Thursday night’s episode of American Idol, featuring the first round of group auditions, started off strong - Symone Zaire Black is back on her feet and escorted by her father to a nearby hospital, Jeremy Rosado and Nicco Star move forward in the competition, and the 185 singers who survived the first round of Hollywood week come together in a powerful collaboration of “Heard It Through the Grapevine.”
But then comes the real challenge: the contestants were told by Ken Warwick that they need to form groups of four or five that mix singers from Day 1 and Day 2, leaving some lost in their search for a partner. Alisha Bernhardt, who claims no one likes cops, and Amy Brumfield, who has a stomach bug and earns the nickname “Patient Zero,” struggle in particular, but eventually join forces and create their own group. For some, the group match-up proves even more overwhelming. Brianna Bell refuses to sing “Son of a Preacher Man” with anyone who doesn’t know their part.
With passing minutes, tensions rise. Bernhardt is dead set on singing, “Joy to the World,” but her two partners leave her! To make matters worse, it looks like Brumfield’s bug has spread to other contestants. The group with Hee Jun Han, Richie Lawson, and the kid in the cowboy hat can’t seem to agree on anything.
The sneak peak of Deandre Backensick’s group, singing, "Hold On, I’m Coming", sounds pretty promising when juxtaposed to the Bettys’ group, in which the members are tired and frustrated and their performance shows it.
Looks like American Idol leaves us with yet another cliffhanger....we’ll have to wait until next week to hear if the Bettys’ crew can pull their act together.
