Big Apple shines

All you need to know about the New York round of Idol auditions (which actually were held in East Rutherford N.J.) is that 35 people made it out, waaay more than any other city so far.

The Big Apple brought the goods; on display was all the craziness and oddness, energy and talent, that pushes people all over the world to come here.

I generally try to list contestants in order of quality of voice as well as story; but there were so many great stories in New York that I wound up just listing them based on how much I liked them overall.

Which, of course, was totally influenced by what AI chose to show and the way they edited things. The show can be schmaltzy, and AI is definitely manipulative--but in the end you wind up feeling as if you know the contestants, so it's all good.

1) Henry Bejarano, the 16-year-old African American who was adopted by a Bolivian family, is a star in the making. A good-looking guy with self-confidence beyond his years, without arrogance. And a good voice; not great, but it's got a good tone to it. Paula and guest judge Carol Bayer Sager swooned over him; I liked how sweet he is with his mother, and his calmness. He could be the first 16-year-old to make it to the finals without a great voice, mainly on the strength of his personality.

2) Sarah Burgess, the teen from Ohio whose parents didn't know she was in New York auditioning, touched me. She cried talking about how her dad doesn't believe in her; cried talking to the judges; cried when the judges told her her Broadway-ish voice had good tone and Simon said he likes that she's a "try-er"; she cried calling her dad and telling him she made it (that was one of the greatest AI audition moments ever; her dad seemed like a good guy, was happy for her but just wanted her to get home safe). It's hard not to pull for Sarah--she's totally sincere and cries because she cares so much; singing is her life and you have to respect that.

3) Nicolas Pedro, who last year quit during Hollywood week because he couldn't remember lyrics, was back and reminded you again what a nice guy he is and what a nice voice he has. It just sucks you in--a little nightclubby, but very sincere and easy on the ears. The judges were all beaming at him afterwards; I'm not quite sure why I like him as much as I do, but I do. There's often a throwback singer in the top 12, it could be him this year.

4) Kia Thornton can flat out sing--she did a controlled and husky version of Ain't No Way, like a pro. Odd that she didn't have the confidence to match; as Simon said, you can sing and you don't need me to tell you that. Curious what her back story is; on a night with so many great stories she got lost a little, but hopefully that'll get fleshed out in Hollywood.

5) Jory Steinberg, who's originally from Canada, had this giant brooch on and talked about how many heads of state she's met (okay....) She had a different type of voice, you can tell she's technically a very good singer, another pro. I maybe liked her best when she did a funny little jig in celebration.

6) Christopher Richardson, who Paula compared to Justin Timberlake, had a humble, sincere vibe and a powerful, nice tone to his voice. Simon says you could surprise us in the next round and could do better--as far as smitten Paula was concerned he was already great, she predicted the girls were gonna love him. Sure enough, outside the room three of them gave him a big hug.

7) Porcelana Patino, from Queens, seemed a bit nuts to me--she had a weird vibe, and talked about how for the past year she's gotten up at 5 a.m. to work out, Rocky-style, to get in shape. I was as surprised as the judges when she turned out to have a decent voice. She is, as Paula said, a totally unique person, someone who really really wanted to make it to Hollywood and put in the time and hard work to make it happen. You've got to respect that; and she didn't seem cocky at all when she found out she'd made it.

8) Rachel Zevita, the music student with a New York attitude, overdid everything, in my opinion--but the judges liked her. She told the judges she could sing everything, ripped off a bit of opera that to my ears wasn't very good. Even though she has a big ego I did agree with her statement at the end, that the South has had a lockdown on AI but this year it's New York's turn to shine.

9) Amanda Coluccio and Antonella Barba, the best friends from Jersey, seemed to me to be the type of people who are attractive only because they spend hours on their makeup/clothes/tan. I didn't think either sang very well; Amanda was at best average, Antonella was a little better. I guess judges put them through on the bff angle, and also as eye candy. I did like how Anotonella stuck up for her friend when the judges were saying she wasn't that good; maybe they'll surprise us and turn out to have substance.

Can I have your attention please?

The results of the 'favorite judge' poll are in. By a landslide, with a whopping 64%, Simon Cowell is your favorite judge. Just look right for the results, which I'll continue to update as new polls are tallied.

Which brings me to my next point. New poll! This one is a little more intense, even controversial:

If all past 'Idol' winners competed against each other, who would be crowned the 'American Idol' grand champion?

Whoa doggy. Click on upper left Vote! icon to get your opinion out there.

If I was a betting woman, I'd say Kelly Clarkson will take the cake... we shall see.

Can’t we all sing along?

The Special Olympics came to the defense of American Idol this week after the show took a thumping for being too mean on opening week.

One of the victims of the judges was Jonathan Jayne, a special Olympian, who teamed up with the Kenneth ‘bush baby’ Briggs for some memorable TV.
While Jayne showed great class and spirit, his partner was just scary. The duo has since been on the ‘Today’ show and both have signed with an agent.

The folks at Special Olympics thought Simon and the judges were “gracious” in their treatment of Jayne. They didn’t comment of the treatment of Briggs.

What ever happened to Justin?

Remember Justin Guarini? While the movie he made with Kelly Clarkson may have turned out to be the high point of his career, he is still around. And he knows a thing or two about ‘Idol.’

At least the TV Guide channel thinks so. They announced that he would host ‘IDOL TONIGHT,’ a live pre-show. He will host with former finalist Kimberly Caldwell. The show will begin in March.

No word on whether the sequel, “From Justin to Kelly to Oblivion’ is in the works.

New York: Same Old Story

You know this already. You live here. Everyone in New York wants to be famous, and after L.A., it is where anyone who thinks they may have talent will travel to prove it.

That didn’t bode well for American Idol. Tonight’s show seemed like a rerun to anyone who ever has watched a Fox show. There was Nicholas, who quit last year, Ian, who gets on the Fox 5 News every time he makes a flamboyant exit from a reality show and of course all the people who are destined to be on upcoming episodes of ‘Cops.’

A recent Newsweek article profiled some ‘Idol’ recidivists, those who just keep coming back time and time again for the shot at being famous. People like Troy Sawyer, who has auditioned 11 times with no luck. Our only hope is that auditions end soon.

While New York didn’t seem like the greatest city in the world tonight, there were 35 who made it. It would have been nice to see more than a few of them rather than a show full of ‘American William Hung’s.’

His second time around

Nicholas Pedro is back after quitting last season. For those of you who didn't watch, he's the guy who couldn't remember the words to "Buttercup" during the group auditions in Hollywood.

Thank goodness he came back... His voice is better than ever and he seems to be more dedicated this time. And I applaud the judges for giving him a second chance. I think we'll be seeing him in the finals.

If he's smart, he'll stick to the ballads, get the preteen girls to swoon over him - that will guarantee him the votes.

Shoot... I can't lie... he'll probably get my vote too.

Is she crazy or am I?

Porcelana Patina, the "American Idol" soldier, who worked out for a year for her audition, and who painted on her eyebrows just so and yanked on like 5000 bracelets and maybe half a pair of pants, makes it to Hollywood.

And I'm wondering - is it totally crazy that I think she's awesome?

I loved her. I loved her crazy look, her crazy dedication, but beyond that, I loved her crazy voice. It was edgy, it was sultry and it was full of soul. I adored her. She could use a bit of a makeover, but beyond that, she was perfect.

She's at the top of my favorites list - who doesn't love an original?

A star in the making?

Jenry Bejarano is only 16??? Unbelievable... he looks like a grown man.

The teen, who was adopted into a Bolivian family, is not only completely delicious, but his voice was like honey, too. But wait... let's get back to the delicious part for a second.

As if Paula hasn't had enough trouble lately with the young guys on the show, she tells a 16-year-old - a minor - how he's quite easy on the eyes... Not the smartest thing to do, but I can't blame her - how do you not notice how stunning he is?

The great thing about him, though, is that he has the whole package - he has a great voice, the perfect look, and the confidence to bring it all together. If his singing continues to improve in Hollywood, he will be a force to be reckoned with. But only if... as we saw last season with Ace Young - good looks will only take him so far - in the end, it's the singing that will take him to the end.

Daddy's girl

While Fox is quite obviously trying to pull at America's heartstrings with Sarah Burgess, the girl from Ohio who lied to her parents about auditioning, I still couldn't keep myself from falling for it.

It's so easy to look back at our own memories, our own dreams, our own experiences of never being enough, of never hearing the things we so need to hear from our parents, and understand her pain. So, I actually found myself silently praying that she'd be able to carry a tune.

Her voice is real interesting - not the best, as Simon noted, but still... there's something different about it - something appealing.

And what a great achievement for her - to make that phone call telling her dad that she made it... It wasn't quite the outpouring of support it could have been, but at least he seemed sort of pleased. Then again, who knows what kind of trouble she got into once she got home?

It pains me

"American Idol" returns to New York and has big-time award-winning songwriter Carol Bayer Sager - who wrote songs like "Groovy Kind of Love" and "That's What Friends Are For" - as a guest judge. Someone should have warned her that she would be upstaged by New York's Finest (please note the sarcasm) within the first few minutes of the show.

I actually watched Ian Benardo during the auditions for "So You Think You Can Dance" and was in awe of him - his rudeness, his flamboyance and his complete lack of dancing skills. So, I was actually surprised to see that Fox would not only let him through to the judges, but actually air him on national television again. I suppose this is what makes for great entertainment.

I really need to believe that this guy is showing up at these auditions just to get his 5 seconds of fame. And if that's the case, good for him - he's managed to do it twice now. But, I think Randy said it best when he asked Ian, "Are you real? Is this real?"

Oh - all the things I'd love to say about his little racist tirade that sounded something like this... "You're not even an American and you're in MY country..." blah blah blah... but I just don't have the energy to write anymore about such incredible stupidity - and really, there's no need to give this creep any more exposure... on to the next one please...

"Velvet Teddy Bear" to play at North Fork Theater

Big ups to season 2 "Idol" champ Ruben Studdard. This weekend he's taking the stage at the North Fork Theater at Westbury.

The article, on the Newsday site notes:

"The season 2 "American Idol” champ, who shall forever be known as the "Velvet Teddy Bear” thanks to "Idol” guest judge Gladys Knight, plans on doing everything but baking a cake to make audiences feel like they're in his sweet home Alabama. "I like to make my shows big parties. I want the fans to feel like you're over at my house, like you're in my living room,” said Studdard by phone en route to Verona, N.Y., for a show earlier this week."

Which means fans can expect much of the show to focus on the hip-hop-infused party tunes, like "To Da Crib,” "Get U Loose” and "Return of the Velvet Bear,” from his latest album, "The Return.” The disc, produced by Clive Davis, marks a bit of a departure for Studdard, 28, whose previous albums, "Soulful,” which sold 416,500 copies in its first week, and "I Need an Angel” (first-week sales were a more modest 96,000 copies) leaned heavily on the gospel sound and honey-flavored ballads that invited comparisons to the late Luther Vandross.""

Read the rest here. And if anyone makes the show, we'd love to hear from you! Don't be afraid to hit that 'Comment' button and tell us all about the show.

WHEN & WHERE: Ruben Studdard will be performing in the half-round at the North Fork Theater at Westbury, 960 Brush Hollow Rd., Saturday night at 8. Tickets, $40, 212-307-7171 or 631-888-9000 or at livenation.com.

Idol crushes

Hot off the presses, Variety has Tuesday night's ratings for Idol:

According to time zone-adjusted preliminary nationals from Nielsen, Tuesday's hourlong auditions episode of "Idol" averaged a 13.3 rating and 32.6 million viewers overall -- up 7% vs. the night of the State of the Union a year ago. Through three telecasts this season, the singing competition is up 3% in adults 18-49 and 5% in total viewers vs. a year ago.

Also in the 8 o'clock hour, CBS ran a distant second with "NCIS" (3.3/8 in 18-49, 14.3 million viewers overall), followed by Univision's "Fea Mas Bella" (2.1/5 in 18-49, 5.1 million viewers overall) and NBC's "Dateline" (1.8/4 in 18-49, 6.2 million viewers overall).

It's ridiculous how much better Idol is doing than other shows in its time slot; to the point where whatever was on ABC doesn't even show up (interesting that Univision also beat NBC in the key 18-49 demo).

The South rises

The South has always been strong for American Idol—every winner except Kelly Clarkson has come out of Dixie. It’s a streak of domination that rivals the South’s stranglehold on college football; or presidential politics.

So it’s fitting that on a night when a president from Texas gave us the State of the Union, AI was in Memphis to check out the state of music. Which, apparently, is in pretty good shape—22 people made it to Hollywood out of Memphis, more than Seattle’s 17 or Minneapolis’ 14.

Here’s my take on the five winners the producers chose to highlight, in order of preference; I’m still waiting for this year’s Paris audition moment, but it’s a pretty strong field.

1) Melinda Doolittle, the professional backup singer, was likeable from the moment you first heard her husky, forthright speaking voice to the last note of her clean version of Stevie Wonder’s For Once in My Life. Good tone, good story, nice person and a total pro; if she’s able to work on her confidence, as Simon notes, she’ll be top 12.

2) Sundance Head, the big guy with the interesting beard and hippie parents, is the other sure-fire top 12 contestant out of Memphis. He had a deep, powerful and controlled voice; plus a likeable personality. His memorable name will definitely help build a following.

3) Sean Michel, the guy who looks like Jesus/Osama/Castro (now that’s an unlikely trinity of names!) and did ‘God's Gonna Cut You Down’, was the most intriguing choice of the night. He had a gentle, humble nature that I instantly liked—but I didn’t think he sang so well. The judges, however disagreed; Paula specifically noted the nice tone in his voice. I bow to the superior ability of the judges to discern musical ability—no matter what else you say about Paula/Simon/Randy, they know music, and respect ability. Michel could be the sleeper hit out of this bunch; like Taylor last year he’s interesting, and stands out just by the way he looks—I don’t think he’s got the charisma or drive Hicks has, but you never know….

4) Philip Stacy, whose wife gave birth the morning of his audition and who freely said he’d rather be with her than with AI, didn’t have the voice that Melinda and Sundance have, but wow, what a story! Despite some bickering among the judges he made it through—the best part of the Memphis show for me was seeing him at the end with his wife, daughter and and newborn daughter. This is why AI is great—even if the music doesn’t satisfy, the stories always do.

5) Danielle McCulloch, the blonde who Paula called an old soul. I liked her bluesy voice, and how she played with the lyrics of her song; but I tend to agree with Randy she may not be around long. One thing, though—watching her afterwards with her friends, when she pumped herself up and said "Oh, I can do this!", makes me think she could be one of those level-headed contestants who improve fast and maximizes what she's got, surprising everyone.

Tonight AI comes to New York (well actually, East Rutherford, N.J.) for two full hours. Somehow I don’t think that’s enough time to show all the craziness and talent I’m sure they found here.

A confidence builder

As far as I'm concerned, this season's next American Idol was on tonight's show and she sang her heart out!! Melinda Doolittle, the backup singer from Tennessee, knocked it out the park. For me, she's the first one to make me say, "WOW!" I'm just blown away - she's going to be great and I look forward to seeing her and Sundance battle it out in the finals.

The fact that she went to the auditions to face her own fears is awesome and it seems to me that with a voice like hers, this audition was just the beginning of what will be a tremendous journey for her.

Even the title of the song she chooses seems appropriate. "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder. It's as if she's saying that for once in her life, she's going to be the star, she going to be the one shining... and boy, I can't wait to see it all unfold!

Jesus made it through

It's nice when the judges have an open mind.

Sean Michel, the hippie child from Arkansas, who does resemble Fidel Castro, Osama bin Laden and Jesus, starts off by saying how we're all poor inside and whatever, and in my head, I can already hear the judges' jokes and snide remarks.

But he walks in to audition, sings "God's Gonna Cut You Down" by Johnny Cash and it's like his voice doesn't belong to his body. It was shocking in such a refreshing way!

Can't wait for the makeover.

Priceless...

Best line of the night, by far...

"Well, Janita... you are a handful."
-Simon to Janita Burks of Memphis, who just about fell out of her dress

Emotions run high... and a little crazy

So, Travis McKinney had me going. He really pulled a number on me. I listened to his little interview, heard him talk about this song he was going to sing about his girlfriend and their relationship. I believed him when he said that it was emotional for him and, to be honest, I was kind of half-expecting him to get in to the audition and start crying.

Not for one second did I expect to see the series of seizures he seemed to have in front of the judges. Nor did I expect his "emotional" song to be a half rap, kind of half spoken-word performance. I couldn't even laugh - I was stunned into silence.

Judges hit the nail right on the head with him - "No, no, no" and "Bye, bye, bye."

Sundance, baby!!!

Sundance is going to blow America away, I think. He's easy to like, easy to relate to, easy to listen to. He's just got it all. He sings "Stormy Monday," which I have never heard before, but he sings it so well, I may go home tonight and download it on iTunes.

The fact that his dad had a hit song in the '60s just adds an interesting angle to his story, as does the fact that he's married and expecting a baby. (In real time, the baby has probably already arrived).

It's amazing to watch Simon backtrack, too. He starts off being rude to Sundance - no big surprise - and then just as quickly, goes out on a limb and says he'll be surprised if Sundance doesn't make it to the finals. Of course, it kills me to say that I agree, but I have to tell the truth on this one - Simon's right on.

Sundance all the way, baby!!!

Simon's so polite

"American Idol" starts in Memphis tonight with what I think is a pretty fantastic singer. Frank Byers, the cheerleader from Arkansas, sings "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and he does a great job. You can hear the nerves in his voice, but he carried the tune. So, I'm fully expecting that Memphis is going to start off with a bang - having the first guy up make it through to Hollywood.

And then it happens... Not even two seconds after he's done, Simon says, "I hated it." He tells Byers that it was corny and hotel-y. Then Randy tells him it wasn't a great audition and Paula adds that while he can sing, the audition was over the top. They all give him a "no" and just like that, it's over.

Well, not quite. After leaving the audition room, Byers is met by his fellow cheerleaders and a marching band. The band plays on, and the cheerleaders cheer in support of "Frank and Beans" until Simon comes out and delivers my favorite line, "Not being rude, (of course not) but can you shut up?"

Nice.

Former 'Idol' sings way to Oscars

As everyone's likely heard, Jennifer Hudson has followed up her Golden Globe win with an Academy Award nomination for 'Dreamgirls.'

This is very exciting news for 'Idol' fans -- certainly adds even more cred to the show.

So, let's gloss over the past few days of publicity for buddies Kenneth and Jonathan (yes, they now have agents), and celebrate a more talented performer's success. Brava!

To read more on the Oscar nominations and 'Dreamgirls,' which heads in the awards with an impressive 8 nods (and a serious snub for Best Picture), click here -- includes the full list of Oscar nominees, links to movie reviews, photo galleries and more.

And tonight, we're back with more from Season 6!