After the staff (and to a lesser extent, the judges) weeded through the 100,000-plus Idol hopefuls, we're now left with a lean 309, the hopeful singers who made it to Hollywood. "The land where dreams come true." Yes, but for a scant amount of those who flock there. And only one of the 309 will become the next Idol. This show truly does belong in Hollywood.
A Capella
We jump right into the drama of the evening: of the 300-plus hopefuls there, half of them would be eliminated by this episode's end. Every single one of them are now looking at Joseph Gordon-Levitt-level odds.
To reflect this, we're first presented with a pair: Johnny, brimming with confidence, and Heejun, who needs to get some. If Johnny transferred some of his, they would equalize out to the right amount for each. They both go through. I'm glad to see Heejun make it.
Fidgety Jen brought it, not shying away from the power notes and higher registers. The raspy Lauren was overshadowed, but made it through as well.
But not everyone fared so well. The nerve-parade took out quite a few, sending them scattering throughout their range, hitting everything but the note they were aiming for.
Only The Strong Will Survive
(Disclaimer: Strength in this case means the ability to perform in front of people. Officially the most tenuous definition of strength I have ever heard.)Phillip Phillips, who impressed in Savannah, was a little bit off.Reed gets a standing O for his crack-fueled take on the "Golden Ticket" song.Travis gives the best audition of his group by far, flawless and smooth, hitting all his notes and avoiding the grandstanding of Reed. And so of course, he was the one to get cut.
Walking in Memphis
Adam kills with his rendition of "Walking in Memphis." And next we have Jim Carrey's daughter. Jane got there on the strength of her father's fame, and quite frankly, she does not have the voice to win this audition. And it looks like the judges were ready to admit it finally and give her a fond adieu.
"Give me one more chance" becomes the mantra of the stage until the return of David Leathers, the 17-year-old who could not possibly be 17, and Shannon, the progeny of a major league baseball player. Neither has to ask for a second chance, especially the Michael Jackson-channeling, falsetto-favoring David, who got a standing O as well.Jessica Phillips, the girl whose boyfriend suffered a stroke, arguably provided the best audition of the bunch.
Falling in Hollywood
Erika brings her deep, full voice for an easy through. They also liked Creighton's "if Justin Timberlake was a weasel" voice. Aaron's controlled voice gets him through as well.
Lauren sings "Alone," by Heart, a fitting choice, given the solo a capella. She loses it, falling flat, into another key, the nerves fraying her musicality.
But the most notorious, heavily advertised occurrence of the evening belonged to Symone Black, who, during a nerve-induced dizzy spell, did a forward plummet off the front of the stage.Apparently this makes for good television, because her fate is left as a cliffhanger.But I think doing that with someone's actual well-being on the line is wrong, so I'm going to let you know right now that she was not seriously hurt.
Tune in tomorrow to see what happened to Symone!
Recommendations
The X Factor: www.thexfactorusa.com/
The Voice: www.nbc.com/the-voice/
Glee: www.fox.com/glee/
