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Michael Giltz: American Idol Hollywood: Day One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/american-idol-hollywood-d_b_86419.html [4/5/2009 7:53:58 PM]
APRIL 5, 2009
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Michael Giltz
Award-winning freelance writer
Posted February 13, 2008 | 11:12 AM (EST)
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American Idol Hollywood: Day
One
Read More: American Idol , Hollywood , Paula Abdul , Pop
Music , Randy Jackson , Reality TV, Ryan Seacrest , Simon Cowell , University Of Florida ,
Entertainment News
A very tight and engaging episode of Idol , with
their usual economy in telling stories, setting up
audition dramas and those A Chorus Line -like
moments when a group of hopefuls is on stageand some are told to step forward and we find outwhich ones are going home and which ones arestill alive. So many people are seen in glimpsesthat it's impossible to cover them all. So here's alook at some of the contestants who popped outand look really strong for the final 12, as well as afew puzzles. Everyone who made it through willbe culled tonight down to a final 24.
Brooke White -- The first person up, Brooke sat at a keyboard and belted out a Carole King song,
"Beautiful." Frankly, she was terrific and went through to the final day but I think the musiccovered up a few rough patches vocally. She still seems too tentative to go far but should at leastmake it to next week.
David Hernandez -- began the Stephen Stills tune "Love The One You're With" in a nicely slowed
down manner before picking up speed. Sounded very impressive but -- darn you, Mariah Carey --
he seems incapable of singing an entire line of the song without throwing in some "run" orvariation on the melody. That could be a problem down the road.
Amanda Overmyer -- the rock chick with the white streaks. The first of many contestants to
have major drama to offer up for viewers, in her case a serious car accident. Broken ribs? Bah.
Amanda -- looking as confident as ever -- belted out "Light My Fire" by The Doors. Very, verystrong (final 12 for sure) but Simon was right when he said Amanda doesn't show a lot of variety.That's fine as a performer, of course. You don't go to see Janis Joplin in concert and expect to heara Celine Dion ballad. But on the show, when contestants have to tackle different genres every week,versatility is crucial. But Amanda has more tricks up her rock chick sleeve.
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Michael Giltz: American Idol Hollywood: Day One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/american-idol-hollywood-d_b_86419.html [4/5/2009 7:53:58 PM]Galeb Emachah -- the Latin lover. Galeb should never have been put through to Hollywood -- he
can't sing at all. At all. This just proved it as he warbled the Bryan Adams song "Everyting I Do (I
Do It For You."
"Light My Fire"/"Everything I Do (I Do It For You)"/"Sway" -- 164 contestants. 200 songs
to choose from at this stage. And yet 40% of them seemed to choose the Bryan Adams song, 25%
the Doors and the rest the standard "Sway." Urgh. Think how happy the judges will be to not hear
the same song again and again. Be smart.
Josiah Leming -- the 18 year old kid living in his car. Has his family contacted him yet? Or are
we saving that footage for the next round. Josiah is very appealing (if weepy). If he gets to the final
12, he'll get through a number of rounds just because people won't want to see him cry. He's also
talented despite that hilarious British accent he affects. I had my doubts but his first performance
of Mika's "Grace Kelly" was very good. I thought it was a bad choice because of all the falsetto. But
he was great, which made his later meltdown on "Stand By Me" so confusing. He hardly seems
capable of being "difficult" and was always hyper-polite but Josiah for some reason couldn't work
with the band to get an arrangement of the song. The vocal coach told him what he refused to do
but I didn't quite follow anything other than the idea that he didn't know how to work with the
band or was just too freaked out and tired to do it properly. They clearly gave him every chance but
he then smartly thanked the band and asked them to leave the stage. hey, if you don't like thearrangement, why keep the band? A pity he did such a terrible job on the song. BUt sincepersonality matters more than the judges would like to admit when it comes to picking the final 12,they all said he was terrible but would make it through to the final 24 anyway. Huh? Othercontestants must have been thinking, damn, I should have lived in my car.
Danny Noriega -- one of many contestants we met before but barely got a glimpse of in
Hollywood. It's always hard to tell if the producers decided these people won't make it or just go
through smoothly and therefore don't offer any drama. Presumably a drama major himself, Dannysounded good in the brief moment we saw him.
Blue lollipops -- was someone handing out treats backstage? There was an outbreak of blue
tongues during some of the auditions, so clearly something was being passed around.
Kyle Ensley -- the geeky guy playing the Clay Aiken card. No idea why he got to Hollywood
(though he seems like an amiable guy). He's dreadful the first time and then sings Josh Groban the
second time and to me sounded like the male equivalent of a beauty contestant (gets through the
song and hits some notes). But the judges were impressed? I don't get it. If he makes it through the
final 12, it will have nothing to do with his singing. Sorry, Kyle.
Angela Martin -- the single mom with the ill daughter, we find out her father hasn't just died but
been killed. In season one, wasn't it Justin Guarini whose mom went into the hospital and theykept it a secret because he didn't want it to influence voters? Oh, how the producers have changedtheir tune.
David Archuleta -- the 16-year-old Tiger Beat cover boy of the future (and by future I mean
three months from now). Totally adorable in an aw shucks way. How can you not like someone
who talks about "that tingly feeling" he gets when an audition goes well.. All the jduges want toadopt him and so will all of America. He sang "Heaven" by Bryan Adams, which I thought would betoo old and slow for him but he sang it confidently. Desperately looking for something to critique, Iwould point out his awkwardness not on stage but with his hands, which he kept using in a goofytheatrical manner. Still, at the moment he looks a lock for the finale. (Silly to say that at this stage,of course, but boy he looks good. Only possible weakness: the different genres and new songs hewill prsumably have never heard.)
Syesha Mercado -- very cute contestant who struggled all week with a hoarse voice. She nailed
Aretha's "Chain Of Fools" to say the least and also looks like a lock for the final 12. A very, very
strong contestant.
Michael Johns -- the raspy voiced dude who sang "Bohemian Rhapsody," which was another
terrible idea (I thought) until he delivered a really confident rendition. That's three contestants in a
row that are not just locks for the final 12 but look like serious contenders for the final prize.
Every year, Ryan Seacrest breathlessly tells us that "the talent is stronger than ever." (I'd like to see
the season where he says, "the talent is a little weak this year." But those three are set up for a
Style On CBS'
"Washington
Unplugged"
Arianna was on CBS'
"Washington...
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Appears on ABC's
"This Week"
Roundtable With
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Jim Cramer Declares
The Depression"Over" (VIDEO)
On Thursday's episode of"Mad Money" host Jim
Cramer declared that the
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Affiliate In Boston
BOSTON — Boston'sNBC affiliate says it will aira local newscast instead
of...
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Jamaica to two islands in
Antarctica has
Scientists FindRocket Fuel
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Formula
ATLANTA — Traces of a
Michael Giltz: American Idol Hollywood: Day One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/american-idol-hollywood-d_b_86419.html [4/5/2009 7:53:58 PM]
Michelle Obama's Clothing
Has Sean Hannity All Out OfSorts
Cenk Uygur: Have WeReached the Tipping Pointon Guns?
RICHARD POPLAWSKI,Pittsburgh Gunman, Kills 3Police Officers
Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld: DoesIran Harbor Osama binLaden?
Comments 2 Pending Comments 0
SNL: Madonna And
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Reality Star Jade
Goody Buried In
Lavish...
Robert De Niro
Nanny Sues For
$40,000
Alex Da Silva,
Celebrity
Choreographer
Accused Of...
battle royal already.
Carly Smithson -- she's the girl with the visa problems who couldn't go to Hollywood the last
time she got through. It's annoying that viewers haven't been told the whole story, that Carly
actually got a record deal with a major label that poured millions into recording her debut CD and
making videos only to see it flop. I'm all for backup singers and people like Taylor Hicks who self-
released CDs and even giving someone like this a second shot. Certainly no label would jump at an
act that already had their big break and failed to capitalize. But we should know what the deal is.
Having said that, I also thought her song by Heart was a bit sharp all the way through. It was the
sort of performance where you can never relax and enjoy it because you're worried they won't
make it. But the judges loved her.
Asia'h Eperson -- she of the annoying name and even more annoying hairstyle with some sort of
bun on top. Please get a makeover. But she sounds pretty good.
Brooke Helvie -- the show ended with Josiah in tears again saying he wasn't over-confident. But
I'll end with fellow University of Florida student Brooke, the beauty contestant who wanted to
prove to Simon that not all pageant performers were bad. She had a very weak performance andseemed set to go home. But Randy said no and Simon jumped in and said yes. Clearly he wanted toforce Paula to say no since Brooke didn't cut it at all and Simon had grown tired of Paula hemmingand hawing (to the point of walking out during the last contestant on an earlier day). Paula was onthe fence and then Brooke annoyingly kept talking. Could she sing a little passage she messed up?No, they said. She sang it anyway. And then she kept on talking and talking til finally even Paulasaid "no," and go home. If Brooke had kept her mouth shut, she might at least have made it to thefinal 24, though the final 12 was out of the question.
More culling tomorrow night. Have you placed your bets on a favorite yet?
More in Entertainment...
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Affairs to remember:Farley Granger beddedAva Gardner, ShelleyWinters, and LeonardBernstein. In hisautobiography, IncludeMe Out, Hitchcock's muse... (The national gay &lesbian newsmagazine)
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Michael Giltz: American Idol Hollywood: Day One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/american-idol-hollywood-d_b_86419.html [4/5/2009 7:53:58 PM]
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PatA See Profile I'm a Fan of PatA permalink
David Archuleta will win!
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
If I was gonna place a bet today, I'd put my money on him too. The UK version of Idol (The X
Factor) has had a number of teens who fit the image we sort of expected Idol to celebrate allalong - wholesome teeny boppers that girls swoon over -- and they've done really well. Top
5? I'd bet major money on that. But a few possible weak points include his awkward hand
gestures and the fact that he's 16. That doesn't keep him from being poised (he sure is) butsimply not knowing most of the songs he'll have to choose from can be ahuge hurdle. Songsthat even people in their 20s know well because they've had some years to hear a lot of pop
music are just mysterious titles to him and learning a new song in a day or two is really really
hard. Maybe he has a gift for that, but it is a potential weak point. Hey he seems like a winner
the way carrie Underwood always did so we have to come up with some hurdles for him toovercome.
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Flag as abusive Posted 12:06 AM on 02/14/2008
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/american-idol-hollywood-d_b_86419.html [4/5/2009 7:53:58 PM]
APRIL 5, 2009
www.TheGodMovie.com Feedback - Ads by Google
HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING STYLE GREEN WORLD CHICAGO
COMEDY 23/6 VIDEO BLOGGER INDEX ARCHIVE
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Michael Giltz
Award-winning freelance writer
Posted February 13, 2008 | 11:12 AM (EST)
BIO
Become a
Fan
Get EmailAlerts
Bloggers'Index
American Idol Hollywood: Day
One
Read More: American Idol , Hollywood , Paula Abdul , Pop
Music , Randy Jackson , Reality TV, Ryan Seacrest , Simon Cowell , University Of Florida ,
Entertainment News
A very tight and engaging episode of Idol , with
their usual economy in telling stories, setting up
audition dramas and those A Chorus Line -like
moments when a group of hopefuls is on stageand some are told to step forward and we find outwhich ones are going home and which ones arestill alive. So many people are seen in glimpsesthat it's impossible to cover them all. So here's alook at some of the contestants who popped outand look really strong for the final 12, as well as afew puzzles. Everyone who made it through willbe culled tonight down to a final 24.
Brooke White -- The first person up, Brooke sat at a keyboard and belted out a Carole King song,
"Beautiful." Frankly, she was terrific and went through to the final day but I think the musiccovered up a few rough patches vocally. She still seems too tentative to go far but should at leastmake it to next week.
David Hernandez -- began the Stephen Stills tune "Love The One You're With" in a nicely slowed
down manner before picking up speed. Sounded very impressive but -- darn you, Mariah Carey --
he seems incapable of singing an entire line of the song without throwing in some "run" orvariation on the melody. That could be a problem down the road.
Amanda Overmyer -- the rock chick with the white streaks. The first of many contestants to
have major drama to offer up for viewers, in her case a serious car accident. Broken ribs? Bah.
Amanda -- looking as confident as ever -- belted out "Light My Fire" by The Doors. Very, verystrong (final 12 for sure) but Simon was right when he said Amanda doesn't show a lot of variety.That's fine as a performer, of course. You don't go to see Janis Joplin in concert and expect to heara Celine Dion ballad. But on the show, when contestants have to tackle different genres every week,versatility is crucial. But Amanda has more tricks up her rock chick sleeve.
Be the First to
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Michelle Obama And
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Finally Meet In
France (VIDEO,
PHOTOS, POLL)
*Video, poll and slideshow
(to...
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***UPDATE*** 8:30pm:
People.com is reporting
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Michael Giltz: American Idol Hollywood: Day One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/american-idol-hollywood-d_b_86419.html [4/5/2009 7:53:58 PM]Galeb Emachah -- the Latin lover. Galeb should never have been put through to Hollywood -- he
can't sing at all. At all. This just proved it as he warbled the Bryan Adams song "Everyting I Do (I
Do It For You."
"Light My Fire"/"Everything I Do (I Do It For You)"/"Sway" -- 164 contestants. 200 songs
to choose from at this stage. And yet 40% of them seemed to choose the Bryan Adams song, 25%
the Doors and the rest the standard "Sway." Urgh. Think how happy the judges will be to not hear
the same song again and again. Be smart.
Josiah Leming -- the 18 year old kid living in his car. Has his family contacted him yet? Or are
we saving that footage for the next round. Josiah is very appealing (if weepy). If he gets to the final
12, he'll get through a number of rounds just because people won't want to see him cry. He's also
talented despite that hilarious British accent he affects. I had my doubts but his first performance
of Mika's "Grace Kelly" was very good. I thought it was a bad choice because of all the falsetto. But
he was great, which made his later meltdown on "Stand By Me" so confusing. He hardly seems
capable of being "difficult" and was always hyper-polite but Josiah for some reason couldn't work
with the band to get an arrangement of the song. The vocal coach told him what he refused to do
but I didn't quite follow anything other than the idea that he didn't know how to work with the
band or was just too freaked out and tired to do it properly. They clearly gave him every chance but
he then smartly thanked the band and asked them to leave the stage. hey, if you don't like thearrangement, why keep the band? A pity he did such a terrible job on the song. BUt sincepersonality matters more than the judges would like to admit when it comes to picking the final 12,they all said he was terrible but would make it through to the final 24 anyway. Huh? Othercontestants must have been thinking, damn, I should have lived in my car.
Danny Noriega -- one of many contestants we met before but barely got a glimpse of in
Hollywood. It's always hard to tell if the producers decided these people won't make it or just go
through smoothly and therefore don't offer any drama. Presumably a drama major himself, Dannysounded good in the brief moment we saw him.
Blue lollipops -- was someone handing out treats backstage? There was an outbreak of blue
tongues during some of the auditions, so clearly something was being passed around.
Kyle Ensley -- the geeky guy playing the Clay Aiken card. No idea why he got to Hollywood
(though he seems like an amiable guy). He's dreadful the first time and then sings Josh Groban the
second time and to me sounded like the male equivalent of a beauty contestant (gets through the
song and hits some notes). But the judges were impressed? I don't get it. If he makes it through the
final 12, it will have nothing to do with his singing. Sorry, Kyle.
Angela Martin -- the single mom with the ill daughter, we find out her father hasn't just died but
been killed. In season one, wasn't it Justin Guarini whose mom went into the hospital and theykept it a secret because he didn't want it to influence voters? Oh, how the producers have changedtheir tune.
David Archuleta -- the 16-year-old Tiger Beat cover boy of the future (and by future I mean
three months from now). Totally adorable in an aw shucks way. How can you not like someone
who talks about "that tingly feeling" he gets when an audition goes well.. All the jduges want toadopt him and so will all of America. He sang "Heaven" by Bryan Adams, which I thought would betoo old and slow for him but he sang it confidently. Desperately looking for something to critique, Iwould point out his awkwardness not on stage but with his hands, which he kept using in a goofytheatrical manner. Still, at the moment he looks a lock for the finale. (Silly to say that at this stage,of course, but boy he looks good. Only possible weakness: the different genres and new songs hewill prsumably have never heard.)
Syesha Mercado -- very cute contestant who struggled all week with a hoarse voice. She nailed
Aretha's "Chain Of Fools" to say the least and also looks like a lock for the final 12. A very, very
strong contestant.
Michael Johns -- the raspy voiced dude who sang "Bohemian Rhapsody," which was another
terrible idea (I thought) until he delivered a really confident rendition. That's three contestants in a
row that are not just locks for the final 12 but look like serious contenders for the final prize.
Every year, Ryan Seacrest breathlessly tells us that "the talent is stronger than ever." (I'd like to see
the season where he says, "the talent is a little weak this year." But those three are set up for a
Style On CBS'
"Washington
Unplugged"
Arianna was on CBS'
"Washington...
Huff TV Arianna
Appears on ABC's
"This Week"
Roundtable With
George
Stephanopoulos(VIDEO)
Arianna was a guest this
morning on...
"BRUNO" TRAILER!Calamity, African
Babies, Chase
Scenes And More
(NSFW VIDEO)
IT'S HERE! The trailer forthis July's Sacha Baron
Cohen...
NATO Leaders Focus
On Afghanistan, ButMost Reject Obama's
Plea For Troops
(SLIDESHOW)
STRASBOURG, France— On the eve of the
NATO...
First Lady Fashion At
Friday's NATO
Concert (PHOTOS)
Another night, another
fashion opportunity for
NATO leaders and their
spouses! See...
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Palin's Sister-In-Law,
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska —Police say Alaska Gov....
John Oliver Explains
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Jim Cramer Declares
The Depression"Over" (VIDEO)
On Thursday's episode of"Mad Money" host Jim
Cramer declared that the
depression...
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Rejected By NBC
Affiliate In Boston
BOSTON — Boston'sNBC affiliate says it will aira local newscast instead
of...
Ice Bridge Ruptures
In Antarctic (VIDEO)
An ice bridge linking ashelf of ice the size of
Jamaica to two islands in
Antarctica has
Scientists FindRocket Fuel
Chemical In Infant
Formula
ATLANTA — Traces of a
Michael Giltz: American Idol Hollywood: Day One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/american-idol-hollywood-d_b_86419.html [4/5/2009 7:53:58 PM]
Michelle Obama's Clothing
Has Sean Hannity All Out OfSorts
Cenk Uygur: Have WeReached the Tipping Pointon Guns?
RICHARD POPLAWSKI,Pittsburgh Gunman, Kills 3Police Officers
Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld: DoesIran Harbor Osama binLaden?
Comments 2 Pending Comments 0
SNL: Madonna And
Angelina In
Weekend Update...
Reality Star Jade
Goody Buried In
Lavish...
Robert De Niro
Nanny Sues For
$40,000
Alex Da Silva,
Celebrity
Choreographer
Accused Of...
battle royal already.
Carly Smithson -- she's the girl with the visa problems who couldn't go to Hollywood the last
time she got through. It's annoying that viewers haven't been told the whole story, that Carly
actually got a record deal with a major label that poured millions into recording her debut CD and
making videos only to see it flop. I'm all for backup singers and people like Taylor Hicks who self-
released CDs and even giving someone like this a second shot. Certainly no label would jump at an
act that already had their big break and failed to capitalize. But we should know what the deal is.
Having said that, I also thought her song by Heart was a bit sharp all the way through. It was the
sort of performance where you can never relax and enjoy it because you're worried they won't
make it. But the judges loved her.
Asia'h Eperson -- she of the annoying name and even more annoying hairstyle with some sort of
bun on top. Please get a makeover. But she sounds pretty good.
Brooke Helvie -- the show ended with Josiah in tears again saying he wasn't over-confident. But
I'll end with fellow University of Florida student Brooke, the beauty contestant who wanted to
prove to Simon that not all pageant performers were bad. She had a very weak performance andseemed set to go home. But Randy said no and Simon jumped in and said yes. Clearly he wanted toforce Paula to say no since Brooke didn't cut it at all and Simon had grown tired of Paula hemmingand hawing (to the point of walking out during the last contestant on an earlier day). Paula was onthe fence and then Brooke annoyingly kept talking. Could she sing a little passage she messed up?No, they said. She sang it anyway. And then she kept on talking and talking til finally even Paulasaid "no," and go home. If Brooke had kept her mouth shut, she might at least have made it to thefinal 24, though the final 12 was out of the question.
More culling tomorrow night. Have you placed your bets on a favorite yet?
More in Entertainment...
HuffPost Stories Surging Right Now
Ads by Google
Watch Idol Performances
Watch The Idol Performances Free! It's Easy
w/the Free Videos Toolbar
Videos.alottoolbars.com
Computers
India
Barack
Obama
Michelle
Obama
Sports
Olympics
Housing
Crisis
Fox News
Cars
MORE BIG NEWS PAGES
»
Books by this author
A cabin of one's own: New
England's MacDowellColony celebrates 100years of artistic utopia.And the gay and lesbianartists who prosperedthere celebrate ... (Thenational gay & lesbiannewsmagazine)
by Michael Giltz
Affairs to remember:Farley Granger beddedAva Gardner, ShelleyWinters, and LeonardBernstein. In hisautobiography, IncludeMe Out, Hitchcock's muse... (The national gay &lesbian newsmagazine)
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Michael Giltz: American Idol Hollywood: Day One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/american-idol-hollywood-d_b_86419.html [4/5/2009 7:53:58 PM]
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PatA See Profile I'm a Fan of PatA permalink
David Archuleta will win!
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
If I was gonna place a bet today, I'd put my money on him too. The UK version of Idol (The X
Factor) has had a number of teens who fit the image we sort of expected Idol to celebrate allalong - wholesome teeny boppers that girls swoon over -- and they've done really well. Top
5? I'd bet major money on that. But a few possible weak points include his awkward hand
gestures and the fact that he's 16. That doesn't keep him from being poised (he sure is) butsimply not knowing most of the songs he'll have to choose from can be ahuge hurdle. Songsthat even people in their 20s know well because they've had some years to hear a lot of pop
music are just mysterious titles to him and learning a new song in a day or two is really really
hard. Maybe he has a gift for that, but it is a potential weak point. Hey he seems like a winner
the way carrie Underwood always did so we have to come up with some hurdles for him toovercome.
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