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A hard bunch of workin’ rascals
Simon’s tactic of saying yes to mediocre talent and forcing the other judges to send them home backfired on tonight’s American Idol auditions from Dallas. It happened at least twice, once with a Broadway-ish singer who was almost good enough but obviously not ready to perform in public, and the other time with a lovely young woman who gave an enthusiastic rendition of “Piece of My Heart” that meandered all over the melody without every actually landing on it. In both cases one of the other judges, unable to say no to someone Simon had put through, gave the nod to a poor soul who will be eaten alive in Hollywood.

There were two other contestants that got a no from Simon but a yes from the other two, and neither of these singers has a chance, either. Drew Poppelreiter, the working farmer who sings on his tractor, showed some promise, but he needs serious training to bring out the quality of his voice. And Nina Shaw, from Kelly Clarkson’s home town of Burleson, is exactly what Simon called her: “very, very, very old-fashioned.” She is a beacon of bright light when she takes the stage, but as soon as she starts singing it’s just not that interesting.

I didn’t see anyone as good tonight as the best three from Philadelphia, but I can’t write as much as I did last night because my DVR decided to stop recording for thirteen minutes in the middle of the show. So if the next American Idol appeared between 9:02 pm and 9:15, I missed it. I won’t agree with Simon that Kady Malloy, who sang “Unchained Melody” after being chastised for doing impressions instead of singing in her own voice, is the best of the season so far, but she was definitely the best of Dallas. Somehow I don’t think the winner will come from the group who auditioned tonight, though. By the time the finale comes along in May, I doubt any of these people will be left on the show.

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