American Idol 15 Auditions No 3 Recap and VIDEOS

American Idol 2016 Auditions No 3 Recap VIDEOS: Ellis Banks performs in front of the Judges on AMERICAN IDOL airing Wednesday, Jan. 12 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. © 2016 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Craig Blankenhorn / FOX.

American Idol 2016 Auditions No 3 Recap VIDEOS

Tonight the American Idol 15 Wednesday edition settles into its regular timeslot, one hour. Click here for the full American 2016 schedule.Tonight’s episode is devoted to the City of Brotherly Love. judges Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr. will audition singers in Philadelphia PA. Season 2 runner-up, Clay Aiken, was on hand to help choose hopefuls for the Hollywood Round. However, after the sassy singer trashed the show, the judges and the talent while live tweeting the premiere last week, the producers edited him out of the TV promos. We’ll see if they took it as far as cutting him out of the episode.

American Idol 2016 Spoilers – Season 15 Top 24 Contestants

The show opens with a street artist putting together an American Idol mural with spray paint, newspaper clippings and paint rollers. Host Ryan Seacrest recites an ode to hopefuls.

Claymates can calm down. Clay is still in the episode. Yay? Not really.

Gianna Isabella – House of the Rising Sun – Her mom is Brenda K. Starr, singer of the hit “I Still Believe.”  Mariah was her background singer! Brenda went to the same dance studio as Jlo in NYC. “I think I’m more nervous than you are!” says mom, before she bursts into tears, from pride. She’s along with daughter for emotional support. Welp. The kid can sing too. I’ve enjoyed other singing show renditions of this song more, but Gianna has a big, clear voice. She’s got the goods. “Your mommy would be proud!” declared Jlo. Mom comes in for a little Jlo reunion. They hug it out and reminisce about the old days. Mom sticks around as all 3 judges say yes.. As she shares with the judges how hard her daughter works, Jlo tears up a little with her. Mom hands daughter her Golden Ticket There are more hugs all around. “I guess I got four yesses!” Gianna adds afterward. Aw. Fun Fact: Gianna was also a contestant on X Factor 3. – Click to Watch Gianna Isabelle’s Audition VIDEO

Clay Aiken plays Idol trivia with a contestant.  The catch: The answers to all the questions are “Clay Aiken.” The singer, gets them all wrong. He promises he’s really a big fan. “I’m just off my game today.” Ok then. Did you know Adam Lambert starred in Spamalot? Neither did I.  The hopeful, Derek, sings in front of the judges next.

Derek Huffman – Angel by Shaggy. He brings in a little mini boom box , and sings along with a track. He’s pretty terrible. “I’m pretty sure this is exactly how he does it in his bedroom,” says Jlo. She hits the nail on the head. I dought this guy has ever performed seriously in front of an audience. JOKE CONTESTANT. And a total waste on an hour long audition episode. Harry thinks the boom box was a great idea. Really, now, Harry? They all say no. Because that was bad. Really bad. – Watch Derek Huffman’s Audition VIDEO

Isaac Cole – Love Like Crazy by Lee Brice –  Oh look it’s another farmboy. A Pennsylvania farm boy. He’s got a Bieber bowl cut that the stylists need to change pronto. It looks pretty rural where he’s from, but Lincoln actually isn’t far from a couple of Monongahela mill towns, that are decidedly not rural. Isaac explains that his mis He explains Cole is his middle name, and his actual last name is Irish, and unpronounceable. He’s got two songs. One a cappella, one rehearsed with a guitar. He explains that he’ll sing the a cappella choice with his guitar.  The judges laugh.  A solid vocal for a 15 year old. He sings with a mournful little catch. But at this point, he’s imitating emotion, rather than actually expressing it. Isaac is not fully baked. Jlo and Harry think there is a lot to like about him. Harry advises him to stop singing with a twang. Cause he’s NOT from the south! Good point. Keith thinks he’s not quite ready yet, but on the right road. Isaac points out they didn’t’ think Clark Beckham was ready either. Oh. Sassy kid! Aw. They were gonna say yes anyway. 3 yesses. Keith signs his guitar  and even carries his case out for him. He sees a little of himself in this kid, I guess. Click to Watch Isaac Cole’s Audition VIDEO

We see Jennifer during Season 10, her first season, unable to say NO to people. But now? Break out the montage of Jennifer dashing the hopes of young dreamers. Tears. Rejection. Sads.

Sarah Sturm – Lips Are Moving by Meghan Trainor – She’s works at a breakfast joint. She tells a story about a guy who came in and wanted all the eggshells. Keith mentions that he might have wanted them for chicken feed…or something.  Sarah is adorable and sings with a soulful spunk. She’s a teen (17 years old) Meghan Trainor, more or less. She’s one of Keith’s favs. Harry thinks she’s pretty special. Jlo likes her a lot. “You did meet our eggs-spectations,” jokes Keith. 3 yesses. – Click to Watch Sarah Sturm’s Audition VIDEO

Cut to the cattle call. Singers perform for Clay and the producers. One particularly bad singer is a segue to…

Ellis Banks – Born This Way by Lady Gaga – Just like the old days! Dude comes out in a pair of sparkly bikini undies and his “Jesus hair,” which is a silver sparkly veil.  Ellis works it on the seal. THROW BACK IDOL. “Take it off!” shouts Harry as the judges keep time on the desk. “No!” Jlo shoots Harry a look, horrified. “That was so fun, man,” Harry enthuses, “But not what we’re looking for. Now, if this really was the old days, Randy would be trying to hide laughter behind his notes. while Simon would have ripped him with a put down.  After he left the room, the judges would have mocked. him.  Fast forward to 2016. Ellis leaves the room. The judges try out his “Jesus hair.” Click to Watch Ellis Bank’s Audition VIDEO

Jenn Blosil  – Radioactive by Imagine Dragons – She’s originally from Orem Utah (A Mormon, I bet). She describes herself as “quirky” which is never a good sign. She’s a total space cadet. It’s hard to tell if she’s a put on. She brings in a guitar. This is misleading! She’s going to sing at the piano. OK she’s not a joke. She’s a weirdo for sure, but her music is serious. Seriously good! I usually hate this song, but she’s got me liking it. I am completely drawn into her performance.  Jlo calls her “compelling.” Keith thinks her vocal has a storytelling quality. Harry, like me, was surprised, but delighted. 3 yesses = Click to Watch Jenn Blosil’s Audition VIDEO

Next, it’s a montage of iconic American Idol casanovas.  We really needed that? Actually, we did not.

Harrison Cohen – No Time (Original) – His “adorable” grandpa is like a sitcom stereotype–feist oldster, still horny! He’s eyeballing the young girls in the holding room, while giving his grandson dating advice. OK then.  Harrison describes himself as a “ladies man.” He’s into Jlo. Gramps reminds him that she’s into younger men. Helpful! In front of the judges, Harrison mentions that he’s looking for a girlfriend. “Consider this tinder on steroids,” quips Keith. I halfway expected this kid to be a total joke. But he busts out a catchy latin flavored tune, that is actually not terrible. Keith and Jlo liked his songwriting. “That’s a good little pop tune,” she says.  Harry isn’t so sure. “Are you the powerhouse we’re looking for?” he asks. Harry is suddenly getting picky with this guy? They all say yes. “Awesome foxy grandpa” enters the room, along with the rest of the family. Harry asks about grandpa’s dating advice. “Pick out her worst feature and build that up,” he advises. Grandpa, teaching the kid how to neg. 3 yesses – Click to Watch Harrison Cohen’s Audition VIDEO

The judges vote unanimously, nearly always, and it’s so boring. I want to see fights break out over the contestants! They can’t all possibly agree every single time. More evidence they are just the producer’s mouthpieces.

This has been a lightweight episode so far. Really lightweight. But that’s about to change. And not because of the singing…

John Arthur Greene – Somebody Like You by Keith Urban –  John grew up on a farm in North Carolina. His brother died when he was 8, and he kept his sibling’s memory alive through music. John describes how his young brother died. They were playing cops and robbers. Oh no. Guns in the house. They were usually unloaded. But not this time. HE SHOT AND KILLED HIS BROTHER BY ACCIDENT OMFG. That is a terrible, terrible, terrible story. “I held my brother and watched him die….I knew it was my fault.” He goes on, “If I could take his place, I would. I miss him every day of my life.” Absolutely tragic. I could go on a rant here, but I won’t. John is a Broadway actor and has starred in a few productions. You can read all about that HERE. He explains that he’s currently in Matilda on Broadway.  Jlo and Harry aren’t sure. What’s not to be sure about? He’s a decent singer, better than some you’ve already put through. John tells the story about his brother, leaving out the worst bit. Keith wonders if he can make the transition. Harry says no. Jlo says yes. Keith wants to give him a chance. That’s crazy. Nobody said no to stage performers in the old days.  Constantine Maroulis back in season 4. He made the transition JUST FINE.  Adam Lambert was a stage performer, and he was put through. Simon liked to dog “Broadway” performers, but many with stage experience went far, and many are killing it on Broadway as we speak. Geez. Harry says no. Jlo and Keith say yes. Click to Watch John Arthur Greene’s Audition VIDEO

That hour of television was disappointing. Hard to believe tonight’s singers were the best of Philly.  There were sob stories, backstory silliness, and joke auditions in place of real talent. Big nods to Gianna Isabelle and Jenn Blosil. I thought John Arthur was pretty good. He deserved to advance to Hollywood. Sarah Sturm had some potential, too. But I bet there were better singers waiting in the wings that we’ll never get to see.

About mj santilli 34894 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!