American Idol 8 - Hollywood Part 1

Recapping the first night of the Hollywood round for American Idol is no easy task. There are too many contestants crammed into the hour and lots of gimmicks (Bikini Girl...again) and sob stories. I couldn't even catch all the songs they were singing. I'm sure some of my esteemed fellow Idol bloggers (look in the sidebar) will do a much job this week than me, but I'll give it my best shot.

Miss Seacrest -- wearing a tasteful sweater set -- broke down the numbers for us: 100,000 auditioned and 147 made it to Hollywood. Of course, this is the BIGGEST.SEASON.YET. Meh. This year, the contestants were put through "Idol Boot Camp," getting make-up tips, vocal coaching and a pep talk from Barry Manilow. Yeah, sooooo relevant. Two days of solo auditions crammed into an hour means we really didn't get to see anyone, especially since they were bringing them out eight at a time for a capella songs of their choosing. Although it seemed like people were being sent home in droves, at the end of the show, 104 had made it to the second Hollywood round. 

Lil Rounds almost blew out the Kodak Theatre's sound system with an over-the-top version of "I Will Always Love You," but she sailed through. Dennis Brigham -- who back-flipped and pleaded until the judges sent him through -- got cut and went ballistic on Simon. "Y'all suck as judges," was his parting shot. 

Then there was Nathaniel Marshall (gay and pierced!), who sobbed when his audition didn't go well and said his desire to be on Idol was bursting out of his skin -- get him a towel; Anoop Desai, who sounded very soulful; Jasmine Murray (I don't remember her either); and Rose Flack, who lost both of her parents. They gave Rose some more sob story, and built fake tension about her confidence being shattered during rehearsals. Of course, she sounded great during the audition itself. All of these people made it through, including Jason "Bongwater" Castro's little brother, who got zero screen time. 

Von Smith blew his audition, singing some indulgent community theatre number, yet somehow made it through. So did Jorge Nunez and Steven Fowler, who both have great voices. Even flamer Nick "Norman Gentle" Mitchell made it through, although he was campy and silly. Scott MacIntyre, the blind guy from the Phoenix auditions, and Frankie Jordan also made it. 

Also making it through: Jacki Tohn, the husky rocker chick who gave a so-so audition; Danny Goeky, whose wife died; his friend Jamar; Bikini Girl, who sang a thin and breathless version of "Breath" and the judges said she did okay (?!); oil roughneck Jeremy Sarver; David Osmond; Adam Lambert, the cute gay boy (yay!); Ann Marie Boskovich; and Emily Wynne-Hughes, who tried to blow her audition by singing some No Doubt song she hadn't rehearsed. 

Tomorrow night, it's the group sings and melodrama galore. Sorry this post was such a bore, but tonight was so procedural, it's hard to work up much snark. Maybe tomorrow.