American Idol 9 Auditions Boston Recap
American Idol is back with Season 9! NINE! The premiere started with auditions in Boston on Tuesday. Part 2 of the premiere will be the auditions in Atlanta on Wednesday.
So how did Boston do? Not so bad actually. 9000 auditioned after braving the rains, and Victoria Beckham aka Posh Spice was the guest judge. Remember, this was taped just weeks after Paula Abdul announced that she was leaving the show -- so considering the show was scrambling a bit, I thought what we saw tonight was very well done.
The bad singing was not overly painful, and I had some good laughs at the bad auditions. There was a part in the end where Posh interacted with Simon -- but for the most part -- she did nothing. Which as far as I remember, is what she did when she was on the Spice Girls anyway. LOL
I've posted audition clips of a few of the notable contestants tonight, and for me, the ones that stand out are:
Justin Williams - A cancer-survivor, who was part of the "White Chocolate" group in Hollywood Week last year. He sounds amazing and Noelle and I were impressed when we found a few of his videos on YouTube a couple of months ago.
Katie Stevens - Nothing like some great vocal chops to back up a great backstory. She's only 16, but you can see that she has a great heart on her. Her grandmother has Alzheimer's, and Katie wants her grandma to see her succeed before she loses her memory completely.
Ashley Rodriguez - So pretty! Ah yes, I am always attracted to the pretty ones.
Luke Shaffer - I suspect that he's a sleeper -- precisely because he wasn't featured prominently tonight. Just a quick introduction to get us interested.
Tyler Grady - Personally, I don't get it. But they really played him up with Kara DioGuardi tonight, and there may be some substance there.
Joshua Blaylock - I don't think he'll get far, but I really liked him tonight. The show maybe setting us up for a heartbreak because this guy is so nice!
Bosa Mora - I have to be honest. I am looking out for the black dude this year because it's about damn time the show invested in some R&B/Soul-whatever. Bosa could be a step in the direction.
Noelle also posted her list at the end of this post. Tell us what you think of tonight's show!
NOELLE'S PICKS
Ashley Rodriguez - This girl is gorgeous. That right there works in her favor. Her voice is soft and pretty but not overpowering. I can see her doing very well with the right song. In the year of the girls, I see her being a good contender.
Justin Williams - I’ve been looking forward to seeing this guy for awhile. I listened to some of his previous work ahead of time and I really enjoy his voice. It’s not over the top and it’s not one of those so-so voices that gets shoved down our throats on this show. He has a Josh Groban/Michael Buble quality to his voice and I hope to see him more. His backstory isn’t cheesy and is actually relatable and touching. Plus, he’s beautiful.
Katie Stevens - Bottom line. She has a great voice and it’s obvious natural talent at a young age. Her backstory made me teary and I was happy to see her make it through. She deserves to go far as long as she keeps it up and doesn’t let the nerves rattle her.
Honorable mentions:
Maddy Curtis, a pleasant voice but a backstory that will carry her longer than her voice.
Amadeo Diricco, Big friendly guy with a lot of power behind his voice. He’ll be our resident nice guy for awhile.
Victoria Beckham, I give you a B- for looking like you cared about judging and not entirely sucking at doing it. At least you have musical experience to back up your critique.
Watch the Boston Audition Videos here