Idol Looking for Thoroughbreds in Kentucky

Tonight American Idol judges set up shop at Church Hill Downs for its fourth city of auditions.  But can they find a thoroughbred in the Blue Grass state?

This guy sang about zebras.

After a very disappointing appearance in San Francisco, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Louisville auditions get a good jump out of the starting gate.

Although the producers spent way too much time on the dud that was the first audition, we didn’t have to wait long to see Philadelphia-native Joanne Pacitti get her golden ticket.  The Philadelphia native rocked to Pat Benatar’s “We Belong.”  Although it was no surprise to learn that Joanne was previously signed with A&N, you have to wonder what went wrong with that deal.

But it was a good night all around.  Even those that didn’t get sent on to Hollywood were more interesting in Louisville.  We learned the original of the expression “your name is mud” from Mark Mudd, a descendent of Dr. Samuel Mudd the physician who fixed John Wilkes Booth’s leg after he shot Lincoln. 

Ross Plavsic taught us about Chinese characters and the judges jammed with Aaron Williamson’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.”  We also saw Kara make a faux paus when she misinterpreted Rebecca Garcia’s rendition of “Before He Cheats” as a joke.

Even the montage of rejects was colorful.  I especially like the variety of jobs -toothbrush company employee, school gym worker, online variety show host, pizza server and ice cream server.

And speaking of interesting careers, Matt Giraud of Kalamazoo has a pretty unusual job – dueling piano player.  But it wasn’t his piano playing that won him a golden ticket.  It was his vocals.

Likewise, powerful vocals won stay-at-home mom Alexis Grace a trip to Hollywood.  Who knew that a petite girl like her could belt out Aretha Franklin’s “Dr. Feelgood” like that?

We had another montage of winners that included Kris Allen, Felicia Barton, Ryan Johnson and Shera Lawrence, but we didn’t get to see enough of any of them to get a real feel for their abilities.

And rounding out the night was college student Leneshe Young.  Despite the sad story and the decision to sing an original song, Leneshe proved that she was the real deal and will be joining the others in Hollywood.

Next week Idol heads to Jacksonville, Florida for a little fun in the sun.

——————————————–
Related Posts

Talent a No-Show for Idol San Francisco Auditions

Idol Judges Find Another Castro in Kansas City Auditions

American Idol Launches Season 8 in Phoenix

About these ads