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American Idol: Greensboro Auditions
As I mentioned last week, the audition phase of American Idol is the comic relief part of the series, where the judges get to shine and the contestants take a back seat. But my favorite part isn’t the awful singing of people who have no idea how bad they are. It’s not Marcus Behling, who compares himself to Usher but sounds as if that should be his job, not his name. It’s certainly not the obnoxious, foul-mouthed Paula-hater (whose name I won’t mention because, well, she’s scary).

It’s the heartwarming stories of young people like Kellie Pickler, the roller skating waitress whose mother left her when she was two and whose father has been in prison most of her life, but who impressed the judges with her natural sweetness as well as her talent. And it’s the unexpectedly glorious tone in the voice of 17-year-old Paris Bennett, who wants to get into the family business (her grandmother was the lead singer of Sounds of Blackness).

One of the stars of Greensboro was 24-year-old Kendra Winston, who lived in 42 foster homes as a child, was a mother of three at 19, and who lit up the room, singing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

These auditions had some real competition for official mascot, though. It was a close call between Shawn de Salazar’s mouthy little brother, and Richard Garland’s dummy Scotty (“Look at him! He’s wearing your shirt!”). Oh, or maybe it was Ronda Jones, who in her pink cowboy hat managed to butcher the Backstreet Boys. (Not literally. As far as I know.)

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