Episode Recap: American Idol - Season 6, Episode 9 (First Hollywood Episode)

Episode: The Hollywood Round Original Air Date: February 13, 2007 Hollywood! Swimming pools, movie stars... No wait, that's Beverly Hills. Nevermind. Don't expect this recap to be a blow-by-blow of every single contestant's performance. The Hollywood episode doesn't really lend itself to that. Here are the highlights: Solo Rounds The Women Jory Steinberg is the first contestant from the first group of six to perform. She tells the judges she wants to be the next American Idol so she can dress like Paula. Lo and behold, she and Paula are both dressed in a grey vest over a white blouse and black pants. I would go into more detail, but after reading my detailed wardrobe descriptions in previous posts, some of my family and friends are beginning to doubt my manliness. After the first six contestants are finished performing they line up on stage in front of the judges. Simon tells them, "You are all going home. None of you are any good. The auditions were terrible." At least Simon is working on his efficiency. This way, he gets to be snarky and cruel to six people at once. Among the second group of women are crazy Colombian hottie Perla Meneses and G I Jane Rachel Jenkins, whose husband is serving in Bagdad. Perla sings "Hips Don't Lie" for the judges, which is the song Randy made her sing during her first audition when the first song failed to impress. After the second group of six finish and are lined up on stage, the judges tell four of the group, including Rachel to step forward. Perla is standing in the back. Simon tells them that the girls in the back are going to the next round. Perla makes it, Rachel is out. But Simon warns Perla that this round she made it because she's "personality over talent". She's going to have to step it up on the next round. Others who make it through are country girls Baylie Brown and Jamie Lynn Ward. Baylie is a 16 year old from a little town that just isn't big enough for her. Jamie Lynn is a 17 year old who has had to grow up pretty fast. During her first audition in Birmingham, Jamie told that heartbreaking story about her dad shooting her stepmom and then himself after catching her stepmom cheating on him. Now she has to help her elderly grandmother take care of him. Is this American Idol, or Maury? Nicole Turner is the last contestant of the day. She and her mom have spent the whole day in the hallway arguing about which song she should sing. Her mom wants her to sing "There Ain't No Way", but Nicole doesn't want to. Nicole finally gets on stage and sings "There Ain't No Way", but she's not "feelin' it". The judges send her home. Back out in the hallway as she's crying on her mom's shoulders, Nicole blames her failure on the choice of the song. Mom feels guilty, but she knows what she has to do for her baby. She takes her cane and hobbles up on stage to face the judges. She tries to explain that it's her fault that Nicole didn't do her best. Nicole joins her mom on stage and says she couldn't really show her talent with that song. Ever the horse's hiney, Simon yells, "It's not the song!" "Don't shout at me," Nicole says. Simon gets up and walks off while Paula and Randy try to pick up the pieces and let Nicole down gently. When Simon comes back, Paula tells him what a butt pimple he was to Nicole. Randy makes everyone in the audience give a big round of applause to Nicole and her mom. The Men (and I use that term loosely) Navy Sailor Eric Fowler and Matt Sato, who has to win American Idol to make his mommy love him, are among the second group of men to audition. Eric doesn't make it, but Matt does. Afterward, Matt calls his Mom so they can re-enact the very same scene that occurred after his first audition in Minneapolis. He cries, he gives her the good news, she tells him she's proud of him, he cries, he tells him she loves him, he cries. "She never tells me she loves me," he tells us. Then he cries. Hey, man, save the drama for your... oh, sorry. Other notables who made it through - funny guy Chris Sligh, former Idol dropout Nick Pedro, Phil Stacey, who missed the birth of his daughter to audition, and homeless weirdo Sean Michel. Altogether, 92 contestants make it through. Group Rounds Oedipus, I mean Matt Sato, is having trouble finding a group that wants him. He is the last person to be matched with anyone. More crying. Country girl Bailey teams up with Amanda and Antonella. Amanda and Antonella were best friends before they auditioned for American Idol. They might be fortunate to make it through this as acquaintenances who can barely tolerate each other. They spend the rest of the day in the theater arguing about which song to perform the next day. More arguments ensue once they get to the hotel. About 3:30am, Amanda is tired of rehearsing and abandons her group to go flirt with some of the boy contestants. Meanwhile, Perla's group is getting frustrated with her. It seems she can't harmonize. That's kind of important when you're performing with other people. As the group tryouts begin, Simon tells the contestants "Do not forget the words." He sticks to his guns. Several people who forget their lyrics get booted. That includes Matt Sato. He calls his mom again, but this time to deliver bad news. "I'm coming home, Mom," he says, "I forgot my words." "What?" she yells, "Don't bother to come home! You are such a disappointment! You've shamed me, and you've shamed our entire family! I don't have a son anymore! You're dead to me! Do you hear? Dead!!" ...actually, I don't know what she said. They cut that part out. But I'm willing to bet there was some crying on Matt's part. Perla proves to be the weakest link in her group and is the only member booted. Sundance Head performs with two talented teenage girls, who seriously outperform him. He even forgets his lyrics. But Paula announces that the girls will be going home while Sundance will get to stay. Simon turns to Paula afterward and tells her she was "really generous" with Sundance. Even Sundance sees the travesty. "I am not an example to anyone trying out for American Idol," he says. Funny guy Chris Sligh, beat boxer Blake Lewis, and two other really talented guys form a super boy band and rock the house. Blake even does some beat boxing while the rest harmonize. All four of them get to go through to the next round. Bailey, Amanda, and Antonella are rehearsing in the restroom. Bailey can't remember her lyrics. She asks the other girls for help, but Antonella says that every time she tries to help Bailey, she messes up. Amanda cusses as a producer leans her head in and tells them they're wanted on stage. Once on stage, Bailey forgets nearly all of her lyrics. As a result, Bailey is booted while Amanda and Antonella are passed along. Bailey confronts the other two outside and accuses Amanda of flirting with boys when they could've been rehearsing. Amanda later proudly tells us that she and Antonella "are not here to flirt with boys. We could get all the boys we want back home. This is a job interview." Cut to last night's scene of Amanda flirting with one of the boy groups. Other notable casualty from this round: crazy homeless guy Sean Michel. The Final (Sort of) Cut There are about 60 contestants left. That's 20 too many. Simon, Paula, and Randy pour over their notes and photos of the contestants to discuss who should go. Back at the hotel, the contestants are divided into three groups of 20, with each group in a separate room. Two of the rooms are filled with contestants who will make it until tomorrow. The contestants in the other room will get the ax. The judges visit the first room. Paula starts to speak, "It's been an interesting road. A lot of things have happened..." For the love of God, Paula, get on with it! "Congratulations," she tells them. Chris Sligh is among the jubilant contestants in this room. Randy speaks in the second room. "I should probably just put you out of your misery right now, right?" he asks, then adds, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're going to be seeing a lot more of us." Sundance Head is amongst the contestants in this room. The contestants in the third room don't need to hear the bad news. They can hear the celebration going on in the other two rooms. Among the casualties is Amanda, who will have to be content to root for her friend Antonella. Brother and sister team Shuyamali and Sunjaya Malakar are also split up. Sunjaya is among the chosen, but is not happy once he finds out his sister won't be joining him. He runs down to the lobby to hug her goodbye as she leaves. It's really hard on both of them. Other notable casualty: Jamie Lynn Ward. Tomorrow - 36 more people are axed.