American Idol

The first up to audition is Tuan Nguyen, 20, Spring Valley, California, a cashier with hair out to here, who tells us his mother is half Vietnamese and half Caucasian. He's going to sing some Michael Jackson, then add some tap moves to the whole thing, and I can only imagine this robotic tap isn't going to go over well. He tells the judges he wants to be as big as Michael Jackson and Britney Spears. He starts off singing The Way You Make Me Feel, and isn't bad, but certainly won't be as big as what he was imagining.

With all the judges, excluding Simon, dance in their seats, Randy Jackson calls Tuan entertaining and says the 'fro kicked out is crazy, yet votes definitely no. Kara has never seen anything like that in a not so good way. Paula agrees, and Simon gets Tuan to admit he's disappointed. Tuan says afterward he felt he had it in the bag at first.

Emily Wynne-Hughes, 21, L.A., is next. She grew up watching her singing mom onstage. Emily says she was bad at everything in school, and performing was her only choice, other than getting a bunch of tattoos. She tells Kara she's a singer in an all girl rock 'n roll band, and sings Barracuda. Simon likes Emily because she's different. Paula calls her top 5, and Kara thinks she's serious. Her band doesn't know she's auditioning, and she notes if she makes it through, she won't be able to go on a European tour they have coming up, and that means they won't go either. She's hoping that she can do the Daughtry thing eventually, hoping they'll hang around and she can add them back into the mix after the show. She knows it's bad, but she says she has to do it, and Randy really likes that. She gets four yeses and is through.

Randy Madden, 23, Moorpark, California, a sales rep for a media company. He feels like a sales rep living in a box. His singing comes from within, and he admits to not having any singing lessons whatsoever. That's usually not a good sign. He's also very emotional, crying in the crowd as he waits for his turn. He singing Living On a Prayer, and Simon cuts him off early, saying he found it very wimpy, as Randy tries again, a little tougher.

Still, Simon finds it cliched. Randy breaks down again, asking for his chance, as Simon tells him he's coming off as a drama queen. Paula tries to explain camaradarie with a band, and Simon makes a crack about it being how Straight Up was written. Kara understands it's Randy's last chance, and tells him the point is that he needs to put that hard work in. He gets four noes.

J.B. Ahfua, 16, Taylorsville, Utah, has a really pretty singing voice, but I don't know if it's exciting enough. He's a cute kid, though, and I think he'd get lots of interest from the younger fans. Simon likes his voice, but would like him to loosen up a bit. All four vote yes, and he's through. He waits until outside tha audition room to start crying, saying it could change his family, as they're really struggling, and it would be his chance to help out the family.

Michael Gurr, 17, Mesa, Arizona, is tormented waiting for his audition to happen, getting more and more nervous by the hour and shaking. He sings Starts With Goodbye, and he had good reason to feel worried. He tries to hold back power or something, and honestly thinks he's good, but it's just odd. Simon tells him he could have been singing in Bulgarian, as he couldn't understand a word. Paula agrees, and Randy is hiding behind his papers. Michael asks to come back in five minutes, and Simon tells him five years wouldn't help. Michael gets a chance to sing another song, and chooses one by Kara, Sometimes You Leave. He then starts feeling sick and chooses to leave. He has to sit down outside his audition as he seems like he's about to pass out.

Will Kunick, 17, Garfield, New Jersey sing Mad Worldto Tears for Fears singing it. It's like he's talking in baby talk. We have another comparison as D.J. Bradley, 22, of Seattle, Washington, a photographer, and Celine Dion sing It's All Coming Back to Me Now. Yet another comparison between Dionne Warwick and Shawn Vasquez, 20, of Oakland, California, a musician, singing I'll Never Love This Way Again. Randy calls it a rough patch in Phoenix.

Aundre "X-Ray" Caraway, 20, Phoenix, Arizona, plays the guitar and has a definite Spanish influence, but won't make a good impression if he can't remember Kara's name. X-Ray was born and raised here, and says music is what he does from when his grandmother had the first mariachi. He's singing Cactus Baby, and hands off his guitar. Randy jams in his seat, but seems to be the only one enjoying it, as most of the song consists of "oh, oh, oh,oh." Afterwards X-Ray coins a phrase, "Swinging Dollar Do." Randy admits it was wild, but says no, as the others agree. He begs for another chance, and is escorted out by security.

Arianna Afsar, 16, San Diego, California, started singing when she was 6, when she was doing karaoke, thinking she wasn't too bad. She began her own foundation, Adopt a Grandfriend, after watching her grandmother in a senior home, and now all the teens go and entertain and make friends with the residents in the senior home. Simon jokes that Paula should join the program. She sings Put Your Records On, and has some definite raw talent. Simon thinks she has a good voice, and Paula agrees, telling her she is stunning and the song was right for her. Kara liked her and thinks she's cute as a button. Randy liked the break in the voice with the falsetto, and all four give her yeses.

Elijah Scarlett, 22, of Phoenix, Arizona is up next When he says he's a cashier, Simon points out he's definitely not going to be in Tele Sales. He's singing My First, My Last, My Everything, and he can't really carry a tune. Simon asks if he's ever seen the show, wondering if he's aware of what the purpose is, calling his singing like something out of a horror show. Paula thinks he should be doing voiceovers. He turns around and leaves.

Lea Marie Golde, Los Angeles, made sure when she turned 16 to get here to audition. She's a songwriter and calls herself Kara's biggest fan. Lea brings in her songwriting book to have Kara see it. She doesn't sing her own song, though, singing Every Time We Touch, and isn't bad, but Simon seems like he can't wait to cut into her.
Paula loves that Lea came in with all her songs for Kara, saying it's something great to inspire to be, but she really needs to work on her voice. Simon calls it a terrible audition, saying he almost couldn't hear anymore. Kara points out it sounded like she was in a musical, but anyone who writes that amount of stuff, it shows she's committed to something. Simon wants Kara to sit and listen to all 100 of the songs. Lea promises not not disappoint if she's put through, but Simon still says no, and even Kara tells her she isn't at that level. Simon calls it uncomfortable.

Stevie Wright, 16, Phelan, California, tells Ryan she got her name from Stevie Nicks, which he tells her is a lot of pressure. She plans to be bubbly and show her personality. She sings At Last, and has some definite talent as she breaks into belting it out. Kara thinks she has something there, admitting she was saying wow at points. Paula thinks she has nice control, and Simon agrees and asks if she's competitive, saying he'd like to see her more selfish. Randy says no matter what age, you're born with it or you ain't, and she's born with it. Everyone says yes, but Simon would still like to see her grown some teeth. Paula sees Kelly Clarkson strength in her.

Michael Sarver, 27, Jasper, Texas, calls his job the most dangerous in the world, as a roughneck on an oil rig. We even get to see him with hard hat working on the job, prompting Simon to call him the exact opposite of Ryan. He's away from his wife and kids for seven days straight, and while his wife doesn't like it, she understands. This could make a difference for his family's future. He sings Thank You with a great country/R&B mix to his voice. Randy says when he closes his eyes, he thinks Michael sounds good, but he doesn't look like how he looks, as Kara agrees, calling him a sweet roughneck. Paula agrees as well, noting the voice is surprising. Simon thinks what he has is likability, and tells Michael he has four yeses. He'll go from being away from his family for seven days to now being gone for possibly a few months.

Katrina Darrell, 20, Chino Hills, California, model, is auditioning in a swim suit, thinking this will give her more of a shot. She loves Ryan and admits to already picking out their children's names. She tells him they'll make out if she gets picked, by he believes that's against the rules. Simon's eyes pop out of his head when she walks in, calling her smart for auditioning in this. She sings Vision of Love, and isn't bad. Simon says yes right off, and Kara is upset that he said yes right away. Randy concurs with Simon, and Kara is pointing out there's no swing, and when Katrina continues, she hits a bad note, as Kara tells her she doesn't have the chops. Simon starts flicking out the catfight nails, and Katrina tells her her demonstration wasn't any better. Paula objects, and the two start to get in a singoff. Simon agrees with Katrina. As Paula asks for her name, Kara points out they just know her as top and bottom. She gets through to Hollywood, and after she jumps up and down, Randy tells her she made it again, to see her jump again. She finds Ryan by the pool and kisses him. He tells her to jump into the pool, then jumps in after her.

Eric "Sexual Chocolate" Thomas, 17, Phoenix, Arizona, shows Ryan his tattoos, including one with his nickname on it. He hugs Katrina on her way out. He explains to Randy his nickname came from high school, then shows his tattoo, as Paula points out it looks like Chocolate is spelled wrong. He's singing some Stevie Wonder, and has a good tone to his voice but doesn't seem to quite cut it. Paula reads off his notes that if he doesn't make it, his mom is going ot buy him a car. He walks out non-plussed, as if the new car means nothing.

Brianna Quijada, 22, Tempe, Arizona, college student, has been dancing while waiting, keeping everyone in good spirits. She sings Let's Hear It For the Boy from Footloose, has a little trouble with her lower notes, but she's fun and has some talent. Simon tells her it's clear her personality got her in there, and Kara tells her that's not a bad thing. When she tells Paula she would have also sung Band of Gold and Killing Me Softly, Paula asks for some of Killing. Brianna asks where to start, and Simon suggests the end, prompting her to call him, "Simie." After a few bad starts, she seems to hit it, and Kara and Paula like her. Randy says no, as does Kara, but Paula votes yes. It's up to Simon as he says yes and puts her through. Simie then gets a hug from her, as does Paula.

Deanna Brown, Louisville, Kentucky, comes alone and asks another family to substitute as her family. She has a Pickler quality to her. If she doesn't make it, she thinks she'll be back next year. She sings Sitting On the Dock of the Bay, and doesn't have the best voice, but does have some great quality and color she can pour into it. Randy and Kara like her, as Kara thinks she'd remember Deanna's voice on the radio. Paula agrees and calls her beautiful with great presence. Simon wonders if she tried to get into the business before and she says she did, but just didn't step into the right opportunity. She's in. Ryan acts like her family for her when she comes out, and she calls her mom who screams for her.

Cody Sheldon, 17, Detroit, Michigan is up next. Cody has always loved music, as he likes to captivate people. One of his friends offer to be his crying girl in the audience. A dark side to him is that he likes making horror films with his video camera. He's going to sing Wonderful World by James Morrison, and he's honestly the best I've heard today. Kara calls it surprising, telling him his voice and look don't add up, and he comes out with the golden ticket to Hollywood.

Alex Wagner Trugman, 19, Studio City, California is up next. He used to teach himself to sing in his closet late at night, but ended up getting sick as there was a lot of mold in there. He's missing a Spanish test to be here and will get a B for nothing if he doesn't get through.

Simon makes a joke that Alex just came out of the closet. As the others get mad at Simon, Alex thinks he was just being literal. He's singing Baby Come to Me, and asks Randy to sing along with him on the chorus. It's a little too falsetto for me, but he's not off. Randy says it worked, and Paula agrees, while Simon disagrees. He offers to do God Save the Queen for Simon. Randy votes yes, Simon no, and Randy brings up Joe Cocker, while Simon mentions possibly a Cocker Spaniel,. Alex notes it would be a good joke if it made sense. You have to love someone who can stick it back to Simon. Kara and Paula say yes, and he's through.

Our last contestant in Phoenix, Scott Macintyre, 23, Scottsdale, Arizona, singer/songwriter was born almost completely blind, seeing only about 2 degrees of tunnel vision, yet he thinks that has prompted him to explore the world of sound. He grew up playing the piano classically, and can only see the width of one key at a time. He hasn't let that hold him back, and even skis and ballroom dances. He has a passion for music, having been through some incredible challenges in his life. He hopes he can be an inspiration to other people. Kara is impressed that he entered college at 14 and notes he also studied in London. He sings And So It Goes, prompting smiles from everyone. Simon calls him a cool guy, and Paula says she likes his voice especially when it goes into the softer tones. Kara thinks he was courageous to sing without his instrument, and they all say yes, as he's through to Hollywood.