American Idol Season 9 Denver Auditions: Mile High City Full of Good, Bad, and Goofy 'Idol' Hopefuls

The American Idol season 9 Denver auditions produced a number of worthy golden ticket recipients and, much to my delight, brought back former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham as a guest judge. Here's a brief review of some promising (and not so promising) "Idol" hopefuls from the Denver auditions:

I was sure that self-proclaimed Jack Black look-a-like Mark Labriola was going to be a joke. But once he started singing "Tempted", I quickly realized that this kid is the real deal. He's got some decent pipes! And the fact that he's got a cute little boy who he clearly adores is not going to hurt him either. Mark gets the first golden ticket of the broadcast.

I was also impressed with Kimberly Kerbow, an extremely pretty single mom with a strong singing voice. But why she chose to look at Simon when singing the lyric, "I'll buy him rogaine" is beyond me, for Simon Cowell has a rather magnificent head of hair. On the other hand, perhaps Kimberly is psychic and can see into the future - a future where the ravages of time render Simon bald as a cue ball. You never know.

I can't understand why Simon was so underwhelmed by 16-year-old Tori Kelly. I think she's got a decent singing voice (she sang "Gravity") and great energy. Fortunately, the other judges agreed with me and sent her to Hollywood.

Mario Galvin wasn't blessed with a great singing voice, but he sure was entertaining. It was all about The Laugh; every time that truncated nervous laugh issued from Mario's lips I couldn't help but laugh as well. It was infectious - but in a good way. There's something to be said for that.

Maybe Austin Paul and Kenny Everett were meant to audition for "Idol" to learn how to be more humble? I'm just saying.

Casey James sure does look like an American Idol, but in terms of singing and performance skills he's just not there yet. He has potential, but I think he needs to loosen up and let it flow. It seems as though he keeps all his emotions bottled up inside - which is a recipe for how not to be the next American Idol. But thanks to Kara and Victoria, he did get a golden ticket; it will be interesting to see if he makes the necessary adjustments when in Hollywood.

And then, of course, there was Bikini Boy. Nuff said.

Source:

americanidol.com