The auditions are now over for American Idol season 14. Looking back over the past four weeks, we saw some great talent, including Emily Brooke, Savion Wright, Maddy Hudson, Rayvon Owen and many more. Some of the cities were a little short on talent, unfortunately. But Hollywood Week will be able to weed out the singers not ready for this competition yet.
Before we get there, though, let’s take a look back at the final audition episode from San Francisco.
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The first good singer of the night was Adanna Duru, who sounded great and had a lot of power in her voice. There was nothing wrong with her performance, except for one of the final notes that went off a bit.
After that, two of the singers who I really liked were Hunter Larsen and Tara Honda. I love the way they sound. Hunter has a bit of a rasp in her voice; after she left, Keith mentioned that she sounded like Pink — which is a great compliment and I’d have to agree with his assessment.
Tara has such a strong voice and the Carole King classic “I Feel the Earth Move” fit her really well. The only downside about these two is that the auditions were way too short. I would have loved to hear a lot more from them. I hope we get that chance in Hollywood.
Another talented singer we saw was Rocky Peter. What a story he told, right? After he told the judges about growing up in Nigeria, you can’t help but root for him. As for his voice, it was quite impressive when he sang his original song called “Wrong Places.” Beautiful. And while I am just as impressed with his falsettos, those high notes were off-key a bit, so he needs to work on that.
I’m sure Rocky will be many people’s favorite of the night or even their runner-up, but if I had to pick a runner-up out of the above singers, it would probably be Hunter Larsen. That Pink quality that Keith brought up is something that sticks with me. She has the kind of voice that I could hear on the radio, with the right songs, of course.
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The One Singer to Watch: Tyanna Jones
Hunter Larsen definitely has potential, especially in the pop/rock market. But someone else who has a ton of potential is Tyanna Jones, the final auditioner of the night. Many people online have noted some pitch issues she has. And that was even a discussion in the audition room between her and the judges. Tyanna acknowledged that it’s something she needs to work on.
For me, when I was watching her sing, any pitch issues she had didn’t distract me from loving her audition. That’s subjective, of course, depending on your preference. The way I like to see it is that she may be a little rough around the edges vocally at times, but she has the most potential (and is the most interesting) out of everyone from this episode. If she can tighten things up a little, I can’t wait to see what else she has to offer.
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She still sounded great. And there’s a lot of power and soul in her voice. There’s something about her musical style that I find really appealing. Her choice of clothing and the purple hair are intriguing as well.
When you look at some of the other very young singers who auditioned, like Daniel Seavey, their age really showed through. Daniel is nowhere near ready for this competition; he needs to wait at least a couple years. And Jaq MacKenzie needs a little more maturity in her voice. But then someone like Tyanna comes through, who’s only a year older than them, and shows that a singer that young can step up and prove they have the potential needed to go far.
What did you think of the final audition episode of the season? Underwhelmed? Impressed by a few of the singers? Do you think the judges let through too many singers who aren’t ready yet? Take our poll below and share your thoughts in the comments section.
American Idol airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8pm on FOX.
(Image and video courtesy of FOX)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.
