Friday, February 19, 2010

Meet American Idol's Crystal Bowersox

Crystal Bowersox, 24

Hometown: Elliston, OH
Currently Resides: Toledo, OH
Twitter: @CBowersox
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crystal-Bowersox/290844674749

Bowersox grew up on a farm in Northwest Ohio and has been playing music since she was 10 years old. She enjoys playing the piano and harmonica and spending time with her son.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Jermaine Sellers, Siobhan Magnus, Crystal Bowersox, Alex Lambert, Michael Lynche and Todrick Hall perform

Season 9 contestants Jermaine Sellers, Siobhan Magnus, Crystal Bowersox, Alex Lambert, Michael Lynche, Todrick Hall and Thaddeus Johnson perform on American Idol Hollywood Round #3

Monday, February 15, 2010

Crystal Bowersox and Andrew Garcia emerge as American Idol Front-Runners In Hollywood

After group night, Katie Stevens, Didi Benami and Haeley Vaughn are also drawing attention.

Yes, the first two rounds of Hollywood Week have just ended, and there's plenty of drama that will undoubtedly unfold before we make it to the top 24. But that has not stopped us from tagging some of the breakout stars that have emerged so far on season nine of "American Idol."

If you can survive the dreaded group round and still have the judges smiling at you, you've already won the first battle, and these singers seem poised to rise to the top ... for now anyway.

Among those who appear to have skated through the first few rounds with nary a scratch is is dreadlocked single mom Crystal Bowersox. The Chicagoan with the Janis Joplin growl, guitar chops and a winning personality, got a rare thumbs-up sign on Tuesday when the audience joined in and provided impromptu backing vocals on her cover of Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," which ended in a standing ovation.

Another seemingly certain shoo-in Andrew Garcia. The sweet young dad with the neck tattoo, former gangbanger parents and a buttery soul vocal attack has already proven that he's got that certain Adam Lambert-esque shine thanks to his radical acoustic reworking of former judge Paula Abdul's "Straight Up." If this kid doesn't make it to the top 24, we'll be shocked.

With her Colbie Caillat-like groove, Los Angeles native Didi Benami is also an early audience favorite, and it probably didn't hurt that she covered a Kara DioGuardi-penned tune, Katharine McPhee's "Terrified," on Tuesday night and killed it. She's doing "Idol" in memory of a friend who passed away, and her Carrie Underwood-esque good looks and sunny attitude could take her far.

Haeley Vaughn seems determined to become the first black female pop/country artist to break through on the show. Rocker mom Mary Powers appears to be a bit controlling and hard to work with, but works a gritty, Pink-like vibe that has a certain charm. And teen Katie Stevens is emerging as a judges' favorite. DioGuardi told her she could win it all after the group performance of Alicia Keys' "No One."

The judges also seem to like Tampa, Florida's all-American blond Janell Wheeler — who reportedly dated Florida Gators legend (and controversial Super Bowl ad star) Tim Tebow — and her Sheryl Crow-meets-Pink take on Estelle's "American Boy" was impressive. Cougar bait Casey James, the hunky cowboy working a nice-guy singer/songwriter vibe, seems promising.

Backflipping, former Fantasia co-star Todrick Hall, who clearly has the creative chops to survive but is starting to come off as a little gimmicky. Siobhan Magnus. Magnus, a quirky Massachusetts 19-year-old, uses her powerful pipes in a band called Lunar Valve.

Who knows? They could all be gone next week, or one of them could be your next American Idol.