American Idol Auditions Start with Pants on the Ground and End with Hope

Last night, American Idol wrapped up its audition rounds. While last night's episode began with Pants On the Ground, it ended with a glimmer of Hope.

The episode began with a mini-feature highlighting the spontaneous success of Pants On the Ground. We saw creative interpretations of the song, including country, lyrical, and even applications in parliamentary debate. No wonder so many politicians (including John Edwards) are caught with their Pants On the Ground.

American Idol then featured Amanda Schechtman, a talented and funny voice actress. Although she was more used to communicating as an actress than as a singer, her voice was good enough to put her through to Hollywood. Ultimately I don't see her winning American Idol, but I think she'd do tremendously well on a show like Glee.

American Idol Final Auditions: Second Chances

We also saw a slew of repeat contestants including Suntan Girl and Stephanie Fisher, a contestant who idolized Victoria Beckham.

We also saw Lacey Brown who auditioned last year and was cut just before the top 24. She's back to Hollywood this year. Could she be this year's Gina Glocksen?

American Idol Final Auditions: Athletes

American Idol also featured a crop of athletes, including Adrian Chandtchi, a 6 foot 8 swimmer who described himself as "a beautiful man-flower." He seemed to be a late bloomer in the vocal department as Kara DioGuardi observed that "there's like a small boy trapped inside you."

Michael Lynche, a personal trainer, gave a sweet rendition of Unchained Melody. He had a bit of the velvet teddy-bear quality of Ruben Studdard, though Ruben had a thicker voice.

American Idol Final Auditions: Other Talent

We saw other talent, including Didi Benami who sang Hey Jude. She reminded me a bit of Megan Joy Corkery, though Didi was a stronger vocalist and not as quirky.

We saw Aaron Kelly, 16, who gave a surprisingly powerful performance of The Climb. He was refreshingly "un-annoying" and surprisingly "un-Disney Channel" for his age.

After a few train wrecks, including Kimberly Bishop who butchered Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl and Shaddaii Harris who just wouldn't stop singing!

The audition rounds ended with Hope Johnson of Dallas. She grew up in a large but poor family, but wanted to show the judges a positive side of herself. The judges, including Joe Jonas, loved her voice. Is it just me or was Joe Jonas a bit smitten with her? The look he gave her reminded me of the looks he gave Demi Lovato in Camp Rock.

Next week, American Idol will feature the Hollywood rounds as well as the debut of judge Ellen DeGeneres.

Sources:

American Idol Official Site