American Idol: Group Auditions

It didn't help that Terrell's group had been picked to go 2nd the next morning, so there really was no time to practice the next day. Still, two of his group mates (Elliot and Sway) thought they had enough practice and went to bed. This infuriated Terrell who used the hotel phone to repeatedly call them both, and try to berate them into coming down and practicing. They did not budge. So Terrell promised his other group member, Anthony, that if he stays up and practices, he will guarantee him moving on to the next round.

Enter the next morning. Elliot and Sway absolutely nail it, Anthony sucks, Terrell is just okay. Of course, after the performance Terrell has some words for the judges. Basically, he rats out Elliot and Sway for wanting to get some sleep and enjoy breakfast the next morning while he only got 2 hours of sleep and came down in the next morning in his "short shirt and socks." (Ugh, lets all be happy that we didn't see footage of that. But I wonder if he sleeps while wearing an ascot?) Thankfully, Randy and Simon put him in his place and told him that it was his own fault that he sucked, but they let him through to the next round because, (honestly) he wasn't that bad and he did work really hard. You'd think that Terrell would be thanking his lucky stars, but instead he blamed Anthony for being tone deaf. Yup, the same Anthony that he promised the night before would make it through to the next round if he just "stuck with him." Instead, Anthony got sent home.

But wait, the Brit Twin drama continues, Derrell is up. Derrell had no problems with his group and he does a fantastic job. He is the better singer of the Brit Twins. The judges move him on to the next round, but he then announces that he wants to say something. He tells the judges that he "is very disappointed" and that his "spirit has been broken," then he quits and says he and his brother want to go home, and make an album on their own terms. Simon, without flinching, tells him goodbye and moves on. So why did Derrell do that? It turns out that he thought that his brother had been eliminated and that was his way of sticking up for him. How did he think that his brother was eliminated? Bad gossip? Or did the AI producers plant that one in his ear just to cause drama? Derrell and Terrell meet backstage and decide that Derrell has to beg for his spot back, so Seacrest brings them back onstage and Derrell pleads his case. Simon asks the other contestants if they want to see Derrell stay and about half applaud and the other boo. Then Derrell actually claims that he "exemplifies what it is to be an American Idol." Ha ha ha, I think we've all seen the mug shots that say otherwise.

Simon has a few harsh words for the twins calling them annoying and arrogant, but says he's gonna take 30 minutes to think it over with the other judges. I won't keep you in suspense. They let them through. Of course they do. They are the most exciting part about this competition so far. They aren't the best singers, but they sure do create good television.

Another drama-starter was Tyra. I don't really remember Tyra before, but she had trouble sticking with a group. She quit one group and then moved to another group, only to quit that one because they weren't focused enough. Then, only 30 minutes before the old group was about to go on, she pleaded that they let her rejoin. I was actually surprised that they let her back in. I wouldn't have. As obnoxious as it was, Tyra's decision was actually a good one because the new group sucked. They were a mess. They didn't know the lyrics or the choreography. It was a disaster and they all got sent home. The original group, on the other hand, did great and they all got through.

The other group that had a lot of drama was Brenna, Nick and Marcy. Brenna seems like a really big pain in the butt. She just comes across as being really annoying and cocky and obnoxious. I think they weren't getting along simply because of her attitude. In the end, they pulled it off though. Although, I didn't really dig Brenna's performance. She can sing well, but I thought it was cheesy the way she smacked her own butt. The ending was cute though. The girls circled around Nick and gave him a big kiss on the cheeks -- face cheeks, not butt cheeks. It even made Simon chuckle. Brenna claimed that she knows that she is annoying, but that it's her homage to Simon and Martha Stewart. No, I think she's just a jerk. The judges got a kick out of it and let them all go through.

Josh Jordan, David Radford, William Makar, and Kevin Govais did a Rat Pack-like performance of "Fly Me to the Moon" and it was quite good. I just love that song, and what a great pick for Valentine's Day. But I must say, nobody does it as good as Frank and nobody ever will.

Finally, they paired Garet (the Crying Cowboy) up with Michael Evans and Matthew Buckstein to do a parody of Brokeback Mountain that they called Brokenote Mountain. I thought it was a pretty funny. They even gave Garet's mom a shout-out for The Best Food Metaphor Since Forrest Gump for saying that Garet's singing was like steak -- it's good, but kinda raw. I don't think "raw" is the word; I think it's "bad." I love these three guys, especially Garet, but they brought new meaning to the word horrible. I mean, they sucked. Majorly. And Garet cannot dance to save his life. Apparently, he never practiced any of his dance moves in front of that turkey. Or maybe the turkey taught him how to dance? I don't know. They got a big laugh from the audience, but Simon berated them for blowing an opportunity of a lifetime by being funny. I, honestly, don't think they were trying to be funny. I think they just sucked. Afterwards, they all hugged and started crying, giving the producers more material for their Brokeback Mountain parody.

The next day, the contestants had to perform individually and acapella. The judges then broke them into four rooms and sent one of the rooms home and the other three through to the next round. It was hard to see who made it and who didn't, but both the Brit twins are going on, so is Paris, and so is Mr. Gray Hair.

All in all, 44 made it through. Wednesday night, the judges are going to cut it down to 12 women and 12 men.