American Idol Los Angeles Auditions Review

The American Idol auditions roll into Los Angeles this week, where 11,000 hopefuls show up at the Rose Bowl. Avril Lavigne and Katy Perry are the guest judges.

Tuesday night's American Idol show introduced us to few immensely talented singers, but the amount of time spent showcasing joke contestants rendered it somewhat disappointing. The guest judges were a contrast in style, with Avril Lavigne contributing little beside her devil horn-embellished hoodie while Katy Perry was brutally honest and fun. In fact, Katy Perry is my favorite guest so far this season. I particularly loved her saying that the regular judges arriving in a helicopter was ridiculous.

The standouts from the contestants were Andrew Garcia and Chris Golightly, both of whom had introductory packages that tugged at the heart strings.

Andrew is the father of a little boy, and his own parents were involved in gangs when he was young. We see his father crying about the past in their home. Andrew himself seems like a humble and sweet person. He sang "Sunday Morning," and one thing I like about his version is that he didn't add to many runs or other embellishments. He has a unique R&B voice and a huge range. Based on his back story and performance, I think Andrew has a good shot at the top 24.

The other real contender for the Top 24, Chris Golightly, also had a compelling introductory package. He's lived in about 25 foster homes in his short life and says that music helps him feel secure. He sang "Stand by Me." His voice is strong and beautiful with pure tones. Despite Katy Perry saying that American Idol is not a Lifetime Movie, I'm certain Chris' sad life as an orphan will inspire many American Idol viewers. It's interesting that Simon Cowell gave him only a "small yes' while Kara and Randy loved him.

We saw a few more Hollywood-bound performers.

Jim Ranger is the father of three adorable kids and is a worship pastor. Normally singing an original song on American Idol is the kiss of death, but the judges said yes in Jim's case. To me his singing was kind of average, and I doubt he'll get far into the competition.

Mary Powers has a strong, raspy rock voice and her rendition of "Love is a Battlefield" was good enough to get her a golden ticket. In a sweet moment, her daughter got to meet Simon, who she likes because he's "mean." Cute!

Tasha Layton also got the green light. She has a jazzy style and lovely tones to her voice. I'm not sure how well she'll do in Hollywood, but she's got a great look.

One of my favorite parts of the show was the montage of Adam Lambert clones, which included Jason Castro's younger brother Michael and a guy who declared himself the love child of Adam and Susan Boyle. We got to meet A.J. (Jim) Mendoza who claims he sent a demo to Adam. He sang "Cult of Personality" and, well, let's just say that he's no Adam Lambert.

The rest of the hour was spent on losers like the low-rent Mick Jagger imitator Austin Fuliner and the Kung Fu fighting Damien, along with the usual crying jag segments that we've seen in every audition show. It's annoying that 22 people got golden tickets in Los Angeles, but we only heard 5 of them. A couple of great performances and the fabulous Katy Perry saved the night.