"American Idol" Recap: The Judges Visit Atlanta - East Idaho News
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“American Idol” Recap: The Judges Visit Atlanta

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GETTY 012314 AmericanIdol?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1390545524711FOX via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Thursday night on American Idol, Ryan Seacrest and the judges — Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick, Jr. and Keith Urban — visited Ryan’s home state of Georgia. The show staged more season-13 auditions in Atlanta.

Here are some of the highlights from the one-hour episode:

Majesty Rose, 21, transformed Coldplay’s “Violet Hill” into an acoustic ballad. Harry said it was wonderful to hear something so elegant. J-Lo said the performance seemed effortless. Majesty earned a “yes” from all three judges.

Jesse Cline, a gas station attendant, covered the Needtobreathe song “Washed by the Water.” Harry commented that Jesse showed believability as an artist. Keith said the performance instantly clicked for him. Jesse is headed to Hollywood.

Nica Nashae advanced after belting out the Aretha Franklin classic “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” She then declared, “I’m going to win it!”

Jordan Brisbane, 15, tackled Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.” Keith and Jennifer were concerned that he couldn’t handle the “runs” in the song, but the entire panel saw promise in him. Harry even said Jordan looked like he could be an actor. Jordan’s moving on in the competition.

Sam Burchfield, a Phillip Phillips type, delivered his take on “I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song),” from The Jungle Book. Harry said Sam sang with a “weird impediment,” adding that he “didn’t buy it.” Nevertheless, Sam advanced.

Jess Meuse, sporting pink lipstick to go with the pink streak in her hair, performed an original song titled “Blue-Eyed Lie” on her acoustic guitar. Harry said she came off as low maintenance. Keith enjoyed her shoulder rhythm as she played the guitar. We’ll see her again.

You could tell Lauren Ogburn loves her country — she wore red, white and blue boots and bandana. She gave J-Lo goose bumps by singing Reba McEntire’s “Fancy.” Harry thought she was trying too hard with her patriotic look. Lauren earned a golden ticket anyway.

The show flipped back and forth between two season-11 contestants, Neco Starr and Caleb Johnson, who returned for a second chance. They both earned the opportunity to go back to Hollywood.

Bria Anai, a 15-year-old who described her mother as her “momager,” advanced, too, thanks to her cover of Adele’s “One And Only.”

To date, 163 golden tickets have been handed out. Next week on Fox, American Idol visits Salt Lake City, Utah, for more auditions.

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