American Idol 10: Austin Auditions

Muck rhymes with .. Oh, Steven Tyler! Haha.

Arguably, this is possibly my least favorite episode yet. It's quite lackluster, if you ask me. I feel like the show must be hiding the best for later. Or maybe I’m just not good at spotting talent in this format? Yes, there were some good voices, but nothing really striking, yet.

But in general, I'm really liking the auditions rounds so far compared to, say, Season 9. Normally, I get bored this early because I dislike all the crazy people the show push through to supposedly entertain us. This season, however, is obviously focusing on the talented ones rather than the delusional singers, which I like.

It took me a while though to find someone who's worth watching just for the quality of voice and not because they cry on camera, or have another tired sob story, or can imitate a chicken. But I'm not complaining because that's already a toned down version of the usual audition rounds from past seasons. So, whatever.

Oh, and one last thing. Is it just me or did the editing this season is so much better than last year? Haha. I mean, the dawg bit was kind of funny. That's all.

Anyway, here's my review on the people who got featured on today's episode:

DISCLAIMER: Just an opinion based on the auditions. It may change as the season progresses so haters back off. Haha.

Cory Levoy
As sweet as this brother and sister thing is, is it really necessary? Oh, and they actually liked his singing? Well, I thought he did ok, but he was sharp in some places and the pitch is too high for my taste. Plus, he had to much melisma with that song. Just saying. 6/10

Hollie Cavanagh

Wait, am I missing something? The judges liked the first guy but not this girl? Seriously? True, she was all over the place with At Last but I really like the quality of her voice. It's not the strongest, but good enough for Hollywood. Really, Stormi Henley anyone? 7/10

John Wayne Schulz

This dude reminds me so much of Michael Sarver for some reason. He can sing, that's for sure, but his voice is a little generic. He's good looking though. Just a side note, I hope it's not going to be a country heavy season. 7/10

Courtney Penry

She can give Victoria Huggins a run for her money as the most annoying contestant this season! Really. This chick is crazy - and it's not even entertaining! Ugh. But as annoying as she actually is, she can sing with a good tone. I'm just really annoyed right now with all her antics! 6/10

Shauntel Campos

Too fast. No time to sink my teeth into it. N/A

Alex Carr

Too many runs. N/A

Caleb Johnson

Too much shouting rather than singing. N/A

Jacqueline Dunford and Nick Fink
Crap! I can't stop laughing at this couple. This bf/gf thing is incredibly cheesy. With the cheesy smiles skipping in the field. Well, the girl wasn't as bad as I thought she'd be, which is pretty good. Plus, she's pretty - I feel like I was watching the bachelor. Haha. Nick, on the other hand, also has a good smooth tone. I also like his singing, although his smile creeps me out a bit. Haha.  7/10

Janelle Arthur

She's gorgeous and I really like her voice - like a lot. She has a distinctive voice, kind of raspy and breathless at the same time. Personally, if American Idol is looking for a female country singer to showcase - and they should be, given the post-Idol success of Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler - I don’t think they’re going to do any better but with Janelle. 8/10

Casey Abrams

THANK GOD they didn’t end with a sob story again. Ok. So, this is not really my type of music, but Casey's voice is really great! He, to me, is like a young and more interesting version of Taylor Hicks. I think he is very good in this genre, the scathing is ridiculously nice and the grit to his voice is lovely. Oh, and he's a very entertaining guy though, so I'd probably root for him just because he's interesting. 9/10