'American Idol' auditions: Chicago fire

Several strong contenders emerged from the pack, including severe stutterer Lazaro Arbos, fire performer Kez Ban and recovering anorexic Mariah Pulice.

"American Idol" still seems to be focusing on the judges, but intriguing talent emerged from Chicago, the second audition site. Right from the start, in fact.

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Kickoff contestant Mackenzie Wasner delivered Vince Gill's "Whenever You Come Around" in fine country style. (Her dad plays piano in Gill's band, says Nashville critic Brian Mansfield.) And a brief clip of a rejected singer was notable only for Nicki Minaj's first nickname of the episode, when she called Mariah Carey "M." (This excellent tag was followed by "Keithy," "Carey," "Randall," "Rand the Man," "Randy Bandy," and even a few impromptu monikers for contestants.)

Then it was back to the procession of good singers, as Kiara Lanier sounded accomplished on Celine Dion's "The Prayer." As you might suspect from her grisly taste in songs, Kiara idolized Mariah growing up, another of what I hope won't become a flood of mini-Mimis headed for Hollywood. Stephanie Schimel impressed three judges (not Nicki) with a pleasant rendition of old chestnut "Dream a Little Dream of Me," adding to the golden ticket accumulation.

A fairly inane Minaj monologue about eye shadow elicited a dose of Mariah's wordless, regal disdain, providing an entry point for a montage of dirty looks and minor squabbles of uncertain origin between the two judicial soul mates. Keith Urban capped the sequence by sighing, "I swear I feel like a scratching post."

Melissa Bush declaimed "Downtown" (Petula Clark's oldie) rather feebly, inspiring a lot of Bush jokes from the panel, seemingly PG-rated, but Mariah found them "vul-gah." Chicagoan Haley Reinhart (No. 3, Season 10) showed up for no apparent reason.

With most audition contestants that the producers deign to show, it's pretty obvious why the judges decreed a yes or no. But Gabe Brown's ticket to Hollywood was hard to understand. He screeched his way through the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," displaying an ability to shriek "it's just a shot away" ad nauseam, then sang Steel Dragon's "We All Die Young" with slightly more restraint before the irresistible urge to shriek overcame him again. I guess the show still feels it suffers a shortage of rockers, even atrocious ones, or else Gabe gets to go to L.A. for novelty value.

And I guess the novelty quota was mostly filled, since speed-rapper Kevin Nabity's lightning rendition of Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" didn't sway the court, even with a strangled encore of Styx's "Come Sail Away." It was a good lead-in to a montage of rejects, a run ended by Isabelle Parell, who enlisted Keith for a duet on the standard "Baby, It's Cold Outside." It was all quite charming , at least for the three judges not named Jackson.

Another split decision followed, this one a 2-1 vote (Keith having left early for a concert appearance). Griffin Peterson sang Needtobreathe's "Washed by the Water" adequately, and Nicki and Mariah approved of his beefcake appeal. Unanimity was restored by Curtis Finch Jr., who sang another Christian number, Smokie Norful's "God Is Able" with exceptional facility and stratospheric range. Curtis proved to be yet another of Mimi's lambs, expressing his elation at meeting his idol. Nicki commented, "That's so monumental."

But not as monumental as a contestant actually named Mariah: Pulice, age 19, is young enough to have been named for the singer. Mariah, the judge, informed us that "Mariah" is now the "62nd most popular name." (Why does she know this? Does she get a royalty?) Mariah, the contestant, turned out to be a recovering anorexic and sang a passionate "Let It Be" -- a better audition song (because it quickly separates the talented from the inept) than a choice for later in the competition, when it tends to be drowned in instrumentation and the dreaded choir. Another ticket of gold.

That brought us to the end of the first day, with seven Hollywood-bound singers showcased. But Day 2 started even stronger, with returning contestant Brandy Neelly's torch treatment of Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart." Josh Holiday was next, with a nimble performance of Brian McKnight's "Back at One," except for a botched falsetto finish that was ignored by the laudatory judges. Courtney Williams' treatment of the Miracles/Jackson 5's "Who's Loving You" and Andrew Jones' romp through Eddie Floyd's "Knock on Wood" were given relatively short shrift airtime-wise, but both made it through. Clifton Duffin adroitly tackled Leon Russell's "Superstar," though he wasn't big on singing actual lyrics, and ran the second-day "yes" streak to five.

A montage of Mariah fans among the contestants led into the streak breaker, Mimi-worshipper Ieisha Cotton, who bungled Ashanti's "Thank You." But Johnny Keyser, who nearly made the finals last season, returned with a self-assured "Try a Little Tenderness" that provoked a unanimous round of yesses (expressed, in Mariah's case, as "Yes, dahling, abso-frigging-lutely​") and a minor disturbance between Nicki and Mariah that caused the latter to roll her eyes in resigned exasperation.

Street performer Kez Ban was set up as one of those eccentrics the producers like to throw in for comic relief. When she mentioned she was a fire performer, Keith asked if she was in a relationship, because he "wanted to know if you had any old flames." But her a cappella version of "I've Got No Strings" from "Pinocchio" and a guitar-accompanied original were impressive, as were her instrumental chops. She came off like a weirder Crystal Bowersox, and – to the judges' credit – they voted her through.

Instead, the novelty action came from another loser montage, tinted in browns and dubbed "The Miserables," and from musical theater student, Ashley Curry, who screeched her way through Jessie J's "Mamma Knows Best" (back for a second time as an audition song this season), no less than three times before security was called in.

As usual, the long run of contestants (21 given full or semi-full showcases) was concluded with an inspirational back story: Cuban immigrant Lazaro Arbos, who speaks with a severe stutter, had no problem delivering a smooth and solid version of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." He'll be a focal point in Hollywood -- much more so, you can bet, than the 32 Chicago singers who also got yes votes but no airtime.

Speaking of focal points, the Nicki & Mariah Show will continue next Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C., including a walkout from Nicki. Just six short days away!

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"American Idol" airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.