Baylie Brown, Ramiro Garcia
The American Idol judges never fail to gather up some of the best talents when they visit the southern states. Their trip to Galveston, Texas on last night’s audition episode was no exception.
Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler managed to give away 54 golden tickets to Hollywood. In that bunch, a few appear to be real contenders in the competition. Like Baylie Brown. She’s no stranger to Idol, having auditioned and made it through to Hollywood in season six. She’s back and better than ever. Or 17-year-old Skylar Laine, who has one of the purest country voices we’ve heard so far this season. Then there’s Ramiro Garcia. His story is one of the most inspiring stories we’ve heard on Idol, and his voice is not shabby either.
Let’s take a look at some of the standouts from Galveston:
Skylar Laine – 17: Skylar couldn’t have picked a better song to sing, because “Hell On Heels” she is. We think that deer mounted on her wall would agree. Skylar’s too cute and a real country girl. She’s gonna be a real country-singing force in this competition. Three yeses.
Baylie Brown – 21: OMG! She’s back! We really liked Baylie when she auditioned for the show years ago, but she fell apart in Hollywood. We totally blame being stuck in a group with Antonella Barba. Baylie sensed the disaster coming on and it unnerved her. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it. Anyway! Baylie gave herself some time to grow and mature and it really paid off. She was pitch-perfect in her audition. “You got significantly better,” Randy said. No lie there. Barring any racy photo-taking chicks in her group in Hollywood, Baylie is a contender to go all the way. Hollywood! Yay!
Kristine Osorio – 28: Divorced mom of three Kristine had a lot riding on her audition. She’s been going through financial hardships and took out a loan to pay for her divorce lawyer. Instead of hiring the lawyer, Kristine bought a plane ticket to audition for Idol. Whoa. Thank-holy-goodness Kristine is working with a little something, something sweet in the vocals department. We love the hint of rasp in her voice and she can really belt. The judges loved her as well. Hollywood!
Linda Williams – 24: Linda stood out for us because she was absolutely, 100% awful. Her audition actually sounded like a joke. A cruel joke someone plays when they record their friend singing badly in the shower and plays the tape in front of the world. Linda is the friend singing badly in the shower, FYI. Just…terrible. The shocker? Only Jennifer realized this! Steven and Randy really liked her. O. M. G. Twilight Zone shiz! What made Linda’s trip to Hollywood even more unfair is that before her audition was shown, we got to see Steven and Randy cut three good singers (Rachel Turner, Reagan Wilson, and Cheyenne James). Ugh!
Cortez Shaw – 20: Adele’s “Someone Like You” got a new twist thanks to Cortez’s more upbeat take on the ballad. Before he could even get into the groove, Randy was ready to shut him down. But Jennifer let him go on, and thank goodness. It just kept getting better as the audition went on. The only thing that outshines Cortez’s voice is his positive spirit. We like this dude.
Ramiro Garcia – 28: Need a little inspiration? Nothing will do the trick quite like hearing Ramiro’s story. He was born without ears and doctors told his parents he would be deaf and probably mute. It wasn’t until he was older when he started getting reconstructive surgeries to create an ear canal that the doctors discovered he had eardrums and would be able to hear and eventually speak. Well, not only is he speaking, he’s singing. And quite well. “I like what I’m hearing. I like your insides as well,” Steven said. Three leaps of faith and one trip to Hollywood for Ramiro!
