The show has started and they want us to think it's all going to be hot action in Miami tonight.
Shannon McGough is slated to be the first featured audition. She knows how to belch and reminds me of a flapper girl from the '20s. She handles meat. And she screams. Not sure what's going on with her, but I hope she doesn't make it.
Phew. She's out of there and it's a shock to her and her family. Poor deluded folks.
Robbie Carrico, an ex-boy bander, is up. They didn't say what boy band and I'm not all that familiar with the more obscure ones, but he can sing. He makes it.
A bad audition run of guys follows a good pretty girls clip.
Ghaleg is up. He's crashing into love. He wrote the song himself. Simon thinks he'd like Ghaleg or is it Ghaleb if he (Simon) was drunk. Paula brings up his accent but says he has talent. Randy says yes just to counteract Simon's no and make Paula decide. Say what? He's going to Hollywood? Now that's bizarre.
Uh-oh. Two rather heavy girls of color are up. They like men. But can they sing? Corliss Smith sings first. She's not bad. Randy has fallen into her trance. Oh, my ... Randy has patent leather red shoes on. Brittany Wescott (?) sings next and gets the judges all happy. Simon says yes to them both, so does Paula ... and then Randy. They make it through to Hollywood!
A sob story from a girl who became a single mom at 18 after her man left her, Suzanne Toon -- takes the stage. She can sing. She's blonde ... sort of. I think she has pretty eyes. She makes it through. She seems to be playing the sultry single mom card.
Filipini-American girl Ramiele Mulabay goes for "Natural Woman." Not so bad. I didn't expect that. Simon thinks she's good, but more like a hotel singer. Simon says no, but Randy and Paula knock her through to Hollywood.
Onto the second day ... Randy is wearing a purple blouse, hopefully without bright red shoes.
It sounds like the next contestant has read THE SECRET or something -- positive thoughts result in positive outcomes for her. She has a father who struggles with substance abuse, but it's not so much a sob story as one of recovery and love. Aw. Syesha Mercado goes for an Aretha song. She's cute, perky, and has a big voice. Once again, Simon doesn't like her so much. Randy thinks she's one of the best so far in Miami. All three judges say yes.
A streak of good auditions follow -- two girls make ti through.
But how are the guys doing? Not so hot. We see sme clutching golden tickets, but only hear the whacked out. One sings through his nose.
A girl from the top 20 in American Juniors four years ago, Julie Dubela, goes for "Me and Bobby McGee." She's no Janis, not even a Kris Kristofferson. Simon thinks she's acting very precocious. She's a no, not ready yet. She won't stop singing.
The end of the second say is coming and it's down to one contestant. Brandon Black is another odd duck. It's another creepy love tribute to Paula. Um. No.
17 golden tickets were given out, two less than Omaha. So much for hot hot Miami, eh?
Next week it's off to Atlanta.
I think it's enough to keep me out. Well, maybe the tall fence topped with barbwire does it for me, too. This sign is near the Bridgewater (NJ) Train Station surrounding an abandoned parking lot. But it looks radioactive, doesn't it?
Today was rainy then blustery here with high wind warnings, but so far we've escaped much of the bad winter weather to date this season. My bad knee is thankful. On the knee topic, I have an orthopedic surgeon appointment set up for the day before the start of Big Brother 9. Not to worry, though. Rather severe surgery may be ahead, but since it's not an emergency I'll be covering the feeds reports and schedule things for between seasons. Of course, if the doctor has a miracle up his sleeve, I'll go for that rather than scary surgery and a hospital stay.
In today's TV Newsy Bits:
- I'll be putting up a live blogging post of tonight's Miami American Idol auditions if the scheduled outage for Blogger ends as expected. I'm not sure if the outage for maintenance will affect viewing the blog, but as long as it's out I can't post. It should end before the show starts, but I'd rather mention it now just in case it goes kerflooey. Plus it gives me a chance to use the word kerflooey in a sentence.
- If you're not a fan of football (I'm not), TNT is having a The Closer marathon all day for Super Bowl Sunday. While I don't watch football, I say "win it, Big Blue" for the sake of territorial fanship.
- The Celebrity Apprentice has been renewed for a second season. I personally don't think the plain old show needs to ever air again, but I'm finding the celeb version entertaining enough. Yeah, I wrote the linked article for TV Squad, but I'm totally not understanding the one commenter. Odd.
Today's random observation:
While crows fly from point A to point B in a straight line (as the crow flies), geese circle about incessantly honking and acting like crazed tourists in Manhattan.
Today's musical non-sequitur:
When it's late
And it's hot
And a date with the Late Show is all that you've got
Don't give out
Don't give up
One of these nights
You might find someone to love
-- "Someone to Love" by Fountains of Wayne
The show is starting here on the East Coast and this post will be regularly updated as it airs. They're in Omaha, Nebraska, tonight. Well, that's different.
Paula was delayed, so we get witty bits. Well, maybe not so witty. A guy is going to explode and infect everyone with his happiness. His name is Chris and he carries a bag, never a good sign. Well, the bad, not his name.
He wants to do anything and Simon eventually says he can go for being the correspondent for the local FOX station talking about the show. @@
Jason Rich, a farm worker good-looking dude, is being featured. He doesn't seem to be a joke. I bet he can sing. Uh-oh. He can sing, but the nerves are getting to him. He forgot the lyrics to the song he chose. He's from a town of 500, so he's nervous. They let him through to Hollywood with a warning not to do it again. Paula is still missing.
Welp, she's here! And it's into a whole series of bad auditions with forgotten lyrics. And women are arm wrestling in the waiting area. A thrill a minute. A girl goes up against Ryan Seacrest and Simon backs off away from the challenge. Rachael Wicker is her name, arm wrestling and singing her game(s). She sings a country song. Simon thinks she sounds or looks old ... one or the other or both. He says no while Randay and Paula say yes.
Now Sarah Whitaker, an ex-wrestler, is featured. I guess there's not a heck of a lot for women to do in Omaha? Oh, my. She sings like a cross between Julie Andrews and the Wicked Witch of the West. Simon thinks she's strange. She is.
Okay, Ryan questioned the decision, so he's been thrust into Paula's chair while Paula takes his place. Samantha Sicley is the first guinea pig. She sings a Nora Jones song ... not bad at all. Ryan critiques her movements and Paula takes over once again. She made it through to Hollywood.
Into a bunch of good auditions, but only snippets of them. Lotsa Hollywood a goin' on.
A girl with a sob story. She's estranged from her father. Tears, tears. Angelica Puente is her name, but can she sing? She mimics the original Celine Dion and pleads nerves. She's through to Hollywood. Simon and Randy want her to be herself. Paula urges confidence. Wrong door. (It's actually the other door tonight.) Aw, her father tells her on the phone that she's always been his American Idol.
It's rocker time. David Cook thinks he brings something different to the table. He goes for "Livin' on a Prayer." Yes, he can sing. He's onto Hollywood.
Johnny Escamilla compares himself to James Brown. He goes for "Shout." He's scaring me with his flowing sparkly shirt and er ... movements.
After a bunch of "Stuck in the Middle" bad bits, I'm ready for a good audition. One person left -- Leo Marlowe. Hmm ... he has a good sense of humor and can sing. He makes it through.
19 made it through to Hollywood from the Omaha auditions. Tomorrow it's off to Miami. The crowd looks very different from Omaha.
A store window in Westfield, NJ. While they also do fortune telling at the shop, what I want is the flying monkeys sign. At times my own personal squad of flying monkeys could come in handy. But with my luck, they'd go out on strike for better wages and benefits.
In today's TV Newsy Bits:
- I'll be getting a post up to live blog the American Idol audition show as it airs here in the northeast. Or am I mid-Atlantic? It depends to whom you're speaking, I guess. Anyway, the post will be up around 8 PM if you want to share your comments on the show.
- Lots of new programming on the cable stations tonight -- truTV (which should have stayed Court TV) has two episodes of The Real Hustle on at 10 PM ET/PT, Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs on at 9 PM ET/PT followed by Some Assembly Required at 10, TLC has a new Bussey Bunch on at 9 PM ET/PT and a new LA Ink on at 10 PM ET/PT, A&E has an hour of new Parking Wars (two episodes in a row) starting at 10 PM ET/PT.
- Celebrity Spider is reporting that CBS has ordered two more seasons of Survivor. (Yay!)
- Wild Bluff Media has an article which outlines the time frame leading into the new season of Big Brother.
- Don't forget! Lost returns on Thursday night with a two-hour show! Of course, that will throw Celebrity Apprentice to the wayside (most likely) -- I'm not sure how I'll deal with both of them and then Survivor arriving on the 7th of February. Something has to give. I'll have to fire Donald, I guess.
Today's random pondering:
Why don't men wear fedoras more often?
Today's musical non-sequitur:
City lights, the pretty lights
They can warm the coldest nights
All the people going places
Smiling with the electric faces
-- "Neon Rainbow" by The Boxtops
Well, she was supposed to be on last week, but finally here she is. Let's see if she spills any dirty little secrets, eh? So far they're talking about how much time she spends in California vs. New York. Now they're talking about last night's SAG awards and an actress out of hand in the audience.
C'mon, talk Big Brother!
Finally. David is talking about how much he doesn't know about BB, but knows it originated in Holland. Julie tells him the original premise of ten strangers and each week they vote out one of their own. Now there are twists since the fourth season. Yes, there are live feeds, Dave. She said threee months ... was it a slip? Will this be a regular run of a season? Hmmm...
Fake clip time of a nakde woman playing bongos as the After Dark show.
As usual, she spilled no beans, gave no insight.
But Zoetawny made me a cool new logo!
