The Singers:
Corey Levoy, 21– Nice kid, nice ‘Rascal Flatts’ voice. I thought that he was a little bit shaky. Probably fodder, but he does have a very nice voice.
*(written later)* I looked him up, and I accidentally caught a spoiler. He said on one of his videos that he made it fairly deep, but didn’t make the Vegas show (top 60). Top 100 isn’t bad, is it? He has some potential down the road. His main weakness is that he doesn’t finish his phrases. He hits the main notes, but he is all over the place on the notes that come in between. His main strength is that he can effortlessly hit notes that most of us dream of. His sweet tenor voice should land him something worth doing, if he does his due diligence and finds his niche.
Hollie Cavanagh, 17– She got the pass with her second song, but she is almost certainly done the next time she opens her mouth. She has lots of voice, but no composure. Give her a few years, and we’ll see.
John Wayne Schultz, 23- He has a strong voice with some range and a rich, pleasing tone. He sings free and easy, and he is extremely likeable and genuine. He has a real shot. His largest downside is that he’s a niche singer on a show that hasn’t historically been kind to extreme country styled singers. He’ll have to show some versatility, in all likelihood, to make it past the semifinals. He’ll be in the mix for awhile at least.
Courtney Penry, 17– She looks a lot like a young Kathy Mattea, doesn’t she? I like her tone, but I didn’t hear any range. Most likely fodder, but interesting.
The next three were short auditions, run together. I can’t assume that they are throwaways, though I didn’t hear anything amazing from any of them. Last year they put Lee and Crystal together like this inChicago, and they were the last two standing.
Shauntel Campos, 24– She made a bad phrasing mistake that gave me the feeling that she is an amateur, but her tone was really good and Jennifer loved her. I looked her up, and I found out that she did some competitive singing. I wasn’t impressed. She looks the part, but her voice doesn’t match the look.
Alex Carr, 26– Big and ballsy style, but not all that big of a voice. I wouldn’t assume that he has any finesse whatsoever until I hear it, and he wasn’t nailing his notes on the tuning fork. I expect him to be fodder, but I didn’t hear much of him.
Caleb Johnson, 19– I’d be shocked if we see him again in a positive context. He’s a screamer, and not even a good one. I was honestly surprised that they let him through.
Next was another boyfriend/girlfriend audition, this one still active:
Jacqueline Dunford, 21– Lots of power, but not nearly enough control over her voice. If she sings like this in her firstHollywood performance, she will get bounced right away.
Nick Fink, 19– Is he James Carville’s kid? At first I thought, “You poor bastard, looking like James Carville…..”, but then I saw his girlfriend. I like his voice. It’s thick and syrupy, and he has some bluesy bends in his arsenal.
Janelle Arthur, 20– I thought that she sang scared in her audition, so I went looking for other videos. She wasn’t singing scared. That’s how she sings. She needs to open up her pipes and let it fly to be more than just another singer. She sounds like she is singing with her parking break on. She has a lot of other things going for her, but there is no way that she can contend unless she unlearns some bad habits.
Casey Abrams, 19– Go to Youtube and type in his name. NOW!!!
I’m just kidding…. Seriously though, should take the time and look this kid up. I enjoyed his manic audition, but to get the full story on him you have to see his other videos. He plays every instrument, and he sings every harmony part. He can put it all together in his head and then play every instrumental part, sing every harmony separately, and then put it all together in a video or on a CD. He’ll go far, as they say, either in front of the microphone or behind it.
Can he win Idol? I dunno. His voice is cool, but he isn’t purely a singer. He is a studio rat. As a singer he is another tenor type, but with some ability to growl, scream and scratch. He can make the live shows if things break right for him, and it’s not impossible that a kid this creative could make a serious push.
