Last night’s AI One-Hour Show (thank God it was only an hour!!) with auditions from San Francisco could easily have been called the ‘Gong Show’ or ‘AI’s By the Bay Freak Show’! It truly was one of the most disappointing auditions ever, and the talent level from that city was just terrible! Only a dozen folks (Yes….ONLY 12 from the city by the bay….and most of them were folks from Southern CA!!) got tickets punched…..guess that’s why Simon was sooooo crabby and feuding with Kara all night long, I’m sure all a stage show?!
Of the 12 moving on, I don’t think AI even did the show justice by showing us who the ‘best’ of those were, but from what was shown…..here’s my thoughts…..
· Tatiana Del Toro….Good looking, model type who has a laugh as scary as a hyena! She’s NOT AI material IMHO…..but nonetheless she’s moving on. No way she gets to the Top 24….mark it down!
· Jesus’ Valenzuela….No relation to Dodgers Fernando….but please….this kid would not have been going if not for his CKWS (cute kids with signs) coming in to the audition to show support, make the judges get out the sympathy vote, and bail his butt out! Another ‘loser’ who will not make it past Hollywood Hell Week!
· Annie Murdoch….Not to be confused with Annie Lennox, but she did look as stoned as Annie often does….another loser from the Bay area, and one that didn’t deserve the face time that others who got ticketed to Hollywood should have received!
· Adam Lambert….One of the better contestants who is on his way to Hollywood. Putting his own spin on Queens ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, thought he sounded great….keep an eye on this kid, he’s Top 24 potential for sure!
· Kai Kalama….Promoted this kids story all night long….takes care of his sick mom at home, so like Danny Gokey last week, get out the sympathy vote for this kid, except in this case, I really like the kid and think he’s genuine and has tremendous love for his mom! Better yet, he’s VERY talented, one of the BEST so far through the first three audition episodes, and a lock for the Top 24!!
Two contestants who did not get a lot of screen time (SHOULD HAVE!!) but looked and sounded pretty good…..
· Raquel Houghton…..Very pretty and had a nice voice, sang ‘Son of a Preacher Man’….a nice package that could move her through Hollywood, my dark-horse from San Fran! Keep an eye on this girl!
· John Twiford….Good looking, 27-year old music teacher from CA….kid looks good and sounds good, and should have replaced one of the bozos who received more face time! Possible Top 24 candidate!
Bottom line….no Katherine McPhee’s for me to pick out from last nights contestants…but it was good to see Kara stand up to Simon and call him on his rudeness and irritability last night! Their relationship will be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
FAST FACTS: The ratings for Tuesday's "American Idol" took a hit thanks to live coverage of the many inaugural balls going on and being shown in some TV markets, yet the singing competition still came out on top. "Idol" averaged 22.4 million total viewers, easily besting the 12.6 million during the 8 p.m. hour for ABC's "Neighborhood Inaugural Ball," according to early data from Nielsen Media Research, but I’m also sure that many people probably DVR’d it as well.

OK…..I’m leaving my heart and all the loonies in San Fran….and tonight it’s off to Churchill Downs and Louisville, KY……a great place to hopefully have more winners than losers! Until tomorrow…..Eddie Idol……OUT!