The last stop for American Idol auditions landed us in St. Louis, where we first met Carrie Underwood eight years ago.
First up to audition was Johnny Keyser, a 22-year-old from Pompano Beach, Florida. He sang "A Change is Gonna Come," and the judges interrupted him repeatedly, but told him to keep singing. In the end, he received a yes from all three judges.
The 26-year-old Rachelle Lamb has a young daughter and is going through a divorce. She is another contestant whose husband held her back from her dreams. She brought her daughter into the audition room with her and sang Faith Hill's "Find Somebody New," a song her husband hated. Rachelle also received a yes from all three judges and is off to Hollywood.
Reis Kloeckener is a 20-year-old from St. Louis who went through a lot of bullying in high school and joined choir to overcome it. He sang "Lean On Me," and brought Steven to tears. Again, the judges passed him through to Hollywood.
Steven Tyler stopped by to give all of the contestants a pep talk, which eased their nerves and pumped them up.
The next contestant to audition was Ethan Jones, a 22-year-old from Pontoon Beach, Florida, who plays in a band with his father. He came in with a bleeding forehead and told the judges he had scratched at a cut out of nervousness. His father is currently undergoing treatment for alcohol and drug abuse and has left the band. Ethan sang "I'll Be," by Edwin McCain. The judges all agreed and passed him through to Hollywood. As he left the room, Steven added that he wants to meet his father when he gets out.
Mark Ingram works at the hotel where auditions were being held, so he brought staff along with him to watch his audition. They all talked about how they listen to him sing all the time, and they made it sound like he would be good. Only, when Mark started singing Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed," it was anything but. The judges cut him off, saying they really wanted to say yes, but they just couldn't. He tried again with another song, but in the end, the judges liked him and not his voice, and it was a no from all three.
Lauren Gray was the last to audition. She and her family own a one-stop bridal shop, and she sings in a band with her father. The judges were wowed by her song of Adele's "One and Only." Steven loved that she was fearless, Jennifer said that was one of the best female voices they'd heard, and it was a yes and a golden ticket from the judges.
Next week marks the start of the infamous, incredibly difficult Hollywood week. Will you be watching? Do you have any favorite contestants so far? Leave a comment below!
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