Phil Stacey Blog: Last stops on the audition road

As we enter the last night of auditions, I feel like I have a pretty good idea of a few faces we will see for weeks to come. That being said, remember that there is always an underdog story. The early front-runner NEVER wins. After my audition for Season 6, nobody could have predicted that I would be in the Top 6. Most critics were surprised to see me in the Top 24! But I showed the judges something during Hollywood week that I was unable to while under the pressure of auditions.

Many commentators seem upset by the “ringers” they have seen. Many auditioning this year have had careers before. One was even recognized by Kara.... But remember, ultimately it is America that will choose the winner, not the judges. All of the contestants have dreamed of a career in music their whole lives. Whether they have “almost” had it or not, none of them have actually had it. They are on equal playing fields. So with that in mind, let us begin with New York City and Puerto Rico.

The first audition is Adeola, and I can tell as soon as she starts comparing herself to Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige that she is not to be taken seriously. Simon shows his softer side by calling her boss to ask her to give Adeola her job back, which she lost in order to audition. Guess what, Simon, we like you being insensitive. Please lose this softer side before Hollywood starts. Especially since I’m no longer the one on the receiving end....

Next up is Jorge Nunez. I have been waiting for someone with a classic sound to show up on this show. He sails through to Hollywood, and I hope to see him again down the road.

Jessica Baier is next and sings a good rendition of “I Surrender” by Celine Dion. Simon and Randy agree that she is bad, but my wife and I thought she was pretty good. Did we hear something different than they did? Come on.... She is so much better than many people who will be in Hollywood. On behalf of the judges, I am sorry, Jessica.

Melinda Camile is next. She seems like a very sweet person and shows herself likable right from the get-go. She wants to uplift humanity. The obsession with nudity here is a little disturbing, but we can already tell she can sing before she begins the first note of “I Feel Good” as sung by Michael Buble. The judges send her through to Hollywood, and I’m sure we will see much more of her in the future, no pun intended....

Next is Jackie Tohn. She has an interesting voice. Not my favorite of the season, but I’m curious to see what the judges think. Her second song is better than her first. My guess is right, and the judges like her. She’s interesting, so I’m sure that even as I write, fan clubs are being made in her name on American Idol blogs all across the net.

During this commercial break, I should apologize to all Utah folks for accidentally writing Salt Lake City was in Nevada yesterday. Please have patience with me as I am typing fast and thinking faster. I may have also spelled some names wrong. But the most I can hope is that my point gets across.

Okay, back from the break. We immediately see a collection of poor auditions and crazy people that participated just to get on television. It ends with Joel who claims to be the human iPod and puts a cardboard cutout of an MP3 player in front of him. I’m glad that Simon is acknowledging how pointless these gimmicky bad auditions have become.

I was wrong. It actually ends with Norman Gentle who sings “And I Am Telling You.” He is kind of funny, but I am ready for the real competition to start. I don’t know how in the world it happens, but Norman is sent through to Hollywood.

We then see a series of great auditions, and I wonder why we didn’t get to see more of these folks. I guess we will later.

Nicole Laraway starts the next group of auditions on a rough note and is followed by a few other bad auditions.

Then Monique Garcia Torres shows up and uses her kid brother to schmooze the judges. It works and Simon sends her through to the next round after both Randy and Kara give her a "no."

The second to last audition of the night is Alexis Cohen who auditioned last season as a crazy rocker chick. She now seems like a sweet, innocent "you woman" who is at peace with herself. The judges vote "no" on her and like last year, she flips Simon the bird and moves on.

Patricia Lewis Roman is the last audition of the season. Simon tells her it was a bad audition and gives her an extra 30 seconds to change their minds. After singing her second selection in Spanish, Randy says "yes," but Paula says "no." We are left in suspense until Patricia comes running out of the room with her golden ticket.

If this season is anything like mine, the semi-finalists are sitting in a hotel room together in Los Angeles tonight, singing songs to one another and talking about how excited they are for the live performances to start. I am as excited for them as they are for themselves.

Hollywood week starts airing next week. Until then, be safe....

Source : http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/americanidoltracker/2009/01/phil-stacey-b-6.html