Rediff Entertainment Bureau | January 19, 2007 13:52 IST
The quest for this year's American Idol has finally begun. The preliminary auditions of the Seattle leg of the much-anticipated popular American reality show kicked off on a drab note.
Judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson looking visibly frustrated as they listened to a string of unpromising AI aspirants in season six.
But 17-year old twins, Sanjay and Shyamalee, whose father was born in India, breathed some hope back into the competition. The twins, who speak with a distinct American accent, were present with their parents. Their father is a classical Indian musician. When interviewed by host Ryan Seacrest before the auditions, they displayed a playful sibling rivalry.
First to audition was Shyamalee with the jazz standard Summertime. Paula had trouble pronouncing her name, but Randy prided himself on getting it right.
Simon, known for demanding the highest standards from AI aspirants, as well as for his hard-hitting critiques, described her singing as nothing unique. But he agreed that she was good enough to make it to round two. Paula gave her the thumbs-up and said she needed to work on her confidence levels. Randy said she still needed 'to find out who she was', build up her repertoire and stage performance abilities.
Shyamalee's waif-like brother Sanjay, who sported a shaggy haircut, went next. When asked by the judges if he thought his sister sings better them him, he replied in the affirmative. But he was soon proved wrong.
Post his soulful rendition of a song by his favourite artist Stevie Wonder, Simon said, "Your sister has more presence but you have a better singing voice."
Paula and Randy seemed visibly impressed. Needless to say, both got through to the next round of American Idol.
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