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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Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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