AI5: Boston Auditions (2-7-06)

Not much to write anywhere about. 28 contestants from Boston advance to Hollywood, and we only get to see 4 of them.

Ayla "All-American" Brown, 17, sings "Ain't No Sunshine" - What's the opposite of a sob story? Girl is the daughter of a politician and a tv broadcaster, has a full-ride athletic (basketball) scholarship to a prestigious college, *and* can sing?! And we should root for her, why? ;) [/cynic] Oh and I forgot about her model-ready look (tall, thin & pretty). Good thing she has that lovely New England attitude or she might just be too good to be true. Ok her singing wasn't all that (Simon, of all people, called her "robotic" - bwah!), but it's good enough for Hollywood. I don't love her style but she does have a nice voice. After telling her parents that Simon said no but Paula said yes, her dad joked that now they'd have to go out & buy all of her records. Randy also said yes so I'd suggest getting the Journey ones too.

Becky O'Donahue, 25, "Black Velvet" - another identical twin, but this one's counterpart isn't singing due to recent throat surgery; she is, however, in the audition room with her, mouthing the words & mimicking the choreography. Slightly creepy, but then they said they do "everything" together. She's drop-dead gorgeous (and dresses very stylishly), which helps her advance, though the singing wasn't spectacular. Again Simon says no (surprise!), but P & R put her through.

Tatiana Ward, 22, "My Cherie Amour" - Very poor song choice (the judges agree), as it doesn't show much range and I'm guessing she sings higher stuff fairly well. Said she picked it hoping Randy would "respect her for it," whatever that means. Her personality is more entertaining than her singing by far; jokes with all of them, has confidence but doesn't seem cocky, and says some out-of-the-blue/unexpected things (I'm already looking forward to her comments to any over-important team members she gets for the group number in Hollywood!). Again Paula & Randy say yes - interestingly, for all 4 of these contestants, only Paula & Randy say yes! So we weren't shown *anyone* from Boston that Simon liked? Strange. Back to Tatiana - for the sake of throughness I'll include the fact that Simon compared her to a poodle, but she's a black woman with long, curly, *blond* hair, so I see his point. Also in the intro they said she wanted to prove something to her grandmother who disowned her mother because she married a black man.

Lastly is Kevin Covais, 16, singing "You Raise Me Up" - cute kid with a nice voice. Could appeal to voters if he gets far enough, but the other boys his age have stronger voices so I doubt he will.

Bring on Hollywood, with its cheesy group numbers, excuses for being late/not practicing/singing poorly, and glimpses of more good folk we haven't seen yet! Whee!