American Idol in San Diego

OK, I feel like a regular reporter now. I sat down to watch AI tonight with a notepad! I pedaled and took notes on the better contestants so that I can make sure to track the hometown group in Hollywood. They only showcased 6 of the good ones, but the passed through 36 total. Sweet! San Diego will be well represented. On to my notes:

1. 1st gal shown and passed through with the red dress. Her voice was nice, but her..smugness..turned me off. Simon in his infinite wisdom (while often rude, isn’t he also RIGHT almost all the time?), called her ‘obnoxious’. They let her through but each with some reservations and with Simon telling her she was not as good as she thought.
2. Single dad with a vague but tragic story of a wife lost to the seedier side of life. Adorable little boy with just the most beautiful smile! And on top of that, he had a fabulous voice. Wonderful tone – lots of soulfulness.  I hope he does well.
3. Aussie man – Omigosh! Utterly gorgeous…………VOICE. What? You thought I meant something else? Ok, he was easy on the eyes.
4. Two sisters who love Simon – hey gals, I understand that! I love his brutal honesty. The one auditioning had a lovely voice with good range and just sounded natural. Very pretty too (which always helps! Gotta be honest about that part) They are definitely trying to show a softer side to the judges though because I cannot *imagine* Simon letting someone sit on his lap while her sister auditioned!
5. 16 year old boy who had previously suffered from vocal paralysis. Recovered VERY well, let me tell you! Great voice and totally lovable. He was very smart to sing a John Mayer song which was perfect for his voice and personality and I loved how Randy sang the backup parts for him.
6. Lastly, a girl from Ireland who auditioned in Vegas in Season 5 – which just happens to be where Taylor Hicks, the eventual winner of that season, also auditioned. She passed through easily, but found out soon after that her visa request had not gone through and he she had to fix that or go back to Ireland so she was disqualified. And devastated. Two years later that is all settled and she lives in San Diego with her husband who runs a tattoo parlor. She is now sporting an elaborate tattoo on her right arm, but man oh man, can she SING! Tremendous range and clearly the judges remembered her. She was easily one of the best in from tonight and was just so thrilled to have this second chance at her dream. I fell in love with her instantly and will be rooting hard for her as well.

Oh, and then there was Alberto. If you watched, aren’t you glad I gave you the heads up to watch for him? Those fans! Those nails! Ack! Oh yeah, he made San Diego proud. Seriously though, he said on the radio that he auditioned to challenge himself to break out of severe shyness. He was surprised to find out that he loves being in front of the camera and it helps him open up. So I guess it was good for him personally…but was it good for us? Well, the fans he made were pretty anyway.

That’s that! Not sure if I will be as detailed with future early rounds, but since it was the first time they came to San Diego, I had to pay attention to the details.