Season 8, Episode 1
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Contestant #26379
Alex started by explaining that he taught himself to sing in his mold-infested closet which led to his getting sick and, as Simon put it, coming out of the closet. Alex also claimed that he would quickly gain popularity in Abkazia, Zimbabwe, and Canada.
Randy compared Alex to Joe Cocker, but Simon preferred "Cocker Spaniel". Alex noted, "That would be really funny, if it made any sense."
Alex sang James Ingram's Baby Come to Me a bit less mainstream but in pitch, and he won over Randy and Paula and got passed through to Hollywood.
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Contestant #34096
They say you've only got one chance to make a first impression. Eric made his by saying, "Good, howyoudoinhowyouallyouall?wowi'mjust . . . " Whoops.
Eric has given himself the nickname "Sexual Chocolate", so Randy had to ask:
Randy: Where did the nickname "Sexual Chocolate" come from?
Simon: You stole it off Randy, didn't you?
Eric sang Stevie Wonder's Ribbon in the Sky and was quickly denied. Oddly, his mom agreed to get Eric a car if he didn't get a golden ticket.
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Contestant #32160
You know her as "Bikini Girl". And for some of you, that's all you need to know.
Katrina sang Mariah Carey's Vision of Love and, understandably, got an immediate "Yes" from Simon with no further comments. Randy noted that she had potential and gave her a "Yes" vote as well.
Kara then started in: "OK, OK, honestly? And this isn't 'cause you're a beautiful girl and I don't want this to come across as, "Well, she was angry 'cause she's beautiful and young and thin," 'cause it's not. But — [sings a section of the same song] — There's no swing." Then Kara and Katrina started singing over each other and Katrina yelled that Kara's demonstration was no better. That got Paula and Kara going, particularly when Simon agreed. Despite the friction with Kara, Katrina got the approval to go on to Hollywood.
Based on her pre-audition promise to Ryan that she would kiss him after getting the golden ticket, she searched around until she found him by the pool. Ryan started talking and Katrina stole a kiss, leaving Ryan speechless for a few seconds.
It will be interesting to see what happens when "Bikini Girl" shows up fully clothed in Hollywood and has to compete based on her voice and not her figure.
Read about the rest of Katrina Darrell's American Idol run.
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Contestant #34718
Lea is a giggly 16-year-old singer-songwriter who admires Kara DioGuardi and her songwriting career. She even brought her songbook in to show Kara and had apparently attended one of Kara's seminars.
Despite having a book of a hundred self-written songs, Lea chose to sing Cascada's dance song Every Time We Touch.
The singing didn't go over very well, but Lea continued to beg the judges to give her a chance. After standing firm, Lea finally left the room and Simon called the whole experience "uncomfortable".
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Contestant #34715
Elijah has a deep, deep bass voice. No, really deep. Think of the deepest voice you've ever heard. Elijah's voice is about an octave below that.
When you've got a voice like that, Barry White is clearly a good direction, so Elijah chose My First, My Last, My Everything.
Unfortunately, he didn't sing it very well at all and after he finished singing, the dialogue with Simon went like this:
Simon: Elijah, can I ask you a question?
Elijah: Yes.
Simon: Have you ever seen this show?
Elijah: Yes, I've seen it.
Simon: You've heard this?
Elijah: Yeah.
Simon: All right . . . and you are aware [laughs] what the purpose of the show is?
Elijah: Yeah, I'm aware.
Simon: OK. All right. I just wondered if you turned up on the right show or not. I mean, that was like something out of a horror movie, Elijah.
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Contestant #34537
Aundre over-energeticly bounded into the audition room and happily shouted "What is good in the neighborhood?!?" He certainly caught the judges attention with all that energy, though Simon seemed put off by it all.
Aundre sang Cactus Baby, which included some over-energetic dancing, over-energetic clapping (see picture), over-energetic "oh"s and "la da doo", and concluded with an over-energetic "swing-a-della-doo".
Once Randy stopped laughin, the judges gave Aundre a quick rejection. Aundre wanted to stick around and sing a different version of his song, but the bulky American Idol "assistants" were quick to show him the way to the door.
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Contestant #36332
Michael started exhibiting signs of extreme nervousness before his audition. He was nervous about the judges and was sweating profusely, which may not have been too uncommon on a summer day in Phoenix.
Michael took the stage in front of the judges and croaked out Starts with Goodbye by Carrie Underwood. Simon and Paula agreed that they couldn't understand a word of his audition and requested another chance because he wasn't feeling well.
Michael then got the chance to butcher another Underwood song, Sometimes You Leave, written by judge Kara DioGuardi. Randy started laughing, but Kara insisted, "This is my moment!"
Post-audition, Michael ended up sitting on the floor and was given a banana, a glass of water, and a chair to help him recuperate. But really, isn't that all any American Idol wannabe needs?
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Contestant #32691
Despite having "no singing lessons whatsoever", Randy decided that trying out for American Idol was a good idea.
In the pre-audition interview, Randy showed off his dance moves, the "claws" move fresh out of the Thriller video.
Randy sang Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer and started to tear up when he was turned down, but Simon called Randy out on his "drama queen" routine.
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Contestant #32530
When you first see Tuan, you can't help but notice the raging, picked-out 'fro, despite the fact that he describes himself as part Vietnamese.
We also saw a montage of his "JROTC drill-scene dancing" moves. He even had a group of fellow contestants joining in with the rapid arm movements.
Tuan sang The Way You Make Me Feel, complete with the Michael Jackson moves and crotch grabs, but spiced up with some tap moves. Needless to say, the judges enjoyed his performance but told him he certainly wasn't good enough to continue on.
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