davis (Audition Cities: Birmingham & Memphis) (no photo)

OTHER IDOL NEWS

Fame is a bitch. People magazine reports that Season 5 finalist and country singer Bucky Covington and his wife Crystal, a nurse, have separated after seven years of marriage. In a statement issued through his record label, Covington said, "This is a difficult time for both of us and I would ask that everyone respect our privacy." The couple have no children. Covington released his first single, "A Different World," in January and his debut album drops on April 17.

AmericanIdol.com reports that Covington recently shot his first video for his debut single “A Different World" in Los Angeles. Shooting his debut video for his first single proved to be a new and exciting experience and Bucky feels it is a perfect depiction of the lyrics and “really shows what the song is all about.”

The video portrays not only the song’s message, but also reveals a glimpse of Bucky’s life before “American Idol.” Bucky, a huge NASCAR fan who most recently worked at painting cars in his father’s auto body shop, is shown throughout the video in a sunlit barn surrounded by vintage cars. Fans can tune into CMT's Top 20 Countdown on February 15 for the premiere of the video.

OH, ENOUGH ALREADY!

First it was Courtney Love. Now, according to Celebrity Spider former Go-Gos singer Belinda Carlisle says she, too, was asked to replace Paula Abdul, albeit a few years ago.

She says, "As far as 'American Idol' goes, I was actually approached a couple of years ago about possibly replacing Paula Abdul.

"But to answer your question [would she be a judge on the show], I really don't know. To be perfectly honest, it's just not my thing. I'd rather listen to music that comes from a more organic place. But you know, I just ... don't know if I would or not."

Er, thanks. Is every washed-up female singer in the country trying to hop a ride on the I Was Asked to Replace Paula Abdul Train?

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© 2007

San AnTone Deaf

San Antonio, the last city of auditions we'll have to sit through this season (with the exception of tonight's "Best(?) of the Rest" audition show). What can we say? Yea! Thank god it's over. Now, please, let's move on with the competition. Three weeks of auditions is about two weeks too much.

Although we learned 22 made it through in this Texas town famous for the Alamo, it was again one of those evenings when bad outweighed good. In fact, we thought there was barely anyone worth mentioning until Jimmy McNeal (or Jimbo, as Simon called him), the final auditioner, took the stage. Loaded with charisma, an engaging smile and a good voice, he gave a thoroughly enjoyable rendition of "Cupid" (it was actually a Sam Cooke medley that began with "Another Saturday Night," then morphed into "Cupid"). Jimmy easily and deservedly earned his Golden Ticket. There was a giggler at the end when Ryan encouraged McNeal, 23, to tell his little girl that's he's going to Hollywood and she looked him straight in the eye and said, "So."

The evening didn't start out that smoothly. First up was Bryan Kyrish, 27, of San Antonio. When he described himself as a combination Billy Idol-Ozzy-AC/DC, we knew we were in trouble. Anytime contestants use a hyphenate to describe their sound, you know that the only thing they sound like is bad.

Kyrish's loud, animated and scary rendition of Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" made rocker Idol's original version sound as if it had been sung on Prozac. All we could say was we didn't want "more, more, more." And although the judges agreed, they seemed almost afraid to tell the rather large and aggressive-seeming Kyrish that his performance sucked. They rather gently thanked and dismissed him.

In total contrast to Kyrish was the meek Jasmine Holland, who timidly entered the room and barely spoke to the judges before she broke into a nasal and off-key performance that was so bad that the Randy didn't even try to hide his laughter, while Simon unsuccessfully attempted not to snicker. However, after being told she wasn't any good, formerly meek Jasmine turned into a hellcat telling the judges they were rude and negative. Well, yeah, with a singing voice like hers what did she expect? After dissing Randy, Jasmine angrily left the audition room, returning to the bosom of her waiting family, who, in one of the evening's funniest moments, started dumping on foreigner Simon. How dare he judge an American, they said, when only Americans know what true music talent sounds like ... What is he French? After Ryan told them that Simon's British, Jasmine's mother retorted, "He should fly back to British." BTW, they also had a sign that read: "Jasmine: Are Next American Idol." Uh-huh.

We also had to suffer through the bizarre Sandie Chavez, 21, who claimed to have sung for the mayor of Houston (is he hearing impaired?). Simon said, and we agreed, that he couldn't understand one word of "Black Velvet" that came out of her mouth and asked if she was serious. At this point, the clearly delusional Sandie (who we later were told is a music teacher!) broke down in tears. Paula tried to placate her, but Simon made another deprecating remark, so Paula hit him. Yea! These are the Idol moments we live for.

Then there was Jacob "Jake the Snake" Tutor, 21, who we were sure was separated at bush, er, birth from Kenneth Briggs. Oh no! Another one with weird eyes, a pointy chin and wispy mustache. What is it this season with those strange looks and locked audition-room doors? After trying to hide his sniggering behind his Coke glass, Simon told Tutor that he should only sing in a dark bedroom. Tutor gave us a bleeped barrage of obscenities as he exited the audition room.

A montage of bad singers featured Deborah, who was asked by Simon how people usually reacted when she sang. She answered, "Sometimes they cry," to which he retorted, "I'm not surprised."

Then there were cousins William Green and Akron Watson. William, a big lumbering guy, took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to badly sing "Amazing Grace." Randy started laughing right away and Paula joined in. Green seemed to know he couldn't sing and took it well when Randy said he thought the song was going to take a couple of days to finish and Simon told him it was neverending. On his way out, he set it up with the judges that he was going to "talk some trash" for the cameras as he exited, shocking his cousin, who was not in on the joke, but leaving Randy, Paula and, especially, Simon in stitches in the audition room after he left.

Fortunately, cousin Akron, 23, was much better. Simon told him he has a good voice but a personality problem and that he had been bored by the performance. Akron broke into another song after Paula told him he should be doing something to change Simon's mind. The three decided to give him a second chance in Hollywood. But in a weird turn of events, not shown on the show, Watson was called by one of the show's producers just prior to his Hollywood departure and told he had been eliminated.

"They said we're not gonna let you go. And I asked 'Why?' " Watson told Dallas' Pegasus News. "And he said 'Well I'm not really sure' ... and then he gave me some alternatives for what I should say to people if they asked why I was kicked off ... He told me to tell people that I was now an alternate ... That would protect [me] and protect the show."

"Idol" had already filmed a feature on Watson to be used on the show, during which the singer discussed the obstacles he had overcome, including the times he skipped school and chased girls, as well as his drinking and pleading guilty to possession of marijuana after police found pot in his car. Watson said he also discussed his “wakeup call” and dedication to being a good Christian after his brother died.

When the paper’s reporter contacted the show’s publicist to inquire about Watson’s sudden and unexpected elimination, he was told that the show would never give a reason for Watson’s removal from the competition. Watson has started a “Bring AkBack” campaign on his MySpace.com site.

Meanwhile, Ashlyn Carr, 18 of Sugar Land, had an experience that was a first time ever happening on "Idol." She sang Nina Simone's "Feeling Good," and the judges really liked her voice but expressed concern over the strange expressions she made and the way she contorted her face while singing. Randy and Paula gave her a thumbs down. After she tearily left the audition room, Simon said he would have said "yes," and was concerned that they shouldn't have dismissed her, at which point Randy and Paula said, well then bring her back in. Ryan chased the family into the street and brought Ashlyn back to the room to audition again. The singing was once again fine, and the judges, though still concerned about her facial expressions, decided to give her another chance in Hollywood.

However, in another strange quirk of fate, it turns out that Carr also appears to have a police record. As Reality TV Magazine reports, an August 26, 2006 article on MySanAntonio.com about the "American Idol" San Antonio auditions mentions Sam Houston State University student Ashlyn Carr, 18, of Sugar Land, while a November 14, 2006 article in The Houstonian Online, the student paper of Sam Houston State University, reports on a student who had sugar poured into his gas tank. The student gave the University Police Department a list of people that he thought might be responsible. The paper says that, “One of those suspects, Ashlyn Carr, 19, was called in by UPD and confessed to the crime. She was arrested on Criminal Mischief charges, a state jail felony and booked into the Walker County Jail.” Since the arrest occurred after Ashlyn’s Idol audition, it is uncertain what impact it had on her continued participation.

Two other singers that were shown made it through. We thought they were adequate, but not outstanding nor memorable. The first was Haley Scarnato, 24, who sang "I Can't Make You Love Me." Paula liked her control, but Randy was unsure and Simon thought she was a bit cabaret. But they decided to grant her a second chance.

Faring a bit better was 16-year-old Baylie Brown. Although her looks reminded us of a blonde Jessica Biel, her small-town farm girl story and prettiness were reminscient of Carrie Underwood. When they showed a clip of her home and the horses in their barn in Krum, we wondered whether, like Carrie, she was going to tell us that she sang to the animals. This country girl who loves fashion and is aching to break free to the city easily won her Golden Ticket after singing Faith Hill's "Stronger." Simon found her very commercial and marketable and a record label's dream (though in a wonderful Duh! Moment, Baylie inquired whether that was good), and told her she was born to be a pop star, while Paula waxed poetic about Brown's name, saying she wished that her name was Baylie.

LONG ISLAND'S OWN

According to a story by Ronnie Gill in Newsday it looks as it Long Island gets another shot at the Idol title this year with Jared "JL" Cotter. Cotter, 25, who tried out at the New York-area session, has not yet been shown auditioning in any of the show's clips. But the R&B and hip-hop artist with Usher-like good looks and style has a Web site that has been temporarily taken down, not unusual for contestants who have progressed to "Idol's" live rounds.

Cotter's musical pedigree seems impeccable according to a biography of him on HitQuarters.com. It states his grandfather James Reese Europe was the first black jazz artist to play Carnegie Hall and that his father, Robert Cotter, played with Nile Rodgersand the late Bernard Edwards in the group Big Apple Band, later known as Chic.

BandSpace.com states that Jared's debut album, "The Album B4 the Album," was released in 2005 and described it as a mix of midtempo sounds and slow jams.

In an October 2005 interview on singersroom.com, Cotter said that his musical influences include Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Brian McKnight, and that he writes 95 percent of his material.

Cotter's current music can be sampled on his MySpace.com page.

TRACK YOUR FAVORITE FINALISTS

Ever wonder where the most Idol finalists and semi-finalists live? Is it in your state? The South, North, East or West? According to another story by Ronnie Gill in Newsday, a new Web site will tell you all that and more.

The MapMuse.com "American Idol" site is an interactive locator map of "American Idol" finalists and semifinalists from all five seasons. On the site you'll find a map of the U.S. mainland with pinpoints for each finalist. Click on a part of the map to zoom in on a specific area. Easier still, or for finalists who reside outside the mainland, such as Hawaii's Jasmine Trias, you can use the site's windows to enter a city, state or ZIP code.

We typed in "Long Island, N.Y." and a map of the Island appeared with the message "2 American Idol Finalists on this map." The message also instructed us that we could either hover our mouse over the designated points for an overview of the finalists or click on them for more detailed information.

Sure enough, hovering over the first point revealed a photo of Joseph Murena, the town he comes from (Smithtown), age at the time he competed (26), the season he competed (four) and his outcome (voted off 3/25/05). We found similar information for season 5 finalist Kevin Covais of Levittown.

We then clicked on each point for more details and found we could choose to update information. The detail pages also contain links to the finalist's page on the official "American Idol" site, a preset Google search window with the finalist's name, and the current weather conditions for the contestant's town.

MapMuse.com says the idea is for "American Idol" fans to build upon the site by adding descriptive information about their favorite idols. Once a visitor suggests a change, it is reviewed for appropriateness and then posted within a few hours. Adding information is free.

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© 2007