Update: Annie’s recap is live!
So close to Hollywood (Week)… yet so far away. S. Ty, J. Lo, and R. Jacks hit San Francisco on tonight’s audition-round episode. Fire up your Audition Rounds Bingo card and get ready for a flowers-in-their-hair montage featuring sad sacks, delusionals, derelicts, and people in costumes! Chat about American Idol‘s one-hour Golden Gate audition spectacle here during and after the show, then come back later for my full recap.
And Simon, let it go. It’s getting weird.
Read more:
12 Tear-Jerking ‘Idol’ Moments
Gallery: 15 Steven Tyler Faces
All ‘American Idol’ recaps
EW.com’s ‘American Idol’ Central
Annie on Twitter: @EWAnnieBarrett
I just saw this when I was on the Glee page. You don’t have it on the front page of this website. If you want clicks…you might want to think about putting it on the front page lol
EW is the Glee page.
Oh, snap!
Ok EW, why are you guys still ignoring the release of the awesome new strokes single?!
Lara Johnston was in a group of 3 people in the beginning who were really good, she blew me away
Lara Johnston is the daughter of Doobie Brothers lead singer Tom Johnston.Lots of videos of her on youtube singing with the Doobies.Also check out her website.
Wasn’t she also on “Rock the Cradle”, the competition of singing stars’ children? The show was a trainwreck, but I think I rmember that she was above and beyond the crazy kids of Dee Snider and Olivia Newton-John.
Yes she was on Rock The Cradle.Eddie Money and Joe Walsh both had daughters on the show too.
I don’t care much for showbiz nepotism, but if you aren’t a Nicole Ritchie and making it on your own merits, it isn’t nepotism.
Hope Lara Johnston gets in, because it would be a treat to have the daughter of the GOOD lead singer of the Doobies. And fun if Dad Doobie is around for some of the shows.
Emily Anne!
Could she be any cuter? Not sure how ready her voice will be but she is very cute and so is her voice.
My favorite this season. Thankfully she has quite a few youtube videos that I’ve been watching for the past hour.
Lara Johnston was incredible! I want to see more of her!
Search her on youtube.
What was the girls name from Arlington, VA whose house burned down and had an old school style?
Emily Anne (I think).
Emily Anne Reed (full name makes it easy to find all of her music on youtube)
Emily Anne and the Pimped One, James Durbin. They were awesome.
what was the song Emily Ann sang???
No way the last kid has Asperger’s. Total misdiagnosis.
Yeah, they went a little far in creating his baackstory. Dad died when he was young, bullied in school, TWO different syndromes, living hand to mouth and oh yeah, he has a kid, too!
yeah! and can’t afford to put diapers on him!
whaaaaa! Weeeep! Booohooohoo! But he sang a’aight.
I think he’s a glambert. 
But boy oh boy can he ever sing.
I liked the dude and everything, but did anyone else notice how much the Idol producers were trying to sell him as the next Adam Lambert? I mean, they started off referencing the glamboyant season 8 runner up as their dream audition for San Francisco, and then they hyped up the power note-hitting newbie’s end-of-the-show sob story until I was practically numb.
They even called him the “voice they’d been waiting for”. Yiiikes.
Oh, and I bet the producers love that he’s a seemingly straight family man with a young son.
Again, I didn’t dislike him, just the way he was made out to be the perfect, end-all, mind-blowing contestant.
The sob story was a little much and he def sounded like he was just screaming during his song. They ran that guy’s stuff into the ground.
Yeah, the boo hoo stories were a little too much in this ep. The guy’s a good singer, but the sympathy feature was laid on way too thick imho
I personally did not care for his singing in the least.
Yeah its a shame…. I think sharing one or two of those things would have been more effective, and then his voice could have spoken for itself even more.
The kid who sang YOU shook me, blew me away..I too have a son with Asperger’s. I know when they have a passion about something they go for it. This kid did…I hope I see him in the finals!
I hope things work out well for him and his life, but if we have to hear him sing every week, I will keep the mute button handy. That hurt.
My family was so excited to see Stefano Langone audition for Idol! He is a friend of our daughter, they went to high school together, but we didn’t know he had auditioned. He always stood out as an amazing performer in school, we always believed he would find success in the business. It was thrilling to see him, so wonderful to see the positive response from the judges. Best of luck to you, Stefano!! We’re all pulling for you here in Kent!
I cannot stomach any more of the sob stories. It has gone way beyond too much. It is actually offending me now. As soon as one starts I have to turn the station. Can we not just hear these people sing?? I am looking at you Nigel!
The songs that were played tonight- can anyone name them? The last one at the end of the show “Sing in your heart……”
Anyone know the “soundtrack” of tonights San Fran show?
I know they played Cee Lo’s new song “Bright Lights, Bigger City”, and the one you are referring to is “Sing” from My Chemical Romance.
I’m so sick of the hark luck stories we’re supposed to feel sorry for. The dude with the Turrets, He has a baby and no job, and we’re supposed to feel sorry for him? Support your kid. Maybe your baby mama can stick some post-it’s that say “Get off your lazy ass and get a job”
It’s a shame that Idol continues to shove these hard luck stories down our throats. Sometimes it turns people off of a contestant before they’ve even openned up their mouth to start singing. I wish they’d just let the singer’s voice speak for itself and let us judge on musicality alone. That having been said, I thought the guy with the Tourette’s, I think his name is James Durbin(?), was amazing. Surprised me a little that he was unemployed, with a voice like that he should be able to write his own ticket.
Agreed. I think Emily Anne’s ‘sob’ story was far more personable. The simple tragedy of your first home away from home burning down is just enough to tug at the heartstrings.
Sometimes, these stories are so out there that it becomes annoying.
I actually like a little tugging at my heartstrings, It’s just the way they shove it down my throat like Foie gras that makes me kinda sick
A friend of mine told me that I needed to give Idol another chance (I had bailed after the Gokeyfest), so I watched this episode. Idol hasn’t changed. It’s still a Sob Story Competition, with a singing element. I hate that crap.
Sob stories make me sick, please stop it, you just think we would vote for the one that has the best tear jerking story?