Jacksonville Auditions

Well, the auditions now took us to Jacksonville which had a few gems and a bunch more duds. So, here's how the night played out:

First up was Joshua Ulloa whom they said looked like Justin Guarini. Well, this guy did had a lot of hair but I don't think he looked a thing like Guarini. I wasn't sure what this guy's issue was at first as he was making these strange poses but then he starts up singing Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and I think we have one of the front runners. This guy has a smooth voice, a bit like Elliot Yamin, but with more soul. He also does these sound effects, sort of like beat boxing but not to the extreme of Blake Lewis. This guy's original and remember the name - Joshua Ulloa - as we'll be watching him for a few months.

Then came Sharon Wilbur. First of all, I hate the last name "Wilbur" but that's probably because my daughter watched "Charlotte's Web" for three straight months in the kitchen while eating dinner. Anyway, Sharon has a dog with her named Sasha to help keep her relaxed. She has a good look to her except for the long hippie dress she was wearing. I think they need to show off more of her instead of her wearing this moo-moo dress as she has a marketable look to her. She sings "Superstar" and while it started off a bit scratchy for me, she put it together as the song went on. She's a lock for the top 36 and there is a chance she could squeak into the Top 12 if the chips fall right.

We then briefly get to see Dana Moreno with her red shirt and Michael Jackson hat. She is beyond out of tune as she butchers "Through The Fire" so I'm glad they didn't give her much more air time that what we saw.

Then came Kanewsa Finnie, the 16 year old who came with her mom. She was a bit nervous but it didn't really matter as she destroyed "Caught Up In The Rapture Of Love." Her mom believes her daughter is a good singer. This is where a mother needs to stop lying to her daughter and just tell her the truth already. Or, Kaneswa should just divorce herself from her mom as Drew Barrymore did in "Irreconcilable Differences."

Next up was Julissa Veloz, tho came out with her Tiara and ribbon around her chest (I know they call this something but I can't think of what its called) from some Latino beauty pageant. Julissa does Whitney and I hated it but the judges loved her. Maybe she turns out to be good and gets to the top 36 but I'm not on the Julissa bandwagon and by the way, I HATE girls who do pageants. Ever see those shows on cable...they are all creepy and come from creepy families.

Following was Darin Darnell who has an Usher-like look to him. I thought this guy was gonna be great as he had the look but after he "sang" Boys II Men's "It's So hard To Say Good-bye To Yesterday," he surely doesn't have the chops. If you could get arrested for murdering a song, they'd lock this guy up for 20+ years.

Naomi Sykes was next. She has this Debbie Gibsonish, Ashley Tisdaleish, duck like look to herself. She also claims to sing like Mariah Carey so when she sang the first line of "Loving You" all I thought was "SIGN HER UP!!!" NOT ! She was like the tootsie pop owl - first she sucked and then she bit. She had got to be tone deaf to think she sings like Mariah. I'd rather force down a bowl of rice pudding or cottage cheese than to have to ever listen to this chick sing again. Then, she started to cry. I want to barf when they cry and get the hug from the judges. They should let them cry with out the hug as far as I'm concerned.

At the end of day one, only nice people have made it through to Hollywood. So, here's how day two went:

The second day starts with Jasmine Murray singing Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry." First of all, she has a story about her mom's health problems and how Jasmine wasn't supposed to live so once you know there's a story, she's a lock for the top 36. She did a good job but for my taste, she sounded a bit like Jordin Sparks but not as good. So, that being said, look for her to get eliminated at some point in the Top 36.

Then came George Ramirez, the physics student with this giant beard making him look like this weird looking Omish unibomber dude. He sort of sings "Walking On the Sunshine" and it was more like Barfing Of The Sidewalk. Come on ...what this like a non-real orgasm - aka FAKE? I couldn't tell if this was all staged to get on TV but either way, he was still a bit off.

In walks Anne Marie Boskovich who basically started off singing a bit of a Kara song that no one would EVER know. Okay...great ass kissing Anne Marie. So, now was the annual audition where they give someone time to either change their image or song and come back. This happens once a season and Anne Marie was that person this year. So, I'll get back into Anne Marie one she comes back.

Following was TK Hash (sounds like some sort of drug to me). He auditioned last year for Idol and didn't make it and I'm not sure why. He could is The Black Elliot Yamin. I loved that he did a version of "Imagine" that was different and had the ability this early in the competition to change it up. He did a great job and I can totally see him in the Top 12 this year.

Michael Perrelli was up next. This is the guy that has a fetish with his guitar but unfortunately, he is not allowed to use the guitar at this stage of the game. He sings "Hey, Deliah" and then "Jumper" and I thought he did a decent enough job to get to Hollywood as I would have loved to have seen him sing with the guitar. But, unfortunately, this guy is an emotional mess and didn't make it. He had talent and I hope he doesn't turn out to be this year's Josiah Lemming.

Annie Marie is now back, all dolled up in makeup and a skirt and looking a lot more attractive. She looked a bit like Audrina Partridge less the cross eyes. But, I thought she did a great job singing. As for the Top 12, she's on the bubble but I can totally see her on in the Top 36.

So, 16 people from Jacksonville are heading to Hollywood. Tomorrow night, we go to Salt Lake City to see how the Mormons sing. Until then, Birdman Out.