DECEMBER 21, 2010 FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD GREEN FOOD TRAVEL TECH LIVING HEALTH DIVORCE ARTS BOOKS RELIGION IMPACT EDUCATION COLLEGE NY LA CHICAGO DENVER BLOGS Michael Giltz Freelance writer and raconteur Posted: January 19, 2010 11:49 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index 0 0 views Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyIdol Season 9: Auditions -- Chicago What's Your Reaction: Read More: American Idol , Fox , Kara DioGuardi , Pop Music , Randy Jackson , Reality TV , Ryan Seacrest , Shania Twain , Simon Cowell , Entertainment News One hour felt like two hours in Chicago where talent was thin on the ground.</p><p> As a result, the judges were so relieved to hear people that didn't suck, they let some through that didn't deserve it.</p><p> Humor and notablecharacters were also lacking, thank goodness.</p><p> As Idol continues, I find I have less and less patience for bad auditions and NO patience for the show using cluelessfolks as fodder for fun.</p><p> Luckily, the show seems to beavoiding cattiness this season as well.</p><p> But there's not much you can do when the singing is bad.</p><p> Here's a rundown of the people who auditioned that got through.</p><p> KATELYN EPPERLY -- Her parents are splitting up so to placate her mom, Katelyn is finally auditioning.</p><p> Sang "Syrup and Honey" by Duffy.</p><p> Wore boots.</p><p> Looked good and had presence, though not a big voice.</p><p> Interesting.</p><p> CHARITY VANCE -- Sang "Summertime." Cute 16 year old girl whose parents are hairdressers.</p><p> With eight gazillion songs to choose from, why do so many people choose songs the judges 9and we) have heard a thousand times? She had way too many trills and runs in her vocal, a sure sign of inexperience.Maybe she'll surprise, but seems too young to me.</p><p> And it's clear where the power still lies: she came outof the room and told her family, "Simon said yes!" ANGELA MARTIN -- Sang "Just Fine" by Mary J.</p><p> Blige. (Thank God she didn't audition in Atlanta in front of Blige or that might have thrown her off.) Martin has had enough drama to fuel three soap operas.</p><p> She auditioned in season seven so she could help take care of her ailing baby girl.</p><p> Luckily, Shriner's Hospital saw her and pledged free medical care until her daughter is 21.</p><p> Then her father was killed rightbefore she left for Hollywood and Martin was emotionally shattered She auditioned in Season Eight but had to bow out of Hollywood because she had a traffic violation and had to go to court and apparently couldn't get them to change the court date. (Maybe it was Judge Judy.) Now she's back and in control,sounding good, looking good and singing with maturity.</p><p> Excellent audition and clearly the best of the MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOSTBIG NEWS: Ellen Degeneres | LeAnn Rimes | Levi Johnston | Movies | Smarter Ideas | More...</p><p> LOG IN | SIGN UP Get Entertainment Alerts Email Comments 10 Don't Miss Tonight's Rare Full Moon Eclipse Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Passes Senate Procedural Vote Sarah Palin Jabs Michelle Obama's Anti-Obesity Campaign Al Franken The Most Important Free Speech Issue of Our Time Timothy Karr Obama FCC Caves on Net Neutrality -- Tuesday...</p><p> PHOTOS: 10 Things We've Accidentally Learned From Crime Dramas PHOTOS: 13 Products Most Likely To Be Made By Child Or Forced Labor Like 40K Like 40K Like 5K Like 11K Like 8K Like 1K Recommend 3K Comments 10 Pending Comments 0View FAQ 1 Fans Shania Twain Engaged To Frederic Thiebaud Survivor 21: Infants vs Senior Citizens: Fetuses...</p><p> Jud 'Fabio' Birza Wins 'Survivor: Nicaragua' 'The Fighter' Star Amy Adams Talks Weight...day.</p><p> She's not messing around.</p><p> Kara threw in a "Pay your tickets, girl." Ugh.</p><p> Oodles of bad auditions followed including a mock silent movie segment that managed to make light of the failure without picking on any contestants.</p><p> Smart moment.</p><p> JOHN PARK -- Sang...see, I forgot to write down what he sang because it was boring and I didn't think he'd get through.</p><p> OK male choir coice and he's definitely good-looking.</p><p> But I think the judges were so beaten down by a day of bad auditions that they overreacted to his not sucking.</p><p> Clean, straightforward,but not lots of character.</p><p> Maybe he'll show a lot more in Hollywood, but kind of dull to me.</p><p> PAIGE DECHAUSSE -- Sang Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." This is asthma girl, a young woman who has been singing all her life but lives with asthma and had such a severe attack once she almost died.</p><p> She seemed to lose her key when singing the song, threw in WAY too many riffs and trills and worst of all screwed up the lyrics, singing two lines from the first verse and one line from the secondand changing a few words IN the lines, none of which was mentioned by the judges.</p><p> Simon rightly said itwas self-indulgent but Shania Twain and Kara liked her and cajoled Randy into giving her another shot.</p><p> Maybe Simon's "no" will be a wake-up call? So a very weak day with just one audition I wholly supported.</p><p> By the way, if you find it hard to sit through a one hour show without a lot of talent, think of the hundreds if not thousands of auditions the judges endure.</p><p> At the end, they wisely showed 10-20 seconds or so of the rest of the winning auditions.</p><p> Why they don't do this EVERY night of audition week is beyond me.</p><p> And online they're finally showing memorableauditions and interviews with all (?) he golden ticket winners but still not every winning audition, which again puzzles me no end.</p><p> Why not let us see EVERY winning audition in full? It can only increase our interest in Hollywood and expands the franchise beyond TV and to the website.</p><p> You'd think it would be ano-brainer.</p><p> So who did you like and did you agree with the judges? Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz Related News On Huffington Post: White House Recognizes 'Wake Up Call,' Tries To Project Calm White House officials were in crisis mode today, but gave no public indication of changing course in the wake of a humbling defeat in the...</p><p> More in Entertainment... 1 of 5 Billie Jean King Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Is a Big Deal Al Franken The Most Important Free Speech Issue of Our TimeDON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS HOT TRENDS johnston in playgirl kardashian christmas card miley cyrus lap dance video sarah palin michelle obama shania twain Recency | Popularity jkath 02:07 PM on 1/21/2010 More Celebrity News at People.com More Celebrity News at Popeater.comComments are closed for this entry View All John Boehner Strikes Back Against Sarah Palin Amanda Knox Court Makes Crucial Ruling Like 257 Like 155 Ask Steven Tyler a Question! READ MORE Missing Showgirl'sBoyfriend Abused Her, Police Say READ MORE James Van Der Beek Introduces Daughter Olivia READ MORE Friend: 'Teen Mom' RegretsBaby Tattoo Video: Hollywood’s Elite Directors Talk about Everything Keith Urban Helped Nicole Kidman through 'Rabbit Hole' 23 Fans 59 Fans 11 Fans 59 Fans 0 Fans 59 Fans 0 FansI always assumed that they don't show at least some of the auditions because they sang a song that AI doesn't have rights to.</p><p> AI has a biased demographi c and contestant s who make it are often limited to four groups.</p><p> They hardly ever seem to pick ethnics with voweled surnames.</p><p> And when they do, they don't often make it very far.</p><p> Not sure what your comment is about.</p><p> Maybe you could be less vague and more specific?Certainly Idol has been pretty racially diverse, more so than most TV shows.</p><p> But that's beenpar for the course in reality TV, which often reflects the diversity of America much betterthan sitcoms and dramas.</p><p> Though apparently not as much as you'd like, I take it.</p><p> Good to see you back for another round, Michael! Thanks for noticing! All I have to say is Idol in general is a waste.</p><p> And I would like to know where pieces of the"chicago" auditions were filmed because chicago does not have palm trees.</p><p> In the summer inplanters at one beach? Yes.</p><p> Outside on the streets and around venues?? No.</p><p> Its the midwest, no palm trees people.</p><p> I've seen palm trees by the lake, haven't I? They film people at their homes after the auditions when they want to tell a story and not everyone is FROM Chicago that auditionsthere, so perhaps that's the reason you saw a location that didn't look like Chicago.</p><p> Peoplefly from all over to audition, you know.</p><p> The show's way too successful , I fear, to have to fake where they're shooting.</p><p> Right, palm trees at one beach...</p><p> But I will rewatch to see what parts all the palmtrees were at.</p><p> I don't believe (could be wrong) that the scences with palms wereTOP VIDEO PICKS 1 of 10 Vince Vaughn's New Bundle of Joy Paris Hilton's BikerBlunder Scarlett and Ryan's DinnerDate MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW HOT ON FACEBOOK HOT ON TWITTER NBA Video Poverty Health 30 Rock Immigration Death & Dying Islam ChristianityHUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGESPermalink | Share it sportsgamer 08:44 AM on 1/21/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 01:25 PM on 1/21/2010 Permalink | Share it 67bug 08:10 PM on 1/20/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 02:08 AM on 1/21/2010 Permalink | Share it BunnyHrtz773 02:43 PM on 1/20/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 02:07 AM on 1/21/2010 Permalink | Share it BunnyHrtz773 04:13 PM on 1/22/2010Tracy Morgan Undergoes Kidney Transplant 129 Comments Bristol Breaks Silence On Levi's New Girlfriend 172 Comments ENGAGED 234 Comments PHOTO: Kardashian Christmas Card Revealed 2,288 Comments PHOTOS: Paris Hilton Dons Leather Bodysuit 128 Comments Guess Who Got A Tattoo Of Her Daughter 752 Comments85 Fans 59 Fanswhen AI was following specifc people... it was group shots.</p><p> But I will check. :) Even though I am questionin g shots in the chicago area, there is no mistaking the ghettofied chicago style cursing. (not proud of it) but it happens everywhere . i was bored to tears by chicago's auditions. and i completely agree with you about showing us more of the people who pass onto hollyowod. i always skip the part of the season between auditions and the top ten, because i'm sick of the showby the end of the auditions. ... and have no vested interest in any of the contestant s who actually pass on.</p><p> Exactly.</p><p> Hollywood would be a lot more interestin g if we could actually watch the auditions of everyone who made it online.</p><p> Since they're not showing them on-air, I literally have no idea why Idol doesn't drive traffic to their website by showing the complete auditions there.</p><p> Like you, a lot of people tune out Hollywood and come back for the top ten.</p><p> But this year Iimagine Ellen's presence will bring in some new viewers wanting to see how she does.Thanks for reading.MORE BIG NEWS PAGES » FOLLOW HUFFINGTON POST FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD GREEN FOOD TRAVEL TECH LIVING HEALTH DIVORCE ARTS BOOKS RELIGION IMPACT EDUCATION COLLEGE NY LA CHICAGO DENVER BLOGS Advertise | Log In | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ | Contact Us User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type Copyright © 2010 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.</p><p> All rights reserved.</p><p> Permalink | Share it jesselee26 12:31 PM on 1/20/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 02:16 PM on 1/20/2010 Permalink | Share it
