The American Idol season 20 auditions come to a close…maybe? There is an additional episode that will air next Sunday (March 27) at 11:35 pm after the ABC Oscar telecast. The promo indicates the hour long episode will contain recap, but the show could slip in a few new auditions.
As far as tonight–let’s backtrack a little on the praise of season 20 audition episodes. Tonight there were a couple of auditions where voice overs annoyingly interrupted the singing. And the segment where Luke’s wife pranked him in the audition room was a complete waste of tape. I DO NOT CARE FOR JUDGES ANTICS.
Anyway, tonight’s best singers were Morgan Gruber, Kaylin Roberson, and Cameron Whitcomb. Cameron was pretty raw, but he has potential and charisma. American Idol loves splitting couples up, which they did after Kaylin Roberson and Matt Gorman‘s joint audition. She was clearly the better singer. But he wasn’t terrible and would have been a fine addition to Hollywood. BUT TV MOMENTS ALWAYS RULE.
Another example of backstory driving decisions: Kimmie Caraffa and Saylor both had trainwreck auditions due to nerves. But Saylor advanced while Kimmie, who had a relatively better audition, did not. The difference? Saylor was singing to prove she could make it without her deadbeat dad, while Kimmie merely had a crush on Luke.
Honorable mentions go to Skyler Maxey-Wert’s otherworldly singing style. And while Jay Copeland is a great performer, I didn’t think he delivered a vocal that deserved the tongue bathing he received from the judges. He sang too many runs and was off-key at moments. Hopefully, he earns that Platinum Ticket in Hollywood.
Hooray for Hollywood
Speaking of Hollywood, watch for a bunch of favorite alums, including reigning champ Chayce Beckham, Haley Reinhart (S10), Lee DeWyze (S9 winner), Lauren Alaina (S10 runner-up), David Cook (S7 winner), Jordin Sparks (S6 winner) and Ruben Studdard (S2 winner), mentor the contestants for the Genre Challenge. All the details on that HERE.
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