What I can’t get out of my head, especially after last night’s American Idol auditions in Salt Lake City, Utah, is what is happening to all the guys’ auditions? Kara DioGuardi mentioned in an interview at the beginning of the season that she thought it was going to be another guys year on the show, with them seeming to have more talent, but the past two weeks, we’re not really seeing them go through. We’re seeing the gals. And sometimes the guys that seem to have talent either aren’t getting through or are barely getting through.
Last night, it seemed like Austin Sisneros had to pull teeth to get that golden ticket. This was a cute clean-cut kid with a good voice. The girls would go ga-ga over him. (Am I dating myself with the term ga-ga? It was either that or “ape shit”) Granted, I’m still hung up on my Jon Peter-Lewis affection, but here was a guy that reminded me of him, plus seemed to be even more commercial without that joked about “pen salesman” look. Did he pick odd songs? Yeah, I mean Raffi? But he sounded amazing. It seemed like they were almost not going to let this kid through.
The night before, Michael Perrelli didn’t make it. Again, he was a good-looking kid, and many have been comparing him to Josiah Leming from last season. Josiah wrote his own songs, and had a great spirit about him. He had many fans just from the auditions and Hollywood rounds. He nearly made it, but the judges cut him just before the semi-finals. Michael seemed to have nearly the same talent, and sang a great Third Eye Blind song. I was really enjoying it, and they didn’t even give him a chance in Hollywood to prove himself.
The question is, is it alternative music or is guys in general? Is it guys that sing alternative music? Last night we saw four gals and two guys get through. The other guy that got through is an Osmond, Alan’s son David, so that explains that. The four girls sang classic rock, an old spiritual, a jazz song, and an Amy Winehouse song. Now why do they like Amy Winehouse on girls, but not alternative rock on guys?
Tuesday night, ironically, we had the same ratio; four girls to just two guys were shown going to Hollywood. The gals sing two pop tunes, Whitney Houston, and a Carpenters tune. The guys sing Marvin Gaye and John Lennon.
Do we not say every year we are sick of hearing Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, and the like? Some guys come in challenging that, singing a little more contemporary, and either aren’t allowed through or are scrutinized way more than someone coming in singing Superstar. I would much rather hear something a little different and newer, than I Have Nothing, Superstar, Let’s Get It On, and Imagine … again!
It seems maybe it’s not just the guys, that it’s the music. The judges say they don’t want the same old tired music either, but that’s what they let through.
Photo courtesy of Fox
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