"American Idol" Season 10, Episode 6: Los Angeles Auditions

"American Idol" Season 10, Episode 6: Los Angeles Auditions

Television Review

By our guest blogger, Catherine Fuentes

In the most disappointing audition episode of Season 10, "American Idol" took a turn for the worse in Los Angeles. This was very surprising to me for many reasons, including the fact that the Myspace auditions were brought to Los Angeles to perform for the judges. I had hoped that the center of the entertainment world would be a little bit more… entertaining.

The highlights of the night were the Gutierrez brothers, Mark and Aaron, who looked as if they hopped out of a J.Crew ad and harmonized beautifully in their duet of “Lean on Me.” They were the most talented people of the night by miles, but to be fair, they would’ve been among the most talented featured performers on any night thus far.

I really liked Tim Halperin, who is firmly in the running of being the Casey James of Season 10 (moderately talented, personable, and adorable). He serenaded his longtime celebrity crush, Jennifer Lopez, with Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved” and had a pretty solid tone in his voice.

Karen Rodriguez was the only positively memorable Myspace audition. She had a great tone to her voice, and for some reason, just came across as totally likable and personable. However, the most memorable Myspace audition was Tynesha Roches, who wanted to pay homage to her hometown’s pride, Frank Sinatra. Unfortunately for all of us, but most importantly the memory of Mr. Sinatra, Tynesha was appallingly horrible. She was over-the-top and cracked under pressure, forgetting all the lyrics. On top of that, she really couldn’t sing.

I thought Heidi Khzam had a very mediocre voice, but that was inconsequential as she was a very attractive belly dancer. She hardly had to sing before the men of the panel gave her a very emphatic yes, while J. Lo voiced her concerns. Randy shocked me with this one. He’s been so tough with younger, more talented singers, but the beautiful girl with a forgettable voice got an easy pass.

Otherwise, Los Angeles was filled with terrible voices and annoying personalities. There was kid who dropped out of college to pursue "American Idol" and sounded terrible; an awkward, fat “freelance record producer,” who rapped about making someone climax (above photo); and the old, painfully bad Cooper Robinson who will surely appear in some joke segment in this season’s big finale.

But now is also as good a time as any to mention how incredibly happy I’ve been with the judges this year. I really liked Simon, and I couldn’t imagine the show without him. Not once this season have I missed Simon or wanted him there. The judges are accurate, they’re funny, they’re sometimes inappropriate, but most importantly, they give really good advice. Personally, I think Steven Tyler is the best thing to happen to "American Idol," and I can’t wait to see if he becomes more of a loose cannon when the live shows start.