Friendly city brings out ire in ‘Idol’ judges

Charleston, South Carolina, is billed as the friendliest city in the country, according to “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest. Not surprisingly, none of the show’s three judges live there.

The city might not be that friendly anymore. Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul dismissed or at best, tepidly praised, all the talent that it had to offer.

Only 23 contestants earned tickets to Hollywood, and their performances combined for about 23 seconds of airtime. Most of Wednesday’s broadcast recapping the auditions was focused on those who got denied.

Oliver Highman’s saga both opened and closed the show. The 27-year-old was among the first in line when he got the call saying that his pregnant wife’s water had broken. He left auditions to take her to the hospital to deliver their first child, in an unfamiliar city with an “Idol” camera in the car. The only thing the show could have done to make it any more stressful for the poor guy would have been to have Ryan actually deliver the baby

Fortunately, Highman managed to get medical attention fast enough to allow his wife to give birth to daughter Emma Grace in the hospital. Unfortunately, he didn’t sing well enough to impress the judges afterward, though he did bring in his wife and child so the judges could feel especially bad about turning him down.

Moxie doesn’t help
DeAnna Prevatte came to the auditions straight from Albemarle, N.C., hometown of Kellie Pickler. Also like Pickler, she’s a waitress, who complained to the judges that the worst customers are part of the Sunday all-you-can-eat crowd that tips poorly. However, she told an incredulous Simon that she never yells at the customers for treating her poorly, because that would be unprofessional.

Simon said he’d have no problem calling out those kind of patrons. “I know you would, that’s why you are in the business that you’re in and not waitressing,” Prevatte responded.

Despite the moxie, Prevatte’s very loud and over-the-top performance of Reba McEntire’s “Fancy” didn’t get her the judges’ approval. And she probably won’t be giving Simon a reference if he applies for a job at her restaurant either.

Slide show ‘Idol’ auditions Thousands turn out in cities across America for a chance at stardom on season 7 of the hit show. more photos

Crystal Ortiz and Randy Stark met on AmericanIdol.com message boards — a true story of the power of the Internet to draw people together. Then Simon showed his power to rip them apart, calling their audition “complete torture.” Way to boost that forum traffic, guys!

Lyndsey Goodman flies C-17 transport planes for the Air Force, which ordinarily is a textbook recipe for “Idol” advancement. But even though her rendition of Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet” was good, it didn’t convince Simon that she could be a contemporary recording artist and he turned her down. That’s not much in the way of thanks for someone who’s serving her country.

“They call me the black Clay Aiken,” Raysharde Henderson confidently told the cameras. Whether “they” meant it as a compliment or not wasn’t revealed, but at any rate the judges didn’t swoon when he belted out Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” “A little bit over the top,” Randy said, before amending it to “very over the top” and sending him home.

Few earn golden tickets
Even the singers who got the judges’ approval didn’t do much to brand themselves as contenders. The few who actually got airtime looked like they advanced mainly because the judges felt that had to take at least a few people to justify their expense reports for the trip.

Among the success stories, Amy Flynn was the most camera ready. The 16-year-old high school junior not only is captain of the school dance team, she also gives talks on abstaining from drugs, sex and alcohol. It doesn’t take one of the striking WGA writers to see where that combination would be irresistible for the judges to comment on, and they did not disappoint.

Slideshow   Celebrity sightings Keanu Reeves takes in a “Pippa Lee” screening, Britney Spears and her sons go yachting in Sydney, Jessica Biel visits “Planet 51” and more. more photos

Flynn became the third contestant of the season to get the “not as good as you think you are” warning from Simon, who’s becoming more repetitive in his old age. He also said that a lot of people were going to find her annoying — for example, all the teenagers who are more inclined to favor what she preaches against.

The allure of the anti-Britney Spears proved too much to overcome, and all three voted to send her to the next round. But they all had a request for her on her way out.

“Give (Ryan) that speech, too. He really needs it.” Simon said.

“Give him the long speech,” Randy added.

Simon, however, was doubtful that her morals would last in the corrupting influence of Hollywood. “One week in L.A., it’ll all change,” he said.

The brother-sister duet of Michelle and Jeffrey Lampkin sang “I’m Your Angel” by R. Kelly and Celine Dion. Jeffrey got better reviews than his younger sister, though neither really wowed the judges. But both got tickets to Hollywood anyway.

London Weidberg lost her father to cancer three years ago, and said she’d put her musical dreams on hold to be with him at the end. She sang well, but Simon accurately said that there are thousands of equally talented singers like her in bars across the country. But he voted to send her to Hollywood anyway. Maybe, finally, the friendliest town in American had managed to briefly soften his heart.

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