'American Idol': Milwaukee Auditions Bring Out the Cheeseheads

"American Idol" stopped off for auditions in the city that loves beer, The Fonz and of course, cheese. They call it Milwaukee and this was the first time the show held auditions in this Midwestern city near Chicago. It's also home to Season 8's Danny Gokey who placed third that year. He was on hand to meet with "would be" contestants.

This episode of "American Idol" harkened back to the same old, same old format used in every audition since Season One. The only big difference is the judges. We had to sit through the silliest auditions thus far in Season 10 to get to the good ones. At least the other two previous cities kept those at a minimum. I suppose viewers wanted to see more of the awful talent. They got that in doses in Milwaukee with their 2-hour show Wednesday night.

First Hour of Milwaukee Auditions

Thankfully I was able to switch channels to Paula Abdul's show that is up against this juggernaut during the first hour. I'll mention my favorite auditions that were truly sincere, along with one bad audition that left an unfortunate impression on me. The backstory of the 15-year old who drove to Milwaukee for the audition with her learner's permit. Emma Henry's parents and siblings were passengers in the car acting as backseat drivers. I'm glad she got a golden ticket, but like some of the judges said she may get eaten up in the process. Bar Mitzvah singer, Jerome Bell's voice was very impressive while singing Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On."

Ryan Seacrest announced all of the 15-year olds who auditioned in Milwaukee made it through to Hollywood, because they want to capitalize on Justin Bieber's success. Then why doesn't "American Idol" end up having only 15-year olds this year for the finals? That's probably what will happen. However, I liked one of those young teens, Thia Megia. She has great vocals for being so young and is really cute. Thia would be perfect for the tween market. I could do without the Ryan Seacrest wannabe radio personality who auditioned. Steven Tyler was right in saying not to quit his day job or other career choice.

Second Hour with the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

No doubt the second half of the show had its share of countless bad auditions, which I'll get out of the way first. An annoying Packers Fan, yes we got it, after they showed her cheering the room umpteen times. She actually had the nerve to sing Beiber's "Baby" opera style. A belligerent audition felt discriminated due to her plus size simply walked out and gave herself a "no." Now let's get to the good stuff.

First, a Harvard graduate and White House intern was a bit of an anomaly for the show. However, I liked her voice and the song she chose to sing, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding. That is one of my favorite songs. They showed a clip of Molly at the holding room for the contestants. Randy Jackson was high-five-ing everyone, including her. Instead of hitting the palm of her hand, he slapped her face.

By far the most surprising audition for me was a CPA by day and a "would be" singer on weekends for weddings and funerals (?). I thought for sure he would be one of those really bad singers. Steve Beghun was actually very good, but terrible at telling jokes. The Aerosmith/Steven Tyler groupie was fun to watch and we learned something of her backstory.

Chris Medina's Story

It was the last audition of the entire two hours that was the most unforgettable. Chris Medina shared his story about his fiancée who is now confined to a wheelchair due to brain damage from a car accident. After his audition Steven Tyler wanted to meet her, so they brought Chris' fiancée into the room. It was truly touching to see all of the judges show compassion. This is something we never saw in any season on "American Idol" until now.

SOURCES:

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

Gil Kaufman, "'American Idol' Finds Tragic Stories, Aerosmith Groupies In Milwaukee", MTV.com