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More talent than drama (thankfully) in Charlotte for 'Idol' auditions
Published: 1/23/2013 10:00 PM
Last Modified: 1/23/2013 10:00 PM

Much as I love the city itself, Charlotte was a smidgen lacking compared to last week's "American Idol" auditions.

Full disclosure: I'm recovering from flu, and this was my first evening to be upright and non-fevered in several days. So I'm not exactly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Still, there were some obvious spots of great talent, which was thankfully not overshadowed by the drama of Nicki walking off after Summer sang "Lean On Me."

We knew what was coming when Summer said "the country thing," as Fox has been playing commercials with Keith repeating Summer's phrase for months. Obviously, it didn't sit well with him.

And the discussion following Summer's song apparently didn't jibe well with Nicki's mood. I could kinda see where she was coming from, but Randy is a longtime producer who knows what he's talking about, right? Whatever, they sent her to Hollywood, and Nicki walked off the set.

Thankfully, that didn't overshadow the kids who came to see if they could make it past the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

My favorite was probably Ja'Bria, who hunts, fishes and gigs frogs. Love this girl! She sang Bonnie Raitt's version of "Pride and Joy," and she earned three yesses -- not four because Keith left early to be with his wife at some awards shindig in New York. Didn't he do that last week?

Anyway, also enjoyed Seretha, who had the oddest choice of songs tonight with "Fresh Prince of Bel Air." But she totally nailed it, sounding slightly like India.Arie to me. She followed that by a decent (but not as fun) rendition of "How Do I Live Without You?" 

What may have been her good luck charm was her 3-year-old daughter London standing with her. Too stinkin' cute.

Other notables, but not in a good way, we're Joel, who sang "Feeling Good" -- while lying down. Apparently, he was inspired by Andrea Bocelli and Chris Daughtry from a previous "Idol" season. It didn't help him at all.

Nor did a cowboy hat for karaoke-loving Matthew, who helped remind me of three red flags to ID when determining a contestant will NOT make it past auditions, even before they sing:
1. Uses "amongst" in casual conversation.
2. Compares self to celebrity singers.
3. Acts a fool, in general.

Then again, that last criterion didn't screw up chances for Ashley, aka "Blondie," who did a great job with Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Casanova." She was a bit annoying in the pre-audition clips (interrupting another contestant's interview, for instance), but I look forward to seeing what she does next in H'wood.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for Isabel, the teen with an amazing voice; Taisha, who did an incredible "Folsom Prison Blues"; Rodney, "The Voice of Charlotte," who helps the homeless by sharing his street-singing proceeds; and Brandy (was that her name?), who left the room with "Please don't fight, it makes us sad."

Don't hold your breath on that score, Pumpkin. But we'll tune in Thursday night to see how they behave in the Big Easy.

Peace, love and bushy tails ... XOXO 


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Living Wright

While other kids were watching "The Smurfs," Scene Writer Jason Ashley Wright was tuned in to "Style with Elsa Klensch." By fourth grade, he knew he wanted to write, and spent almost three years publishing a weekly teen-oriented magazine, Teen-Zine -- circulation: 2. After earning a degree in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi, he became the medical reporter and teen board coordinator for the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, a Gannett newspaper. Eight months later, with visions of Elsa dancing in his head, he applied for the fashion writer position at the Tulsa World, where he began working on Aug. 3, 1998. He is now a general assignment reporter for Scene.

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