‘Idol’ hopefuls head to Hollywood

Review by Joshua Maloni
Niagara Frontier Publications, February 8, 2007

In the story of Willy Wonka, a half-dozen children were awarded golden tickets. This prize was the invitation to a mythical chocolate factory filled with sugary delights and devilish surprises.

On “American Idol,” talented singers are awarded golden sheets of paper, which serve as a ticket to Hollywood, itself a land of sweet and sultry surprises.

Just like Willy Wonka used a tour of his factory to discover the merits of those with a golden ticket, so do “Idol” judges use “Hollywood Week” (airing next week on Fox) to determine which singers are closer to Charlie Bucket and which resemble Augustus Gloop.

More than 130 golden sheets were distributed through the “Idol” audition process. Less than half of those singers have appeared on television. As such, trying to predict a winner at this stage is nearly impossible. That said, here’s a look at one critic’s picks for the Round of 32.

Jory Steinberg, described as the next “Alanis.” This Canadian performer has performed for the prime minister and other North American dignitaries.

Jason ‘Sundance’ Head, the son of singer Roy Head, impressed judges with his own ability.

Chris Sligh, who said his goal was to make David Hasselhoff cry. Early buzz was that judges had picked a curly haired “Penn” look alike -- like Chris -- to go far.

Brandon Rogers, who sang backup for Christina Aguilera. That speaks for itself.

Lakisha Jones, who was one of the final singers shown this past week, is representative of Mandisa in both appearance and talent.

Bailey Brown, whose name struck a chord with Paula Abdul. Young and attractive, judges called her a record label’s dream.

Ebony, one of three best friends on roller-skates, stood out as the best of the bunch.

Antonella Barba, another best friend, said her other half was better. Judges disagreed.

Sanjaya Malakar, who auditioned with his sister and outperformed her -- though both are Hollywood-bound.

Katie Bernard, who judges doubted because of her “little girl voice.” Her grown-up singing fared much better.

Jordin Sparks, who has her own page on Wikipedia and whose father was an NFL cornerback.

Jimmy McNeal, whom Simon dubbed a “fun Ruben.”

Perla Meneses, the Columbian singer judges likened to Shakira.

Tami Gosnell, a taxi driver with a pierced lip and unique style.

Paul Kim, an Asian singer with a smokey voice. He is not a fan of William Hung.