Atlanta Auditions

People sang. Some good. Some bad.

THE AUDITIONS ARE OVER!!!

Well, not exactly. Don't celebrate yet. Tonight is still another round of "best of" auditions, which I hope means good auditions. If it's just an hour of bad singing from people who just want their 15-seconds of fame, then I will find another reason why I love having a DVR!

I have observed a couple things this season. Before there were complaints that the show was too mean & mocked the bad singers. But this season they are unusually nice. Last night Simon even hugged a girl who was in disbelief that she couldn't sing! Before he would have made her feel 3 inches tall.

There had also been complaints (particularly from last season) that we didn't get enough backstories & didn't get to really know the contestants. Well, apparently the producers heard that as meaning we need more "sob stories". We've seen a former methhead, a single mom with handicapped child, a single dad who's wife was killed because she was "at the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people" (I think that's a nice way of saying she was in a gang), a horrible car accident survivor, & a kid who's vocal cords were once paralized. Apparently if your story produces enough tears or "awwws" you'll make it through at least the first round.

But last night was the kicker. First we saw a girl who's father was suddenly killed in a car accident just 2 days before the audition. She had called him half an hour prior to the accident telling him she was on her way to the audition. And she decided to sing "How do I live" by Leanna Rimes & quite frankly it wasn't very good. But the judges loved her & said she did great. I'm thinking, why are you here? Go be with your family. Talk about a confusion of priorities!

And the final contestant will probably get himself the fame he was wanting but not because of being a good singer. Josiah Leming has lived in his car for close to a year. Now, first you feel bad for him thinking he must have lost his job & his family has rejected him & he has nowhere else to go. But no. He dropped out of high school at 17, much to his mother's disappointment & left home. His family (until last night) has assumed he's been living with friends. He drives around & plays his guitar here & there & that's his means of living. And then the tears come. He talks about how lonely it gets sometime but it's just something he has to do for himself right now. Give me a break! I had absolutely no sympathy for him. Dude, you put yourself in that position & you can very easily get yourself out of it. By the way, I didn't think he sang very good either. He likes British bands & somehow this boy from Tennessee picked up a slight British accent (both singing & talking). But he'll probably get taken care of later & will get his fame as being the poor kid who lives in his car. Boo hoo.

See, I am not a crazy fanatic of the show. I mock it & criticize it & admit to it's flaws & complete cheesiness. I like the show purely for good singing. Just want the good singing to start at some point.