'American Idol' Auditions: Milwaukee Recap

Heading into the second week of its tenth season, the 'American Idol' train made a stop in the city that claims bragging rights to a life-size bronze statue of Arthur Fonzarelli, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A stop that Ryan Seacrest told press 'Idol' would not miss, after the emergence of season eight third-placer and local hero, Danny Gokey.

Did Milwaukee deliver the next 'American Idol' or at least the next Danny Gokey? Perhaps.

Barista Chris Medina, whose take on The Script's "Break Even" blew the panel away, came the closest. Medina's story parallels that of fellow Milwaukian Gokey, as both suffered personal tragedies -- in Gokey's case the loss of his wife, and in Medina's a fiancee living with a severe brain injury from a car accident. The devoted husband-to-be's vocals were among the best so far and his story is undeniably touching.



The Milwaukee auditions started out fairly strong, with twangy, 16-year-old country singer Scott McCreery channeling Travis Tritt for a ticket to Hollywood. While his vocals were legit, I suspect McCreery will find more luck in Nashville than Hollywood.

Twenty-five-year-old "Summerfest" janitor Naima Adedapo also did Milwaukee proud with her rendition of Donny Hathaway's "For All We Know." Her sweet vocals coupled with a striking beauty could take her deep into the competition.

Other standouts included Bar Mitzvah crooner Jerome Bell, who wowed the panel with a little Marvin Gaye, and 15-year-old Thia Megia (whose also appeared on 'America's Got Talent'), whose "smoke and heat" Steven felt through her performance of Adele's "Chasing Pavements."

In fact, every 15-year-old who went before the J.Lo/Tyler/Jackson trio received a golden ticket. But while their vocal chords may have matured, I'm concerned we'll get a repeat run of contestants like last years youngins' Katie Stevens and Aaron Kelly. The pair often picked songs more suited for the cruise ship crowed than Top 40 and struggled to find themselves throughout the competition.

On the older end of the spectrum, 29-year-old Chicagoan Tiwan Strong made it through with Sam Cooke's "Twistin' the Night Away," although one of his family members apparently suffered a severe Charlie horse in her celebration of Strong's golden ticket.

The night's best were easily Scott Dangerfield, a 22-year-old student who J.Lo claimed was the best she'd seen so far, and the aforementioned barista, Medina.

As for comic relief, there's always plenty of that in the early rounds and tonight was no different. Among Milwaukee's comedic offerings were a Civil War reenactor who took on "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" with the kind of vocals that could take down a small army, and a rabid Green Bay Packers fan who applied an operatic approach to Justin Bieber's "Baby." You don't need to hear it to imagine.

But surprisingly, it was once again Randy who brought the most laughs in Milwaukee, when a rushed high-five turned into a slap in the face for Harvard grad, White House intern and Hollywood-bound contestant Molly DeWolf Swensen. She made sure to let Randy know about the assault before diving into "(Sittin') on the Dock of the Bay." Randy apologized but we say she had it comin.'

'American Idol' Season 10 auditions continue in Nashville, TN tomorrow night at 8PM ET.