American Idol: The Nicest Kids in Town

Was that the nicest episode of “American Idol” we’ve ever seen.

Ok, so the producers could probably put together a montage of rejects being polite to the judges from ANY city, but only chose to do so to keep with the “shiny, happy, people” Salt Lake City theme. Nevertheless, the Salt Lake City episode at least FELT like one of the better (if not the best) audition episode we’ve been subjected to, I mean seen, this season. (By the way, sorry this recap is a day late.)

I mean, even the whack job in the bunny costume (pictured, left) was a nice guy and only came off at a about 35 percent pedophile-y, which is surprising for a big hairy guy in a pink bunny costume. (I fear Simon was right to be afraid the whole thing was becoming normal.)

There were definitely some people with top 12 potential in this episode. I just haven’t decided if Frankie Jordan, Megan Corkrey and Rose Flack are all really good singers with a real shot to win or if they just stood out because they have a different sound and broke up the monotony the judges (and the viewers) must be feeling.

For example, I can’t tell if Frankie Jordan is REALLY good and will be able to adapt to all the different musical styles or if she’s just capable of doing a good Amy Winehouse impersonation as she did Wednesday with “You Know I’m No Good.” I’m actually leaning towards her having the goods and I think her biggest obstacle might be the strong whiff of cockiness and the potential backlash from fans given her previous recording experience. She had a song on the “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!” soundtrack – I’d hardly call that the big time, but I know people will hold it against her.

I definitely liked Megan Corkrey, though I’m just not sure I loved her as much as the judges did. I definitely appreciate her bringing something new to the table, with her funky, jazzy inflections on “Can’t Help Loving that Man of Mine”, but I have to question how she’s going to adapt to the different formats on this show. Still, she’s got even more things working in her favor. She seems likable (who doesn’t want to see a single mom struggling with a young kid make it?) and definitely memorable, from her massive arm tattoo to her different musical sensibility. I’m not sure she’s as good as the judges built her up to be, but I appreciate her being different and memorable in a good way, which is the most important thing in these audition episodes.

Then there was Rose Flack, who even Simon admitted that he loved. And how could you not like her – the poor girl lost both her parents when she was 15 and we were treated to her adorable relationship with her new adoptive family. She also had a similar quirky, funky look that Megan did. The problem is that I haven’t mentioned her singing yet, which was cool, but definitely not the first thing you remember about her, which is fine now, but could become a problem when she’s up against serious singers.

Actually, the singer I thought had the most “Idol” potential was the 5’11”, 16-year-old Taylor Vaifauna (pictured, right), who’s already been dubbed Jordin Sparks 2.0. She definitely stands out, and she appears to have the big, adaptable voice for this competition. She sounded great on “Joyful, Joyful.” Of course, the main problem is that she won’t be singing many hymns on the show. Then again, I’m pretty sure she’ll be able to adapt to the show’s format.

If you notice, I’ve only talked about female singers so far. There were a couple of men who made it through the show, but they were considerably less inspiring.

Of course, you couldn’t go to Utah without attracting an Osmond (yes, from THAT Osmond family). He sounded pretty good, though the judges were right in that he added too many unnecessary runs. And his story about overcoming MS is fantastic. Mostly though, I can already see the camera cutting to Donny and Marie Osmond (and company) as David performs on the big stage and comes in 11th place.

The other notables were Austin Sisneros, who just couldn’t pick the right song to audition to despite two tries, but was let through because the judges have decided to send at least more mediocre-at-best people advance than ever. There was also Jarrett Burns, who sang “Put Your Records On” and probably gave the girliest successful audition from a male contestant.

So what’d you think of this episode? Was it just me or was the guy auditioning with his rabbit friend not that bad? (The rabbit gimmick actually ended up killing him.) Who was your favorite of the female singers tonight? Finally, who knew there were Goths in Salt Lake City?