American Idol came to Aspen, Colorado, this week to continue their search for the next Idol. It's only one day of auditions, so people have come from all over to sing their hearts out in hopes of collecting a ticket to Hollywood.
Things get off to a highly energetic start with elementary school music teacher Jenny Schick. She brings her thigh-high boots, lots of shouting and even a kiss for judge Steven Tyler - and leaves with a golden ticket.
A slew of people quickly follow in her footsteps to Hollywood, but hoping to separate herself from her twin sister is Tealana Hedgespeth, 19. Unfortunately, singing most certainly isn't going to be the talent that helps her to escape her sister's shadow and she gets sent home empty-handed. She leaves still singing, though - "Who Will Love Me As I Am" from SIDE SHOW with her twin - on a search to find her own niche.
Following a few rough auditions, we hear from Shelby Tweten. She's a 17-year-old who says that singing has helped her deal with her bipolar disorder throughout the years. "I have tears in my eyes," Jennifer Lopez tells Shelby. She gets a resounding yes from all three judges.
It's always a risk to sing original music on the AMERICAN IDOL stage, but it's a risk that pays off for Jairon Jackson, 19, whose original R&B song has J-Lo telling Randy Jackson: "That kid is a real artist!" The judges all agree to send him to Hollywood.
25-year-old Angie Ziederman insists that people (yes, multiple) call her Lady Gaga when she's walking down the street. She channels her best Cady Huffman - or Uma Thurman - into THE PRODUCERS' "When You've Got It, Flaunt It" and while Randy admits that he doesn't find her Broadway style appropriate for IDOL, Jennifer gives Angie a chance to sing another song and she eventually ends up with all three yeses.
"No one talks to me because I'm frightening…and I look homeless," a contestant going by Magic Cyclops says to close out the day's auditions. He also announces to the judges that he'll be singing "Jimmy Buff-ay," and is unsurprisingly (despite his commitment to character, even to the point of insisting that he can't take off his sunglasses because "they're prescription") told that he will not be in the next round.
All in all, 31 singers make it to Hollywood tonight. Tune into tomorrow when the judges go to Galveston, TX, in search of this season's AMERICAN IDOL!
