American Idol 2009 hit Hollywood for round one today. As expected, there are changes to this year's Hollywood rounds.
Host Ryan Seacrest tells us that there are 147 people at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. They were treated to the first ever American Idol boot camp. Idol brought in stylists, vocal coaches, and mentor Barry Manilow to work with them. Barry tells the hopefuls that their preparation is important. He says they need to think about the songs and make them their own.
As before, half of the hopefuls will perform for the judges today while the other half go sightseeing. They will again perform in a line, but this year when they are cut they go home.
In the first line are familiar faces Lil Rounds and Dennis Brigham. Lil is up first. Kara Dioguardi tells Lil that she liked her the moment she saw her. Simon Cowell tells Dennis that his facial expressions are insane and that no one will take him seriously. Asia, Alexander and Lil are told they will stay, while the rest, including Dennis, are out. Dennis doesn't take this well and tells the judges that they suck.
After a break the judges went back to work and were treated to a group of their favorites. First up in the group was Nathaniel Marshall who sings a song that is unfamiliar to the judges. Simon wonders what was the inspiration. Nathaniel tells them that music is the anchor that keeps him from freaking out. Anoop Desai and Jasmine Murray were also in the group. Last up for the group was Rose Flack who didn't have an easy time at the boot camp. She broke down afterwards, leaving with her confidence shattered. Luckily she pulled it out during the actual performance. Simon tells them they are all in the same group. They all go on to the next round.
The next group includes Stephen Fowler, Jorge Nunez and Von Smith. Paula Abdul tells Stephen that he nailed the song. Randy Jackson points out that the Stevie Wonder song he did was one of the hardest. Paula thought Jorge's song was beautiful. Simon was less flattering to Von though telling him it was horrible and annoying.
We're then treated to a montage of people being told they picked the wrong songs. An emphasis at boot camp was the importance of song choice.
Faced with another choice was Nick Mitchell. He auditioned as Norman Gentle but was debating whether to be himself or not. In the end he opted for Norman. Randy tells him he can sing. Simon just doesn't know what to make of him as he's boring without the outfit but a joke with it. Paula wants to hear him sing the song without the gimmick. They might get the chance to hear that as Nick/Norman goes on to the next round. Also making it through were Scott McIntyre and Frankie Jordan.
Day Two starts off with Jackie Tohn being asked by Ryan if song or outfit choice is more important. She doesn't have an answer for that. Randy tells her he likes her. Jackie goes on to the next round.
A montage of friends leads to two men who came into the show as friends, Jamar Rodgers and Danny Gokey. Danny's wife had died and Jamar has been very supportive. The show might break them up eventually, but not yet. They both head on to the next round.
Bikini Girl, Katrina Darrell, returns. She tells Ryan that she thought it was rude when Kara started singing at her audition. She again kisses Ryan, who still doesn't look comfortable with it. Paula and Kara agree that the song was nice at the beginning but not at the end. Simon thinks she isn't getting fair criticism from the girls. She makes it through to the next round though. Jessica Furney, Sharon Wilbur and Patricia Roman were all cut.
Highlighted in the next group were Jeremy Michael Sarver and Jesus Valenzuela. Jeremy makes it through while Jesus does not.
In the last group are David Osmond, Erika Wesley and Emily Wynne-Hughes. Emily opts to sing a song she didn't rehearse, changing at the last minute. The judges are disappointed, saying it wasn't the right song for her. Still she, David and Alex head on to the next round. Not going on is Erika, who isn't happy. She asks for another chance. Paula seems to want to give her one, but Simon doesn't. They get into a fight over it, but ultimately the answer is still no.
All in all, 104 people made it through round 1 and will hit the group performance tomorrow night. That's right, everyone's favorite is back!
