Watch American Idol Season 9 Episode 01 – Boston, Mass Auditions

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The first person to audition and step inside out of the rain is Janet McNamara, 26, an accountant, Somerville, MA, who claims she’s only been singing well for about two years, and really jumped up her game playing the American Idol game. This one isn’t going to go well, is it? Singing and dancing onstage are what she wants, and she plans to do what she does in job interviews, which is jumping up and down in the bathroom telling herself she’s awesome. She jumps right in in front of the judges and Simon is incredulous that the game might actually work. She sings Pocket Full of Sunshine. Simon wants to open a window, but is told his character liked her on the game, Randy liked her about 90%, and Paula always thought she was “fricking awesome.” She says that as she points at Kara, who is more bothered by that than Janet’s singing. This Simon character says no, as well as non-Paula, Victoria, and Randy. She tells her friend and Ryan Seacrest that Paula thought she did good.

Maddy Curtis, 16, Bluemont, VA, is number nine of twelve kids, which she calls a crazy and awesome experience. The child right before her has Down’s Syndrome, and says they always did everything at the same time, but he needed more of a companion, so they adopted a baby with Down’s Syndrome, then another. Maddy thinks we need to see the world the way her brothers do. She’s freaked out to see the judges in the flesh, and Simon jokes they’re not robots.

Singing the Hallelujah, Maddy is our first good audition of the year. Simon tells her she has a good voice with some soul, and Randy didn’t think she’d be good, but actually really liked her. She had great control. Victoria thinks she has a beautiful voice, although she was a bit nervous. She thinks she has an old soul about her, and Kara found her to be authentic and singing from the heart. Simon tells her that amazingly she’s not annoying for a 16 year old. With four yeses, she’s through, and she stops to thank the judges on the way out. Refreshing. Her brothers give her balloon flowers afterwards.

Pat Ford, 17, Derry, NH, dances to entertain everyone while he’s waiting. He likes to “Hollah.” He asks Simon if he’s ready, which of course he is. He sings Womanizer and is entertaining in a sad sort of way. And if anyone was not a womanizer, it would be this guy. He tells Randy afterwards he thought he did awesome, and then tells Simon he thinks he’s even sassier than on TV. He knew Kara would be a sweetheart. Randy figures Pat has a lot of friends, and Simon notes he never had friends. I’ll be your friend, Simon. He gets four noes, and Randy asks him to stop singing forever. He asks to give Kara a hug, and she accepts it.

Jennifer Hirsh, 22, a receptionist, of Manhattan, doesn’t have the conventional Idol look, but she’s really interesting singing a jazzy version of Ding Dong the Wicked Witch Is Dead. Claire Fuller, 23, a college student, of Philadelphia, has more of a conventional look and sings just as well. Jess Wolfe, 24, a booking agent, of Brooklyn, is the third girl in a row that gets all yeses. Yet by noon, only gals have gotten through.

Amadeo Diricco, 28, a bartender, Johnston, RI, would describe his family as “a feat for no man.” They have big family dinners at least once a week, with cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. He wants to get his foot in the door and thinks his life will change today for the better. He tells Simon his wife pushed him into auditioning, along with some other people.

Singing a Muddy Waters song, Amadeo could be good, but loud. At the end he shows a little control. Victoria tells him he has a huge voice and a lot of passion and seems like a really nice person. Kara feels like she’s home with her cousin and figures he makes a mean sauce. Randy likes his personality because he’s like a real guy. Simon explains in a weird way, this is his favorite audition of the day, because he likes him, and he’s sincere with a huge likability. He gets four yeses, and he’s the first guy through. His male family members are there to greet and tackle him when he gets out with his golden ticket.

Derek Hilton, 19, a landscaper, Bellingham, MA, calls himself a spiritual kind of guy and says he started getting into music when he was in a low point in his life, going on a lot of nature walks. He started pushing it last year working on his voice. The show can change your life, and he thinks if he makes it, he’ll touch numerous people. Posh asks him about his claim to sounding like Chris Brown and the Eagles. That’s an odd combo, no?

Singing Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Words, Derek is way too nasally, as Kara has to hide her laughter. Simon tells him he was channeling a lot of people, and Randy questions the nasally tone. Simon more seriously tells him it was rubbish and that he doesn’t sound like the Eagles, but sounded like twenty people at once, and all of them horrible. No golden ticket here, yet Derek still feels he’s amazing at what he does.

Mere Doyle, 24, retail sales, Walple, MA, had no umbrella outside and was drenched. Her store must not sell them. She’s an anime freak and handmakes her own kimonos. She’d like to be a successful singer in Japan. She’s been to a hundred auditions and treats them all like her life is dependent on it. She’s singing Janis Joplin. Simon is glad one of them had a good time, and notes the singing was verging on terrible. She says everyone, including voice coaches and theater directors, says she’s good. She knows this is the part of the auditions where they tell you to stop doing what you love. Simon thinks it will be the best news she’s heard, though.

A group of guys break out in harmony in the holding room. Luke Shaffer, 24, a waiter, NYC, is one of them. He has a great voice. Another is Benjamin Bright, 25, an elementary music teacher, Rome, NY. He sings some Beatles. Both of them get through, easily get through. They’re just pleasant to listen to.

Andrew Fenlon, 25, an unemployed musician, Boston, is quite irritated to have to wait so long. Kudos to the cameraman at making him look intense and crazy. When asked if he’s single? Married? Kids? He says No, yes. He doesn’t seem too sure. Once he finally gets through, he doesn’t seem ready. He issues his waiting complaints to the judges as well, then tells Simon he doesn’t think the question of why he’s there is interesting. Simon threatens to make him leave. He’s singing House of the Rising Sun and asks if they know it, as Simon tells him again he’s really pushing it. He’s not “that” bad of a singer. Not laughable, but not great enough to be here either.

Kara asks Andrew if he’s angry, as he seems on edge. He tells her he is angry, from waiting. She explains if you want to be in music, but don’t want to wait to be on American Idol, it seems to be a problem. She’s kind of pissed off about it. She tells him some people would wait years for this shot, and she’s angry at him and doesn’t like him at all. He says there’s no problem, and Simon tells him he walked in quite rude, sulky, and very aggressive, and he has very bad energy. Andrew wants to talk about it, and says he wanted to seem confident. Posh lays it out on the line and tells him he doesn’t have the goods to back it up. With three noes, Simon says he would have said yes. Kara finally tells Andrew he needs a spanking, then wants a shower when he leaves.

Ashley Rodriguez, 21, a college student, Boston, really wants this and says it’s been her dream since she was really little. She hopes the judges see that her singing comes from a special place. She sings some Alicia Keyes and does a great job. Kara loves her and her look and recognizes the difficulty in the song. She thinks she has a look and voice that is commercial. Victoria thinks she looks fantastic as well. Simon thought it was very good and says some people have got it, and she may have it. Randy issues a yes times a bazillion, trillion, million, something, and Victoria again tells her she’s naturally beautiful. She’s going through with four yeses.

Tyler Grady, 19, a college student, of Nazareth, PA, has really interesting dancing skills. He also has splints on both arms as he explains he was climbing a tree and fell and shattered both wrists. He’s a drummer, too, so it’s the worst thing to happen to him. He loves drumming, but his dream is to be a frontman. He’s seen a lot of careers started here, so he figured why not. Randy thinks he’s stepped out of 1960, but Kara argues it’s more like 1971. Simon asks if he had binoculars around his neck when he fell from the tree.

Singing Let’s Get It On, Tyler is really interesting. He’s not the best singer, but he’s fascinating and exciting. Randy says if he didn’t know better, he would have thought the girls would have liked him to continue. Victoria liked the look and the song, and Kara thinks he’s fantastic. Randy liked him as well, with the whole Morrison stance thing, and Simon thought he had good taste. Simon thinks it will be one they remember. With four yeses, Tyler’s through at the end of day one.

The first person up to audition on day two is Lisa Olivero, 24, a waitress, Billerica, MA. She finds singing to be a spiritual experience and is self-taught. She knows this is her chance to stop waiting on other people. She always wondered why she wasn’t on the show, as she thinks she’s better than the others. Singing Vision of Love, we thought she was going to be good, but she’s horribly offkey. While Kara holds her head, Victoria shakes hers. Interestingly, they both match today in dark blue. Simon thought the same, that he thought she was going to be good, but it was the craziest version of Mariah Carey he ever heard. Randy and Simon drop their jaws as she walks out, very Jessica Rabbit-ish.

After a group of bad singers, we need someone good. In walks Mike Davis, 18, Boston, He’s an actor on the Godzilla speedboat, seen out the window behind the judges. Randy wants a boat ride. I’m with ya on that one, Dawg. Mike sings Yesterday, and he’s not bad. With some vocal training I think he could do some great things with country. Simon notes his confidence, and notes it also comes without being obnoxious. Kara thinks he’s a guy she’d like to hang out with. Mike thinks they could go get some steaks sometime. Simon excuses himself from the table, saying he was going to say yes. Randy says no and walks out as well. Mike’s parents are nervous waiting, but here he comes with a golden ticket, thanks to Kara and Victoria. He tells his mom he’s pretty sure he has a date with Kara. Yeah, for steaks.

Katie Stevens, 16, Middlebury, CT, grew up in a big Portuguese family and is really close to her grandmother who doesn’t speak English and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about a year ago. Through it all, she loves listening to Katie. Katie wants to come home to her with good news, as she won’t be with them much longer.

Katie sings At Last for her grandmother and for her audition. She’s good, and it’s surprising to have this from a 16-year-old. I think her grandmother will be hearing some good news. Simon thought it was a difficult song sung quite well. Randy thinks she has good natural talent, and Kara says to sing like that at 16 is pretty amazing. Victoria likes her stage presence, as she looks happy. She’s through to the next round. Katie calls her grandmother and tells her in Lebanese she made it. Her grandmother cries, as does Ryan.

Joshua Blaylock, 28, Business Development Manager, NYC, has his last shot at an audition because of age. He’s not bad, but it’s one of those things where it’s as polished as it can get, then he goes horribly flat. Victoria likes his voice, and Simon thinks it would have been good at 14, but there was no originality and power at 28. Posh wonders if he was playing it safe, and Joshua knows he should be more assertive. Randy instructs him to say, “Simon, shut up.” He does, and with this Simon admits he’s likable. Randy can see Joshua singing Spandau Ballet music. Joshua pleads to go through and tells Randy he will make him proud. Kara says yes on his loveliness, Posh says yes because it’s good to be polite, and Simon helps him out with a yes, as does Randy. He’s in, and Randy instructs him through some more motivational speaking.

Justin Williams, 27, a vocal coach, Sandy, UT, was diagnosed with caner seven years ago when he was serving a mission in Spain. He went through multiple surgeries and chemotherapy and now calls it an interesting, humbling experience. He’s now cancer-free. If he’s makes it through, it would mean everything to him. It would prove to himself that he did it and didn’t give up.

With a great jazzy voice, Justin sings low, and even in falsetto. Randy asks if that’s the type of singer he wants to be, and Justin says yes, more like an alternative pop soul type of thing. Victoria thinks he has a nice voice and that the girls will like him with a nice face and nice presence. Kara’s going to remember him. All four judges say yes and this guy’s news keeps getting better and better. He’s cancer-free and headed to Hollywood.

Victoria tells the next contestant he has an “interesting look.” That’s good, as I wasn’t even sure what gender we were looking at it. We have early Whitney Houston hair, a goatee, huge earrings, t-shirt, tennies, and a flashy vest and gloves. Norberto Guerrero, 18, Reading, PA, sings a song that is just as uncertain. When he forgets the lyrics, Posh says she used to do that all the time. Norberto wants to inspire others just like Michael Jackson inspired him. Simon thinks he sings like a 3-year-old girl dressed like Victoria Jackson with a beard. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, depending on how you look at it, he doesn’t make it through.

Bosa Mora, 22, Columbus, OH, mentions his mom and dad are both from Nigeria. They met in the States while attending school, got married, and had a lot of kids. They always wanted to pursue music, but saw the opportunity through him. Ryan notes if he gets through the people behind his mom won’t be able to se the stage, as she has incredibly large hats. He sings with a lot of passion. Simon calls him good but boring, and Bosa offers to spice it up a little. Posh didn’t find it boring and neither did Kara. Posh gets on Simon for rolling his eyes. Simon votes no, Victoria yes, Kara yes, and Randy draws it out, then lets him through. Bosa’s mom feels good, “God is good, and I am grateful.”

Leah Laurenti, 22, Medford, NY, grew up with really strict parents, calling it difficult to be a child in that. They went to church a lot. They couldn’t listen to secular music, but it was her way of expressing herself. She thought if it felt so good, it couldn’t be bad. She wanted it so bad and didn’t want to settle. She’s capable of achieving her goal. She’s good, but there’s also a slight screechy quality to her. Tone that down and she’ll be good. Randy thinks she’s one of the best today and likes the jazzy thing she has going on. He wasn’t expecting it. Kara thinks she’s a very good singer and notes her emotions. Randy votes yes, as does Kara, Victoria, and Simon. She’s through.