Charleston Represents

I have a special place in my heart for this city. Dave & I took our very first vacation there. I have wonderful memories of walking along the Battery, riding bikes through the picturesque streets and staying at a bed & breakfast right off of Market Street. It's truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited and is full of charm, history and quintessential southern hospitality. It is not, however, full of singers. Obviously. And so, my memories are tarnished forever.

The new angles the show took last night were...um....interesting. We got our first Idol love story with Randy & Crystal. Apparently Master Yoda met his lady love on the AI message boards where they both offered there expert advice on getting through the audition process. It was during this segment that Simon offered what I felt was his best quote of the evening: "If I was in your family I would ask you not to." Sing that is.

Then we had Oliver and his wife who went into labor as he was about to audition. We followed them around the whole night only to watch poor Ollie get rejected at the end. It was sweet that all he cared about was showing off his new daughter to the judges. I didn't appreciate being toyed with though. They got me twice last night. The second time was the Air Force pilot, Lindsey. Girlfriend was beautiful and can land a plane the size of a football field. I soooooo wanted her to be good. Not so much, though.

The only person that I really did like was London, who lost her father to cancer. I was afraid to feel too sorry for her until I heard her sing. See what this show has done to me??? I am withholding mercy based on stage presence and musical skill. Just like the Bible teaches. Thankfully, she rocked Billie Holiday and I was able to feel good about extending my sympathy to her.

Other notables were Raysharde, the black Clay Aiken, Aretha not Franklin and her giant belt and DeAnna the waitress. I will confess that I originally wrote her name down as Deanna but then quickly corrected it when she noted the capital "A" was to avoid any confusion. After her "run you down with a baseball bat" speech and her monologue on the perils of the Sunday buffet crowd, I became a little afraid of her. Anyone else?

So, the south failed to wow anyone last night but we still have Atlanta to redeem ourselves. It is at this point every season that I grow tired of the audition process and just want to get on with it. Sadly, there are 3 more cities to go. Hopefully, next Tuesday they'll find people with mad skills and off-the-hook charisma....in Omaha, Nebraska.