Idol Insider

Space City doesn't exactly rock: Many of Houston's American Idol auditions areout of this world bad

Baylie Brown is back on "American Idol," trying her luck five seasons later.
On a night when Houston didn't exactly wow, Lakewood Church worship leaderRamiro Garcia brought a needed bright spot.
Who would have guessed that Jennifer Lopez would become the voice of reason on"American Idol."
Photo by Matt Sayles/AP

In its 11 seasons, American Idol’s dropped by the Lone Star State a whopping nine times, including the Dallas cattle call that propelled the show to fame. But its recent stop in Houston (shown Thursday night) proved a little less successful — a mixed bag of sorts.

In a nod to Space City, Commander Dan C. Burbank “launched” the episode more than 250 miles above Earth, and with that, we were off with the good, the bad and the intolerable.

The episode felt oddly vintage in some ways, like a throwback to circa Season Three when ridiculously delusional people with bad accents were a novelty. See first contestant Phong Vu, a 25-year-old Houston-native who says it’s “phenomenon” to be able to audition.

When the judges tell him no, he gets on his knees and argues that he’s “heard worse" . . . and he’s quickly escorted out by a security guard.

He delivers a painful “Unbreak My Heart” with even more painful conviction, and then tries to woo the judges with his “iconic moves.” Dear Nigel: This is 2012. Let’s move on.

The jab at Houston proceeds with a string of similar auditions, from flamboyant renditions of “My Prerogative” and “I’m So Excited,” to wannabe ~~Josh Turner~~ Scotty McCreery covers of “Just to be Your Man.”

But then, enter Skyler Laine, a country girl who shoots deer and whose adorable family owns a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in downtown Mississippi. Before she sings a single note, I write in my notes: “Looks and sounds like Miranda Lambert.” And alas, the 17-year-old whips out “Hell On Heels” by Lambert’s side project, The Pistol Annies (if you don’t have their album, run, don’t walk, to get it).

She’s got flair, chops and authenticity, and with my favorite audition thus far, the judges send her through. Sadly, she ain’t from Texas.

Thankfully, the next contestant is from Texas, 21-year-old Baylie Brown. Idol aficionados will remember her from Season Six, when she was infamously ousted during group round, thanks to memory loss and a clash with two Jersey girls. Simon Cowell told the 16-year-old in her initial audition that her voice would be great in two or three years, and he might be right.

She auditions with more maturity and control this time, wrapping her country-ish voice around Bon Jovi’s “Bed of Roses.” To Hollywood she goes.

So does 28-year-old Kristine Osorio, a hard working soon-to-be single mom who traded in her divorce lawyer cash for a plane ticket from Amarillo to the Idol audition. She sings my favorite Adele song, “One and Only,” with grit and believability, and I can’t wait to hear how her husky tone transforms other songs.

Idol then treats us to a tangible reminder of the disparity between Jennifer Lopez’s worth as a judge and “the others.’’ Much to her dismay, the boys turn down three worthy contenders and shoo in Linda Williams from League City, whose sloppy version of “Fallin’” can’t touch the previous three auditions.

“I honestly feel like somebody slipped you something,“ Jennifer tells Randy, before launching into indignant backlash. Get it, girl.

Alajandro Cazeres “The Revolution” then takes us back to Season Three with another awkwardly bad audition. The Houstonite babbles on about wanting to live in a world where Lady Gaga sells platinum records and Barack Obama is president — further proof he was plucked straight from 2004.

When the judges tell him no, he gets on his knees and argues that he’s “heard worse" . . . and he’s quickly escorted out by a security guard.

And finally, with Jennifer's abs and a few other Season Three-esque auditions sprinkled in between, two memorable contestants knock on Idol’s door. The first is Cortez Shaw, a warehouse worker and college student from Garland who’s been through tough times with his single-parent family.

“American Idol is opportunity at its greatest,” he says, and the idealist inside of me agrees. He spins Adele’s “Someone Like You” into an upbeat ditty, and I kind of dig his note choices. What I don’t dig is his claim that Randy’s his favorite judge — dude, seriously? — but for that I will have to forgive him.

The night ends with Ramiro Garcia, a Lakewood Church worship leader born without ears. Though his parents were told he’d never speak or hear, several surgeries later he’s auditioning with a serviceable if not remarkable take on “Amazing Grace.” There’s sheer passion in his delivery, and his dad notes in broken English that he “Sings on another level — different to this world.”

It’s a touching way to close out Idol’s visit to Space City.

All in all, 56 contestants from the Houston audition will battle it out during Hollywood Week. Sound off on your favorites below.

Quote of the Night

“Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty things.”

- Steven Tyler, for reals.

Get more of Tara Seetharam's pop culture musings on her website TaraSeetharam.com and follow her on Twitter @TaraAshley.

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HOWDY, DOCTORS

Grey's Anatomy spins off new medical drama led by Houston-born showrunner

Photo via Meg Marinis/Instagram

Showrunner Meg Marinis poses with actor Kevin McKidd, who recently exited Grey's Anatomy after more than a decade playing Dr. Owen Hunt.

ABC is bringing the Grey's Anatomy universe to Texas with a new one-hour rural medical drama co-created by longtime showrunner Meg Marinis. Marinis was born in Houston and is an alum of both the Kinkaid School and the University of Texas at Austin.

According to an exclusive report from Deadline, which production company Shondaland shared on social media, the untitled series has received a straight-to-series order from ABC and will follow a team at a rural West Texas medical center described as “the last chance for care before miles of nowhere.”

The series marks the first Grey’s Anatomy franchise show set outside the West Coast, and it's the first that's not centered around an existing main character from the original series.

The new drama will be co-created by Shonda Rhimes and Marinis, who has spent nearly two decades working on Grey’s Anatomy. She joined the series during its third season as a production assistant before rising through the ranks to become a researcher, writer, executive producer, and now showrunner.

"This opportunity will bring new characters and stories to life that will embody the same heart, emotion, and connection audiences have loved from Grey’s for more than two decades, all set in my home state of Texas,” Marinis said in a statement announcing the series. "I am so grateful to Shonda Rhimes for creating this dynamic world and feel so fortunate that I get to be a part of it.”

Marinis’ path to running one of television’s biggest franchises started in Austin. In an interview with Shondaland last year, she recounted moving to Los Angeles during her final semester at UT through the university’s UTLA entertainment program, which allows students to complete coursework while interning in the industry. While finishing school, she interned at Universal before landing a production assistant role on Grey’s Anatomy in 2006.

Marinis has also woven Texas experiences into the flagship series itself in recent years. According to Deadline, she personally knew families affected by the Camp Mystic tragedy and rewrote part of a recent Grey’s Anatomy episode after becoming emotional while working on the script.

The West Texas setting is particularly timely, as rural healthcare access remains a growing issue across the state. According to the Texas Hospital Association, more than 20 rural Texas hospitals have closed since 2010, while roughly a quarter of the state’s remaining rural hospitals are considered at risk of closure.

By centering the new series on what ABC describes as “the last chance for care before miles of nowhere,” the franchise could bring national attention to healthcare access challenges facing communities across West Texas and other rural parts of the state.

The new series joins a long lineage of Texas-set television dramas, though not all were actually filmed in the state. Grey’s Anatomy itself is famously set in Seattle while primarily filmed in the Los Angeles area. Friday Night Lights became closely associated with Austin through extensive local filming, while series like Dallas often recreated Texas from California sound stages, with exteriors of Southfork Ranch serving as the Ewings' fictitious home. Walker, Texas Ranger, meanwhile, became one of the best-known examples of a network drama heavily filmed across Texas itself.

Even after more than 20 years on the air, Grey’s Anatomy remains one of television’s most durable franchises. According to ABC, the drama is now the longest-running primetime medical drama in television history and continues to rank among the network’s strongest scripted performers.

Ellen Pompeo, who stars as Dr. Meredith Grey in the original series, is attached as an executive producer, and the new drama is expected to premiere in 2027.

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