edit 1/28/97 – added photos of the contestants put through to Hollywood

7:00 Okay, Memphis is big with music, right? Not so big as Nashville, perhaps, but still…All I’m saying is that hopefully Memphis can outdo Seattle and Minneapolis. We’ll see. From what I’ve heard the whole auditioning process was pretty painful this year–or, as Paula put it in Entertainment Weekly recently, it’s a good year for those viewers who love to laugh at the crap auditions.

7:02 Frank – He’s got a good voice, but that’s not a song to sing at an audition, I don’t think. But I liked him anyway. Oh well. They need to have an alternate show for Broadway-type singers. No, I don’t mean Grease: You’re the One That We Want. Hee, they found a way to make Ryan tall!

7:08 Timika – Okay, she’s gotta be stoned or something. That’s a little scary.

7:11 Christopher – Apparently they’re failing to teach people to speak English in Memphis.

7:12 Alexis – DO NOT STRIP. JUST STOP NOW. Whew.

7:14 Sundance – He’s got a good sense of humor, which is good. Good tone, great control. Plus, awesome name. ;) Hee, Taylor slam. He doesn’t have the look, but that’s not the most important thing, after all, is it?

7:21 Wandera – Not bad. Her eyes look a little off…I think there’s crack going around in Memphis. I think the judges are being harder this year, in a way…not judging only on the voice or the potential in the voice, but on presentation skills, audition song choice, etc.

7:23 Travis – Um, how is this emotional? It’s like it was supposed to be rap, but it wasn’t even that.

7:24 Danielle – I’d say yes. Not great, but there’s something there. Dang, Randy’s in a bad mood today.

7:26 Actually, the judges in general are, like, all over the map today. And where are the total crap people? See, a couple of good people plus a couple of mediocre borderline people DOES NOT MAKE AN INTERESTING SHOW. We need crazy, delusional people.

7:31 Christopher – Hee, Simon’s using the Wedding Singer comparison…which he also used with Taylor. Nobody’s ever going to let Simon live Taylor down. At least Christopher refrained from making a total fool of himself over Paula in front of her.

7:35 Janita – She should have put as much thought into her song as she did into her wardrobe, and she didn’t even put enough thought into that, clearly.

7:37 Sean – Osama, Jesus, Castro. Quite a combination, that. I sort of liked some of it–the high note was really good. I didn’t think it was overall that great, though.

7:44 Melinda – She’s very good. Definitely send her through. The best today. Thankfully the judges and I agree on somebody.

7:47 Robert – Wow, amazing voice AND vocals? Geez. That would be a no.

7:50 So on the medleys, do they just pick a song that a lot of people did and mash it together (including, apparently, sections of television auditions that we didn’t see), or do they ask various contestants to sing a particular song especially for the medley? Also, the guy who pulled a handkerchief OUT OF HIS PANTS? WRONG. Family show, people. Do not be unzipping.

7:54 Commercial for Epic Movie…um, did the meaning of “epic” change when I wasn’t looking? Borat isn’t epic, and neither are half of the other things they’re parodying.

7:55 Philip – What a nice guy. When he first started, I didn’t think he’d be any good at all–the higher notes are shrill and not great. But the lower, softer ones were really sweet. Plus, I like him.

7:57 They’re not going to tell us how many made it through? At this rate, there are going to be like 55 people in the Hollywood round. I think Melinda is the only really great one today…and maybe Sundance.