Next was the obligatory funny/awful audition that's supposed to make us cry. Meet Megan. She was a robust sixteen year old high schooler from Staten Island who announced, "Just because you're big doesn't mean you can't do anything." Clearly she missed last week's show when two overweight yet qualified girls were unceremoniously sent packing. Anyway, poor Megan was a sartorial disaster: leg warmers, mini skirt, what looked like a Bedazzled tank top. It was all bad. Plus, her voice wasn't anything special (and it didn't help that she tried to wail out a Stevie Wonder song).
The judges clearly didn't want to shatter her dreams; so instead of telling her that she was hopeless, they said she was too young and untrained. This caused Megan to have a Mary Catherine Gallagher moment, which culminated in her declaring, "I know I'm young, but I carry myself like I'm twenty. And my mom has said that like a million times." Poor, deluded, leg-warmer-wearing Megan. Tears and sniffles soon followed -- as well as an obligatory hug from Denise Van Outen who made her promise to never give up. "Don't cry," Denise said, adding, "Not everyone can be talented and beautiful like me. Hugs!"
"Why hello, camera."
Finally, we were ready to start the dance round. Again, not much drama here. We saw the men practicing, and specifically, we were able to see Needy Matt (not Soccer Matt) in all his sweaty glory. Granted, there was one guy in the background who was about ten times sweatier than Matt, but still, Matt was fairly damp. Denise wouldn't even hug him, and you know how hard that must have been for her.
Elsewhere, that girl Anna Marie had returned looking more innocent, and Austin had shown up wearing a tank top so he could flex his muscles and impress Denise (although, I wouldn't be surprised if Austin had his eyes on Billy Bush instead). At long last, the kids all took the stage and danced up a storm. This is actually my favorite part of the show, if only to hear the snide little comments the judges make in their seats. For a moment, it makes you realize how good this series could have been if it hadn't been less derivative of American Idol and more derivative of Making the Band.
Anyway, Kathleen quietly stated that Austin was the best Danny Zuko, and David said that he could get rid of Needy Matt quite happily. Agreed. But would the judges stay true to their word? Time for cuts.
"It's a match!"
First up was Ashley, the girl whose voice cracked several times in the auditions. Would she make it through with her Olivia Newton John lookalike potential? Of course. She was the one that they wanted. However, Anna Marie, despite her makeover, was still too soulful for them. Plus, she couldn't dance. DENIED. (Personally, I thought she was one of the best girls that had come through. Lame).
Well, after a bunch of cuts and acceptances, we were down to only one more row of people. Billy Bush told us, "It's not looking good for untrained jock Matt Nolan." That, of course, meant that he was going through, and sure enough, the judges old us he was moving on to Grease Academy. Also getting the nod was Austin (shocker), which brought us down to two last people: Matt and Sarah. The previews from last week already told us that there would be heartbreak between these two, but was that just NBC toying with us? Nope. The judges firmly denied Sarah, and she looked none too pleased. Boyfriend Matt, it should be noted, did nothing to console her.
Speaking of Matt, were his lame dancing skills and awful voice enough to get him to Grease Academy? Sure thing! (Again, Danny Zuko shortage). WELL. Sarah was not happy about this. Instead of hugging her boy, she stormed out of the theater, packed her stuff out, and left the building. Man was she pissed. It was fairly awesome. Matt was left to do nothing but stand around like the limp noodle he is. The saddest part of all this was that NBC probably demanded that Matt move forward simply to inject some drama into this sagging series.
What did you think about this second episode? And who else is excited to see this done right tomorrow on Idol?
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Comments (8)
"And who else is excited to see this done right tomorrow on Idol?"
Me. Bring on the Paula Show.
hb
1 of 8 | Posted by HoneyBunny
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Posted on January 15, 2007 2:07 PM
"It might have been a moderately amusing comment... if Transylvania were in Hungry. Which it's not." And it isn't even Hungary either. ;)
I'm still hoping that this show gets better. Hopefully the Grease Academy will provide some better drama.
Add me to the list of those excited for Idol just as long as that means that we get the live streams back. We get Katie and J-Unit back, right?
2 of 8 | Posted by mountain_girl
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Posted on January 15, 2007 2:19 PM
I had to watch this after reading the last recap. Wow. I gotta give Soccer Matt props for trying out even though he realizes he'll get his ass kicked by his jock buddies when he gets home, but what a box of rocks. Loved the Sarah storm-off, even though we all knew it was coming. I liked Rizzo, too bad they won't give her a shot a different role. Did anyone catch the Hungarian chick telling the camera how she had won some award for a show she did back home? Or did I hear it wrong? I'm thinking if you make it in Hungary, well, you're not going to make it any where.
P.S. B-Side, those are leggings, not leg warmers! Do you need a copy of Totally Awesome 80's Trivial Pursuit?
3 of 8 | Posted by tvaholic
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Posted on January 15, 2007 2:59 PM
"Double-ended dildo parties"....what sort of experiences are you having tvaholic?!
Good recap, lame show. Bring on the GODZILLA that is American Idol.
4 of 8 | Posted by MTV4ME
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Posted on January 15, 2007 5:13 PM
Umm...ok...just wondering why the dildo question was aimed at me. Have you been looking in my windows, MTV4ME?
5 of 8 | Posted by tvaholic
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Posted on January 16, 2007 9:43 AM
Hello. My name is Megan. No joke. And thank you for that tip on my fashion sense. I know its screwed up. And oh, I completely forgot they don't take big girls because...I WASN'T IN L.A. Maybe you need to understand that I am a real person, and don't give me that "Mary Catherine Gallagher" crap. I attend Talent Unlimited High School and MAJOR in Musical Theater. There is so much more that they recorded that they didn't show. You're recap is so flawed. You act like you know me. And as for the "wailing" I wasn't allowed to sing a musical theater song or showtunes in general. It was between "Sir Duke" and "I Could be in Love with Someone Like You".
And I wasn't cry because I got rejected. On stage I started to talk about my mom. She had recieved knee surgery two days earlier, and now, here she was, waiting around 11 hours to see just the producers, and I'm making her sit there. I felt like total crap making her wait that long, when she was on crutches. The judges seemed genuinely happy with me, and I saw the rejection that others faced, so why make it any different for me?
I'm not ranting to you specifically, but to make a recap and call me "fashion challenged", you try finding a nice outfit in size 16.
Okay, I feel better now.
And thank you for your critques. I know you are respected individual who thinks that these people don't have real lives.
6 of 8 | Posted by MusicalTheaterFreak
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Posted on January 16, 2007 5:25 PM
MusicalTheaterFreak, You were 16 and overwieght trying out for a Broadway musical. Of course they said no. I dont even think they are allowed to hire someone who's 16.
7 of 8 | Posted by EdHill
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Posted on January 17, 2007 12:50 PM
While they could hire someone who's 16 that would only open them up to all kinds of extra regulations. They'd have to watch how long she worked, have a tutor and child welfare hanging around. Way more trouble than it's worth. Broadway never hires kids unless they're doing something where short young looking adults won't work.
8 of 8 | Posted by zevonia
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Posted on January 18, 2007 9:56 AM