American Idol - 8 ª Season

We'll have the synopsis for you soon.

We'll have the synopsis for you soon.

"American Idol" - Jan. 20, 2009 San Francisco Auditions Ryan gives us a history lesson on previous San Francisco "Idol" hopefuls including Katharine McPhee and William Hung as we see the judges arrive and the lines of auditioners including a couple who got married in line. We meet Tatiana from San Juan who is wearing an ugly grey and brown dress with a weird veil-like bottom. She is a giggler who claims a psychic told her that she would make the top 12. She brings her DVD/CD portfolio for the judges. They look through the "naughty" pictures. She sings "I've Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" by Aretha Franklin, she's actually not terrible with a little soulful rasp to her voice. Simon thinks she shouldn't have sung that song and that she would do a lot of things well but not singing. She tries to sing "I'm Your Baby, Tonight" by Whitney Houston and gives Simon attitude as she clutches her heart. As Simon tries to talk she bursts into the original song again. Paula says yes. Randy says she's not the big R&B singer she thinks she is but says yes because she's wild and he likes it. Kara doesn't think she has the vocals but she likes her vibe. She's through. Although Simon points out that it wasn't because of her vocals. She leaves and says she's going to win. And then she giggles some more. We get a montage of people in funky clothes with equally funky voices including a guy who beatboxes as he sings. We meet Dean who is wearing an ugly plaid jacket. Randy claims he loves it. He sings "Stars" by Simply Red. It is not pretty either vocally or facially. Randy laughs and mocks his facial expressions. They turn him down. Dean leaves and tells Ryan it was the coat's fault. We meet Jesus who is a family man. His kids convinced him to audition, they wait outside with other family members. He sings some generic hip-hop soul, they stop him. Simon says he seems nice but that he won't win. Paula and Kara claim he doesn't have a bad voice. Simon says that it's in the girls hands then and they both realize that seeing his kids will melt their hearts. The kids come in with their handmade signs and they are adorable as expected. Randy asks Jesus to sing for his kids. He does a bit of "Unchained Melody." He's not a knockout but he's not awful and Paula, Kara, and Randy put him through. The kids go wild, one of them hugs Simon, even though he said no. The family outside is thrilled. We get more montages of folks in line and waiting outside the audition room including a super low-key guy named Dalton who solves Rubiks' Cubes superfast. They clock him and he solves it in 24 seconds. He enters the audition room and massacres "Ooh Baby Baby" by Smokey Robinson. Randy laughs. He admits he's never sung in front of people before. Paula asks if Dalton's a fan of the show. He says Simon keeps it interesting. The other judges laught at this. They turn him down but Simon says he's shown great intelligence. We meet another bad singer named James who the judges egg on as he murders a ballad while singing to Paula. We get generic shots of the "Summer of Love" and the Haight-Ashbury district. Then we cut to clips of the "brewing feud" between Simon and Kara. They disagree about things, he tries to shut her down, she sasses him back. We meet Akeelah who has shown up with anatomy photos of lungs, larynxes and other vocal stuff that is supposed to teach gospel singers how to sing. She can't pronounce words like "larynx" and "trachea" and apparently we are supposed to find this hilarious. She brings songs she wrote into the audition. She's going to sing her original song "Make Sweet Love." Simon says she has a naughty face as she hands her diagrams and things to Kara and Paula. She sings her song, she has an odd voice. Simon says the song is horrible. She switches to "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman." She hits a bad note and realizes it and begs to try again. She says she sang from the wrong rectum. They try to shut her down. She says she's overenthusiastic about meeting famous people and talks about how great each judge is. They say singing isn't going to work for her. She argues some more with them. Then she tries to sing again. Simon says every song sounds the same. Kara comes and hugs her and send her off. Kara wants to know why they yell at certain people at let other people go on and on. Akeelah leaves and tells Ryan she thinks she was off because of the judges. She can't believe they made her feel like one of those auditioners that can't sing. We see a montage of people getting golden tickets and a few that can sing adn a few that can't. They say yes to all the people we see, some of whom didn't seem all that impressive. We meet Annie who is a multi-instrumentalists who also scats. She vacillates on what to sing and then starts to sing "Summertime," horribly. Kara calls it so overdone. Simon says it was like she was drunk. They send her on her way. We meet Adam whose been singing since childhood in the musical theatre. He;s been in the cast of "Wicked" for the past year and a half. He sings Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," the slow part. He's heaving and very musical theatre. Paula likes him. Simon thinks he's theatrical. Kara asks if he's a good singer. Randy likes him too. They put him through, unanimously. Paula calls him the best they've seen in any city. Ironically he's actually from Hollywood. Tonight's Inspirational Story comes from Kai who has put his musical dreams and romantic life on hold to care for his seizure-disorder-stricken mom. We see him caring for her and she talks about how hard it is for her to know he's sacrificing for her. She tearfully expresses her pride. He talks about how much he loves her. It's sweet. In the audition he sings "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" by the Platters. He's a baritone with power but he's a little pitchy but totally workable. He's supercute though and probably very nervous. Simon thinks he has a good voice but has a personality of a ship singer. Paula likes him. Kara agrees on the voice and says he can work on personality. Simon interrupts her with a yes or no. Kara stands up to Simon. They all put him through. Simon tells Kai to watch him on the show for confidence. Kai calls his mom, the other hopefuls clap and smile for him. Kai wants to spread love across the world. The judges clap for San Francisco. Twelve people were put through.

"American Idol" - Jan. 21, 2009 Louisville Auditions The auditions are being held at the racetrack Churchill Downs. We get a montage of Louisville sights including the Kentucky Derby. We see the 11,000 contestants arrive and explain how to pronounce the city "Loo-a-vuhl." The judges arrive to trumpet fanfare. We meet blonde, skinny Tiffany, and her adoring parents. She promises to walk out with a positive attitude no matter what. She says if she doesn't get on she's going to college. She sings "Hero," and she's terrible. Randy starts laughing right away. Simon says the good news is that she's going to college. She offers to try again. They shut her down. When she leaves she doesn't have a positive attitude after all, she cries, complains, and then massacres Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You." We meet brunette, skinny Joanna whose mother is also very supportive. She moved from Philly to L.A. to try and make it as a singer-songwriter. She goes in and Kara recognizes Joanna from a failed deal Joanna had with A&M records. She sings Pat Benatar's "We Belong." She's nervous but she's got power and some good notes. Kara likes her. They put her through unanimously. She cries as she leaves and Kara says they were real tears. We meet bald, scary Mark. He's distantly related to Dr. Samuel Mudd who patched up John Wilkes Boothe after he shot Pres. Lincoln. He goes in and sings "White Lightning" by George Jones. He's got a great backwoods country voice with old-timey character but he's not for "Idol" and he hits some bum notes. Kara and Paula laugh at him. Paula says this isn't the right competition for him. Simon suggests "Wheel of Fortune." He tells them to be careful in whatever they do. Simon says that's a threat. Paula thinks it's not a normal thing to say. Mark says he was just saying. We meet rakish, cute Brent who sings "Can't Get Enough" by Bad Company. He gives it a country spin. He spins a little out of control at the high notes but is overall good. Simon thought the song was ridiculous, he wanted a more emotional song, he thought it was a bit busker-ish. Paula and Kara get mad at this, Simon tells them to calm down. Kara asks if she can speak. She says he's the kind of an artist who with one great song... then Simon butts in and says that's what he said. Kara says she's not going to speak at all. Simon says yes and Kara and Paula go under the table screaming. Randy makes randy jokes about women under the table. After the shenanigans they vote him through unanimously. It's montage of bad singers time. Including a morbidly obese Michael Jackson impersonator. We meet Matt a dual piano player from Michigan. He sings Gavin Degraw's "I Don't Wanna Be," it's breathy and raspy but passable. Paula and Kara like him. He reminds Simon of Elliott Yamin. Simon doesn't think he believes in himself. They vote him through unanimously. We meet Ross an endearingly goofy supernerd. He's very nervous. He sings "Cara Mia" by Jay and the Americans. He's got a quivery baritone that is not so good. They all start singing with him and laughing at him. They ask him to sing something current. Paula offers him a sip of water, he sips on her straw and she's aghast. He then tries to sing "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley. Not so much. They shut him down. He was afraid of that. Paula asks for a new cup. As he leaves he starts singing "Just Once" by James Ingram, it's marginally better and the crowd outside charitably claps. We get a montage of jubilant golden ticket holders but we don't actually get to hear any of them sing. Day 2 More montages of hopefuls. We meet Alexis, a 21-year-old single mom. We see her with her daughter. She's missing her baby daddy who's in military school. Her child motivates her to do this. She sings "Dr. Feelgood" by Aretha Franklin. She's a little strident but pretty good. Randy is surprised by the sound of her voice. Paula liked her. Simon thinks she has a very commercial voice. Kara thinks she can sing. They vote her through unanimously. A montage of negative judge comments from tired judges. We meet Aaron a chipper, excitable 27-year-old man in a western shirt. He sings "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" by CCR. Or more accurately he shouts it, only hitting a few good notes and stomping his feet along the way. Kara sings along. Ryan enters freaked out at how loud it was and all the loud screaming he heard. Kara and Paula claim it cheered them up. Simon thinks he needs to do something with his life that involves shouting. They turn him down. He leaves smiling, realizing that he knows he came too loud. We meet Rebecca who managed to make the local news which was covering the auditions. Paula saw her on the news. She has a cheat sheet on her arm. She sings "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood. She's terrible. They laugh at her. (This is getting tedious). Kara sees that Rebecca was voted "most humorous" in high school and said she thought it was funny. Rebecca says it wasn't a joke. Kara says Paula should hit her for being mean. Simon tells her to give up singing. We get a montage of people I'm guessing we're supposed to think are good but none are crazy spectacular in the little clips they show us. (None approach a quarter of the length that we see of the bad singers. Sigh.) Tonight's Inspirational Story comes from poverty-stricken, formerly homeless, 18-year-old Lenisha and her sweet mama Lashonda. Lenisha's lovely and seems like a good girl. She walks like a pagaent contestant into the audition. She sings a song she wrote called "Natty" (sp?) it's a swaggering hip-hop soul song that's pretty good. Simon loved it thought it was quirky and fun and current and a well-written song. Randy thinks she's what the competition needs. Kara loves her. Paula says no as a joke. They put her through unanimously. She walks out crying.

"American Idol" - Auditions - Jan. 27, 2009 Jacksonville, FL Simon and Ryan head to the auditions in a limo. Simon gives Ryan a hard time for using his "announcer" voice. The show opens with video of Randy playing with Journey since this is the city "that bears his name." We see the lines, there are 12,000 hopefuls. The auditions begin. We meet Joshua who, with his curly hair, looks like Justin Guarini. For some reason Randy and Simon have switched sides. He sings Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," he's not bad but he beatboxes and sings the guitar parts which is annoying. Simon thought it was good, then gimmicky, and corny, like Inspector Gadget. Randy liked the crazy and wild. They put him through unanimously. We meet the hippie-ish Sharon and her shih-tzu Sasha, who sits on Simon's lap. She sings "Superstar" by the Carpenters. Also not bad, with a nice rasp to her voice and a soulful curlicue. Kara and Paula pretend to make out. They put her through unanimously. Ryan is driving a golf cart and pretends to get lost. We meet Dana who sings Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire." Or more like screeches. They send her off. We meet Kaneswa who is 16 and is supported by her mom. She sings Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture." She's confident but very flat. Simon says he's never heard that song like that, and that it got progressively worse. He thinks she's got a great smile but that she's just terrible. She says she expected that from him. She says her mother tells her she has a good voice. They get mom in the room. Simon tells her the audition was terrible but that she has a great smile and attitude. Mom tries to defend her. They all say no. Mom says she's her "American Idol." We meet Jillisa who is a beauty queen, who wears a sash and a tiara. She sings "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston. She's got volume but overall she's not good. Simon says she didn't make the song sound nice and doesn't like her laugh, they all make fun of it. Paula pouts that no one cares what she thinks. She walks off. The girl goes and gets her. They vote her through unanimously. (Fearless prediction: She won't make it past Hollywood.) We meet Darin who's a people person running around the audition room chatting and dancing. He bums when his friend gets cut. He starts to cry and does "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye," by BoyzIIMen. And he's bad, very flat. Simon tells him the voice is not there. Kara asks why he's crying. He says everything. She says if he can't take it in this room then the music biz isn't for him. They send him off. We see a montage of people walking out and crying. We meet Naomi, who's shivery and nervous. She tells Randy that her friend is his biggest fan. They bring the friend in and she and Randy hug. She sits on Randy's lap while Naomi, who compares herself to Mariah Carey, prepares to sing "Lovin' You" by Minnie Riperton. Paula sits on Simon's lap. Ryan comes to sit on Kara's lap. Naomi, who claims she can hit "that" note, finally starts to sing. She's worse than terrible. She can't hit that note, or any note. They all laugh at her. She says that everyone tells her she's great. They think she's joking. She starts to cry. Kara and Randy and Paula hug her. They send her off. She claims that she doesn't know what she did wrong. We see a montage of the nine people who got golden tickets on the first day. Then a montage of terrible people. Simon thinks the first day wasn't very good. Day Two We meet Jasmine who is well-supported by her four siblings and her mom. She sings "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie. She's a little heaving in her delivery, emotionless, a tad nasal and her enunciation is a little stiff but she sounds pretty good. Simon thinks she's cute and commercial and has a good voice. Paula agrees. They vote her through unanimously. We meet bearded George who studies physics. He's nerdy and they mock him by making him do a nerdy dance. Simon asks where he sees himself in his wildest dreams in 11 years. He dreams of a simple house with marble floors. He sings the strangest version of "Walking On Sunshine," by Katrina and the Waves ever with a halting delivery and flat baritone. They look at him quizzically. Simon asks if he's sung in public before. No, only with friends. Randy calls it the quietest audition ever. Simon tells him this is not for him. They found him weird. We meet Annemarie who's nervous but loves Kara. She sings a little of one of Kara's songs and sounds good. Simon has a little problem already. He's not sure what. Randy knows, it's that she's good but she's not owning it. Simon says she has a great voice and is a beautiful girl but suggests that she come back as a different person, as "you." She goes out to her car and puts on make up and takes off her jacket. We meet TK who auditioned last year. He sings "Imagine," by John Lennon. He plays around with the melody a bit and does some melisma and power stuff. He sounds pretty good. Kara smiles. Paula says he sounds better this year. Outside his mom talks about his God-given gift. Randy agrees it's better but it was a little too over the top. Kara, Randy, and Paula put him through. We see a montage of hopefuls being talked up by their family members. We meet doo-ragged Michael who loves to strum his guitar. He panics when he realizes that he can't bring his guitar into the room. He sings "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind, and it's not bad a little theme park-y. Simon thinks Michael is interesting but his voice isn't. Kara says he probably would be better with his guitar. Michael's family is outside waiting as they call for a vote inside. Simon tells him to not plead- which is ridiculous since they let less talented people beg and cry all the time and even put them through sometimes. Simon says as an 18-year-old he should just get a job like everyone else and do this on the side. They send him away. The family tries to comfort him but he pulls away. He cries and promises that he will make it. Annemarie returns de-jacketed and made up. They notice the changes she made. She sings "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat. They smile at her, she's very winning and sings well in terms of tone and pitch. Randy likes her whole vibe. Kara agrees. They put her through unanimously. They leave Jacksonville, where 16 golden tickets were awarded.