The NGH Report - American Idol 18’s Auditions Pt. 2 - “You brought the BBQ sauce!”

[thenghreport]

The NGH Report - American Idol 18’s Auditions Pt. 2 - “You brought the BBQ sauce!”

 

The judges are really getting the hang of this at the start of their third season together. It’s weird, but I just feel like ABC is better at putting on this show. The stories are better, the contestants are given more freedom, and the show speeds by because it is so well edited. I wish ABC could have had this show during its’ heyday because they just do a damn good job producing this sucker.

 

Another night of auditions and we saw some very good ones in this episode. It’s already shaping up to be another talent-heavy season. So, let’s get started.

 

Here we go!

 

Cyniah Elise

• 17 years old
• GA
• “You Are The Reason”
• She’s a natural. She’s young, but vocally ready for this. I hope she can handle the process emotionally because she’s going to be able to hang in there with the best singers.
• The question with R&B contestants is always… “Is there still an audience for this?” If she can continue to vocally impress like this it won’t matter.

 

8.5/10

 

Kay Genyse

• 19 years old
• NC
• “Mercy”
• I don’t really like her personality. It’s as if you asked a robot to watch a hundred confident people and try to mimic their habits. It just feels put on.
• She pulls a fortune cookie paper out of her hair and I jumped off a building. I’m done with her.
• The judges initially say no, but then decide to “take it to the street” to see what the public thinks, but here’s the thing, loyal readers, the public… is @#$%ing stupid. They don’t know @#$%. That’s why we have professional judges making these decisions… because if we let the public crown the next Idol it would likely just be a tiny horse in clothes drinking blue Mountain Dew out of 200oz Big Gulp.
• She’s not a great singer and she shouldn’t have advanced. She’s going to be destroyed in Hollywood.

 

6/10

 

Kyle Tanguay

• 21 years old
• NH
• “Mercy”
• Kyle is a male cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles and his entire cheerleading squad attends the auditions with him.
• I was really expecting this to be a joke audition, so congratulations American Idol editing team, you have shaken me. I am shook.
• I actually really liked Kyle’s voice. It sounds nothing like his speaking voice and has quite a bit of soul in the layers. He could be a surprising contestant.

 

8/10

 

Jovin Webb

• 28 years old
• LA
• “Whipping Post”
• One of the top three auditions so far. Jovin blew me away, but I’m going to be very frustrated because I expect him to go far and my spell check is consistently trying to spell his name as “Join” and I am losing my @#$%ing mind.
• It’s great to have such a legitimate blues singer on this show and one that is as young and contemporary as this guy is going to do well if he connects with the Idol audience.
• That audition could have been two hours long and I wouldn’t mind.

 

9/10

 

Margie Mays

• 26 years old
• DE
• “I Found A Boy”
• Margie 2.0 is kind of boring. She’s too calm, not weird enough anymore, and has seemingly learned the wrong lessons from last year. It’s not being weird that got her eliminated, it was lacking any discernible strategy. She just kept picking the wrong songs for the competition and this audition has the same problem. It’s not a great song for this competition and she’s blocking her uniqueness from coming through.
• I agree with Katy, I would have said no as well. She just doesn’t have a musical identity.

 

7.5/10

 

Jonny West

• 23 years old
• CA
• Original Song
• This is going to be super awkward for their relationship (he is Margie’s boyfriend) as he is just a way more interesting musician. He’s got a hell of a lot more dimension than she does.
• They are kind of opposite. He is chill before he sings, but active when he performs. Margie just showed us the other side of that.
• A very contemporary singer who I can see releasing a fairly successful album.
• I can already see this happening… Margie will be eliminated before Jonny. Awkward.

 

8.5/10

 

Sarah Isen

• 20 years old
• CA
• “If I Were A Boy”
• This backstory is pretty wild. She is the product of a sperm donor who has fathered 26 separate children… and they now all know each other. Insane. And the father? In all of their lives and totally chill about it.
• I’m kind of obsessed with Sarah’s tone. It’s very moving. The question with contestants like this is always, “Are they cold blooded enough to win?” You have to be smart. You have to have a strategy. You have to execute it. We shall see.

 

8.5/10

 

Julia Gargano

• 21 years old
• NY
• “Growing Pains”
• Another fantastic audition tonight! We are starting this season strong!
• The original song she sings is very well-constructed and Julia has this very endearing Sara Bareilles vibe.
• The lyrics are just so advanced for her age. “Put a bandaid on a shotgun wound and pray to God it heals me, rolls off your tongue, you mutter words so cold and I suppose that’s honesty.”
• She’s also just very likable which is going to be great for her odds going forward asking for the Idol audience vote.

 

9/10

 

Hannah Prestridge

• 24 years old
• TX
• “Day To Day”
• ABC has done a good job of ending their audition episodes not with the best singers, but the best stories, and that’s what this is. Hannah has a compelling country voice and is a fairly solid songwriter, but viewers will remember her for how she overcame addiction.
• She auditioned with her husband who didn’t make it through.
• I think Hannah could last a bit, but I worry about whether, emotionally, she is ready for something like this.

 

8/10

 

See you next time!

 

NGH

[CarmenSandiego]

I think Jovin and Arthur Gunn are the best of the guys so far.  And I love Cyniah and will probably like Julia as well.