Good Enough:
First up was Kansas City-native Rizzloe Jones, 18, who dared to freestyle on the fly during his very first audition. L.A. Reid told him to rap about The X Factor, and he did manage to throw that in there somewhere. The whole thing was a bit crazy, but you have to give him props for effort. And surprisingly, the judges loved it! Britney even called him a young Vanilla Ice. Word.
Next, we met overly-confident CeCe Frey, 20, who was sporting leopard print — on her face, for some reason. “I’m not in this thing to make friends,” she said. When she finally hit the stage, the judges stopped her right in the middle of an underwhelming rendition of “Unchained Meolody.” They asked her to sing something else, so she took on Christina Aguilera‘s “Ain’t No Other Man,” which turned out much better. She was praised for her attitude and got four yes’s!
Vino Alan, 39, was a bit of a wildcard, as the judges pointed out his head and face tattoos. (“That’s sick,” Demi Lovato said.) As soon as he started singing “Trouble,” I got the chills! His was definitely the most impressive audition so far. “I was inspired,” Britney told him. He, of course, got through with approval from all four judges.
Locked Up:
Before commencing auditions, Britney walked into the Green Room with a cake and sang “Happy Birthday” to L.A. (And no, she didn’t lip-sync!)
Then came Deangelo Wallace, 19, who thinks he can do Britney better than Britney. He’s clearly delusional, and even called Demi “Ms. Little Disney Princess.” He also told the judges he would use the $5 million to buy a bunch of cars. He claimed he’s better than Justin Bieber, which prompted L.A. to ask, “Do you have any idea how much you’re getting on our nerves?” Deangelo started singing “With You” by Chris Brown, which immediately elicited boos from the crowd. The judges actually stood up and left the stage during his audition!
Deangelo thought the judges were just too afraid to face him. “I think they worship the devil, all of them,” he said. Then he left the arena — with the $3,000 mic still on him — and was arrested outside! He didn’t seemed phased as he was put into a police car. “I get the front seat because I’m a celebrity,” he said. (Wow.)
A Little Bit Country:
Tate Stevens, 37, is clearly a country singer and a hard-working, family guy. His rendition of “Anything Goes” blew everyone away, and earned him a standing ovation from the crowd. Britney said, “I love you,” as he held back tears and received four yes’s from the panel. Meanwhile, Simon finally returned as the auditions headed back to San Francisco.
Citizen, a five-piece boy band straight out of the ’90s, took on En Vogue‘s “Don’t Let Go.” It wasn’t perfect by any means, but LA, Britney and Demi ate it right up! Simon, meanwhile, claimed he “didn’t get it.” That didn’t matter, though, because Citizen got through!
Standouts
After watching a bunch of people get rejected, and Simon becoming cranky, 13-year-old Diamond White took on a big song with “It’s A Man’s World.” The judges absolutely loved her, and Simon said she “blew the roof off.” She’s definitely one of the front-runners. Another young contestant, 17-year-old Ally Brooke, reminds me a bit of Demi as she sang a wonderful version of “On My Knees.” She cried as Simon told her, “I have a feeling we’re looking at a future star here.”
Things heated up as a woman named Panda hit the stage next. One day earlier, she was in the hospital with pneumonia, yet she still managed to hit on Simon and sing “Bring It On Home To Me” at the same time. “You sound like a legend,” Simon told her. Sadly, Panda gets a little overly excited — and ended up back in the hospital!
But it’s Jessica Espinoza, 22, who was easily mine (and everyone else’s) favorite contestant of the night with her rendition of Pink‘s “Nobody Knows.” Not only did she sing with conviction, but she brought the whole room to tears with her chilling voice. Watch out for her!
Which was your favorite audition, HollywoodLifers?
— Sharon Tharp
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