Idol Hits Austin Texas!

American Idol was in Austin for the third round of auditions. The sky was blue, the crowds were pumped and we got off to a great start with Brooks Levoy. A cute kid with a decent voice goes to Hollywood!

Next up, some of the not so cute and we do mean NOT. We saw a contestant dressed like an Armadillo and sounding like one too. We also saw a young lady in a barely there American flag thingamajig. (Yes, we know you're patriotic.) We even had one woman in a white female superhero getup. Poor thing didn't get any airtime accept a quick costume shot. Oh well, moving right along.

Nothing could top the sheer number of cowboy hats in the stadium. They whooped and hollered excited for their chance to impress the judges, but for most of them, it wasn't to be. More than one cowboy had to hit the dusty trail after proving hat and buckle do not a country singer make. It takes more than the right clothes to get to Hollywood. One such contestant sang a Brooks & Dunn song and was he ever a heartbreaker. Gorgeous and talented and the total county package was John Wayne Shulz. His voice was every bit Nashville and his presence every bit star. He will be a standout favorite for many.

As the auditions rolled on and the golden tickets flew, we did have to endure our fair share of vocal atrocities. Rodolpho Ochoa had an enthusiastic personality and a nice bright smile, but his green hair and lack of vocal ability left us wondering who supported him in his Idol dream and why didn't they tell him NOT to go? He was of course turned away and will now just be a bad memory...

Many golden tickets were given away on tonight's episode; Brooks Levoy was fair at 3.5 stars but I don't think he'll go very far. Hollie Cavanagh who had a rough first song, pulled it together and earned her Hollywood ride at 3.5 stars. Courtney Penry did a nice chicken impression and goes away with 3.5 stars. (Courtney, we love Ryan Seacrest too!) Shauntel Campos was decent and gets 3 stars. Caleb Johnson had fairly good rock chops and leaves with 3 stars. Jacqueline and Nick according to Jennifer Lopez; "the cutest couple on Idol in ten years", have very different styles, but both were equally good. Jacqueline gets 4.5 stars and her better half gets 4. Janelle Arthur was excellent and receives 4 stars.

Lastly, is Casey Abrams. Casey is the first Idol contestant ever to scat and to scat well. His vocals were insane! The only advice to Casey; "Leave the Melodica at home next time." Really, it just made you look like a dorkier version of Seth Rogan."

Overall, Austin brought us some great contenders for Hollywood. All the contestants have different vocal styles and it will be interesting to see if they've got versatility and stage presence. Although Hollywood week isn't proof positive of a star, it will certainly weed out the mediocre. Who's your favorite?