'American Idol': Austin Cattle Call Auditions in the Heart of Texas with John Wayne and Casey Abrams

This was one episode of "American Idol" I was looking forward to. First, it was coming from one of my favorite cities. Second, I was looking forward to seeing more high quality auditions this time around. Last but never least, the first Wednesday night episode not on for two grueling hours. It was on for one hour. Unfortunately it messed up my time with another show I was flipping back over to from time to time. Obviously I did not miss that much. Since Austin, Texas is known as the "Live Music Capital of the World" I can't say it was all that from the auditions. Leave it to "American Idol" to do it their silly way season after season.

Apology from "American Idol" Producers - Lame

Case in point of this show doing it their way started with some nonsensical hype coming from Ryan Seacrest. He announced on Twitter and his radio program an apology would be made on "American Idol" later that night regarding Steven Tyler's behavior. They showed the written apology at the start of the show followed by some audition clip we've never seen. Steven Tyler made some reference to a person's last name. Why show a written apology and then Tyler doing a dirty deed afterwards? This was nothing but a publicity ploy to bring more viewers to this declining show that's getting more irrelevant every year.

Highlights of Austin Auditions

There were a few auditions that stood out for me. The rest simply did nothing for me or I did not see them due to the other show I was watching from a former "American Idol" judge. Hollie Cavanaugh was very nervous and crying, but managed to pull herself together when Jennifer Lopez gave her a second chance on her audition. This time she turned everyone around including the new resident "mean" judge, Randy Jackson. Hopefully Hollie will pull herself together in Hollywood.

It was certainly a refreshing change of pace to see a very handsome cowboy in the audition room. He needs to get further in the competition, because John Wayne Schulz will have a huge fan base in no time. However, as far as vocals are concerned Casey Abrams, a Seth Rogen double, was the best of the night. He was featured at the end of the show naturally.

Last Thoughts of the Episode

I'm grateful "American Idol" did not have a slew of sob stories for this episode, unlike last week's barrage. There was another audition I liked from Austin, but her voice not so much, was Courtney Penry. She did this chicken move for the judges that was actually spot on. Courtney also has a crush on Ryan Seacrest. In typical Idol fashion we saw take after take of dreadful auditions that need to be retired soon from the show, but that's never going to happen. Enough of that and it's on to Los Angeles auditions Thursday night. One more week and these tedious auditions will soon be over and done with. Hallelujah

SOURCES:

American Idol - Official Site for Videos, Photos and Community, American Idol.com

Stephanie Krikorian, "'American Idol' Season 10: The Austin Auditions, TV Recap", Speakeasy - The Wall Street Journal

Len Melisurgo, "'American Idol' recap: Steven Tyler issues 'apology' in Texas", The Star-Ledger - NJ.com