'American Idol' Road to Hollywood: Drama Queen and Teenage Heartthrob

Simon Cowell could not stand the amount of drama a contestant displayed when she was criticized, and he gave a vote of confidence to a teenage boy with country flavor.


"American Idol" reviewed back the past auditions in Road to Hollywood. The last audition episode revealed that there are a total of 181 people going to Hollywood. Soon the show will begin the Hollywood week where Ellen DeGeneres begins her stint as Paula Abdul's replacement.

The first in Hollywood episode was Jessica Furney who tried out once with a Janis Joplin song. With a new look and a new song choice, she sang Leona Lewis' "Footprints in the Sand" which Simon Cowell co-wrote. Victoria Adams said she had no idea Simon was behind the song while Simon kept self-praising the song. Jessica went through with four votes.

Amanda Shectman displayed her skill in impersonating Britney Spears' voice. But in the audition, she sang nothing like the pop star. Victoria advised her to work on the expression while Kara DioGuardi told her to connect with the song. Simon mocked Amanda's drama queen attitude but gave her a yes. The other judges did similarly. Outside, Amanda continued to be dramatic with tear-filled 'acceptance speech'.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Fisher thought the seventh time around, she would be lucky. The very tan girl said her motivation got higher knowing that her idol Victoria was on the judging seat. She sang "Fever", got stopped and told by Simon her voice was horrible. Stephanie said she was too nervous because Victoria was there so the judges asked Posh to turn around while Stephanie sang another song. The result was the same, so they sent her home without ticket.

Aaron Kelly was the type of teenage boy who would get a lot of votes from young girls. When he was about a year old his aunt and uncle saved him and his brothers from social service's grab when their parents hit the low. He sang "The Climb" and Simon thought it was a pretty good audition. He went through to Hollywood.

The Hollywood Round is divided into four parts, airing on February 9, 10, 16 and 17. The last day of the Hollywood Round will reveal the Top 24. Twelve female contestants will perform live for the first time on February 23 while the male ones take the next day. Audience will be able to vote from there and the result where two female and two male are eliminated will be read on February 25.