'IDOL' WATCH: Atlanta Auditions

Day two of the hit reality TV show "American Idol" continued tonight, moving the audition phase to Atlanta, Georgia, with guest judge Mary J. Blige. Atlanta proved rather comparable to last night's Boston auditions for the less-than-stellar singers, but, for a city that has featured the likes of Fantasia Barrino and Jennifer Hudson (both who held their initial audition in Atlanta), seemed to lack some of the more extraordinary performers. Although there were several good singers in the mix, the more colorful performances stole the show.

And none was more colorful than 62 year-old General Larry Platt. Platt performed what appeared to be a self-written piece entitled "Pants on the Ground," centering around the lyrics "Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground." As the last contestant of the night, Platt provided more entertainment than has been seen in recent "Idol" history, getting the judges and a number of other Idol-hopefuls joining in. Within minutes of the end of tonight's "Idol," #pantsontheground was already two of Twitter's trending topics. Don't be surprised if "Pants on the Ground" ends up hitting the radio waves in the near future.

Platt was not the only interesting performer to take the stage at the Atlanta auditions. Blake Smith wore a shirt proclaiming "Britney Spears Changed My Life," yet failed to remember the correct lyrics to Oops, I Did It Again. 20 year-old Holly Harden sported a full guitar dress, complete with matching guitar sunglasses for her performance of You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man by Loretta Lynn, but it was her country stylings that pushed her through to Hollywood.

The infectious Skii Bo Ski charmed the judges with both his personality and voice. Entering the audition wearing a bright red shirt with his name in gold print along the side (spelled incorrectly, as he pointed out) and the "American Idol" logo shaved into his head, the judges expected Skii Bo Ski to fall flat. Yet, after his unexpectedly skillful performance of Grape Vine by Marvin Gaye, the judges sent him to Hollywood. They were, however, rather confused when Skii Bo Ski compared himself to a dollar store, as Randy told him, "What in the world are you saying, man?"

Standouts for the evening included police officer Bryan Walker's performance of Superstar by past "Idol" winner Rueben Stoddard, which was quite a bit more interesting than the original recording; Jermaine Sellers controlled tenor on What If God Was One Of Us by Joan Osborne; and Miriam Lemnouni's version of The Climb by Miley Cyrus, which worked surprisingly well in the hands of a more seasoned voice.

However, no performance was more surprising than that of Vanessa Wolfe who, after coming off as rather simple in her short introduction (she said of herself, "I don't really have very much"), blew the judges away with an astonishing country voice. Her performance of Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show was quite possibly the best of the night. Wolfe was ecstatic upon receiving her ticket to Hollywood, exclaiming, "I get to ride on an aeroplane!"

As always, several people couldn't believe they didn't receive invitations to Hollywood, including Lamar Royal who, after proclaiming his love for both Mary J. Blige and constructive criticism prior to his audition, was escorted out of the audition room after being turned town and said to the cameras, "She can't sing a...lick." (Note that his phrasing was a bit more colorful.)

Many performances pushed the judges to their wit's end, including a rather hideous rendition of Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man from the Kern/Hammerstein musical, Show Boat, and a screechy performance of I Will Always Love You. Simon delivered his usual dose of sharp-but-hilarious comments, including "You sound like a cat barking," and, after only one of a pair of best friends made it to Hollywood, "If it's any comfort, I would have said no to both of you."

The Atlanta contestants provided a mix of the qualified and the quirky, sending 25 hopefuls to the second round. Yet, Atlanta will have left its mark by making sure "Idol" doesn't look like a fool by leaving its pants on the ground.

The next episode of "American Idol" airs Tuesday, January 19th, at 8PM EST on Fox, and follows the Chicago auditions with guest judge Shania Twain.

"American Idol" is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted June 11, 2002 on the Fox network and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television. It is currently the #1 TV show in the Nielsen Ratings and is one of only three that have been #1 for five consecutive seasons. The cast of "Idol" includes judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara GioGuardio, and Ellen Degeneres, and host Ryan Seacrest.

The program aims to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nation-wide auditions, and subsequent viewer voting. Through telephone voting, America has chosen past winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, and Kris Allen.
Several "Idol" contestants have been seen on the Broadway stage, including Barrino (The Color Purple), Hicks (Grease), Clay Aiken (Spamalot), Diana DeGarmo(Hairspray), Josh Strickland (Tarzan), Tamyra Gray (Rent, Bombay Dreams), and Constantine Maroulis (The Wedding Singer, Rock of Ages).

"American Idol" airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights on Fox at 8PM EST.

 

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