Here’s what critics around the interwebs are saying about last night’s American Idol 12 Oklahoma City auditions. You can read my recap here.
‘American Idol’ recap: OK, Corral the Crazy – This final auditions episode was just an hour, yet felt like a huge joke. You’ve gotta hand it to Idol for packing in so much quality content — a puppet dog named Oscar, a delusional creep who believed God told her to audition terribly, and drag queens both established and unconfirmed. The surge of carefully cut, staggeringly relevant footage really hit a high point when Randy Jackson wondered, “What is happening in Oklahoma, Ryan?” and Ryan said “I don’t know, Randy.” Ruminate on that for awhile and tell me you weren’t just visited from God yourself. – Read more at Entertainment Weekly
American Idol Recap: Oklahoma City Is Burning – The audition weirdness concludes tonight, my friends, and not a moment too soon. We’re in Oklahoma City, and it’s a windy day, which seems unimportant because we’re in a climate-controlled environment, but I guess we have to do something. It does provide a genuinely nearly humorous moment in which an Oklahoman gentleman goes running after a lady’s cowboy hat that has blown off, manages to retrieve it, then tumbles down himself, sending his own Stetson off into the wind. It would be entertaining, but they bludgeon the joy out by cutting it up with shots of the auditioners singing “Oklahoma.” I sigh so heavily that I blow myself across the room. – Read more at Vulture
American Idol Recap: Better ‘Later!’ Than Sooner – American Idol‘s Season 12 audition episodes came to a close tonight with a stop in Oklahoma City, and the giddiness was palpable. Ryan Seacrest bumped chests with a contestant. Nicki Minaj was accused of worshipping the devil. And seemingly everybody got a Golden Ticket to Hollywood: Plushies, ventriloquists, a ginger-haired guy who performed a marginal song of his own composition, even a woman named Zoanette Johnson whose catastrophic rendition of the National Anthem made Keith Urban fall off his chair. (Suddenly, it’s sounding more like a Weekend Update segment starring Stefon than an episode of Idol, no? “The password is: Seeeeeacrest OUT!“) – Read more at TVLine
‘American Idol’ Recap: Puppets, Patriotism, and Steven Tyler in Drag – After several weeks of auditions, American Idol brought it all to a close in Oklahoma City with a lofty goal — will the show find its new Carrie Underwood, the “greatest American Idol to date,” according to Randy Jackson?
The show had never visited Oklahoma City before, but as Keith Urban pointed out, there is a deep talent pool in the state, including country stars Vince Gill and Ronnie Dunn. Not to mention that Huey Lewis name-checked it in his epic ode to music, “The Heart of Rock and Roll.” – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
‘American Idol’ Recap: Steven Tyler Returns, In Drag – The final audition episode of “American Idol” aired Thursday night, and since the show closed with former judge Steven Tyler auditioning in full drag, it’s safe to say Hollywood Week can’t get here soon enough. Tyler was not given a Golden Ticket to Hollywood, but 45 singers did make it through the show’s Tulsa, Oklahoma, auditions. None made more of an impression than wildcard Zoanette Johnson, a 19-year-old rehabilitation health specialist from Tulsa who sang an unhinged, free-associative version of the National Anthem that literally knocked Keith Urban out of his chair. Johnson made odd references to President Obama and rushed the judges along by telling them, “I’ve got a lunch date,” leading Randy Jackson to label her “a party all by yourself.” – Read more at MTV
‘American Idol’ Recap: Things Get Weird in Oklahoma City – Thursday night on “American Idol,” someone auditioned with a puppet and made it through to Hollywood. Let me repeat that: someone auditioned with a puppet and made it through to Hollywood. If anyone had any wonder about the singing competition attempting to retain a shred of its former dignity, much hope was lost Thursday night in a sea of mostly nothing. Oklahoma City provided a few good singers, but nothing on the level of the previous night’s San Antonio and Long Beach auditions. Six total full auditions were shown, one of which was a rejection. The show even resorted to featuring the hotly anticipated return of Steven Tyler to “Idol” – dressing in drag, no less. Dude, looks like a bit of a reach. – Read more at Billboard.com
Six Predictions For This Season Of “American Idol” – Last night’s American Idol was the final audition episode of this season—yes, the producers smartly (mercifully?) lopped an entire week of tryouts off this year’s schedule, foregoing the “Best Of The Rest” episode and combining the San Antonio and Long Beach tryouts into a single show. Ryan Seacrest, the judges, and the producers were in Oklahoma City last night, and while the hour didn’t have many standout contestants, taking it as a whole with the other audition episodes provided a couple of tea leaves for the coming weeks and months. – Read more at Popdust
