@muscimom2015 Agree about them not hearing of that classic. 
Especially since Sia covered it a few years ago.
The Top-40 perform before a live audience tonight from the Aulani Resort in Hawaii. It will be a 3-hour show. Curious to hear what BunsenBurner has to say, who was there!
I am sure they will doctor the show a bit. 
We were sitting really close to the stage - at the fish restaurant at the Four Seasons (it is very good!). I just happened to make reservations for that night. We got to eat and watch the last 1-1.5 hr of the taping. The singers were not given much time to say anything or introduce themselves - as soon as they were done, they were encouraged to leave the stage quickly. There were kids in the background SUPping on the lagoon on boards with led lights. One kid decided to show off and started dancing on the board - you guessed how that ended, lol. I wonder if that was caught on camera Mr did capture that splash! After the show, the judges went up to the hotel grounds and there were some additional tapings there. Hotel guests were not allowed to enter some pool areas for a while apparently.
^Cool experience!
I am sure the tonight’s show will look like a giant promo for Aulani. We took some photos of the huge IDOL letters which were erected under the palm trees on the side of the lagoon. The guards were pretty chill and let everyone poke around before the show started, but then during the show, the security got a bit less chill. The judges were sitting in a cabana that was closely guarded. We were walking behind it to get to the restaurant and were asked what we were doing. As soon as we said that we were going to Mina’s, they smiled and let us through.
Amazing how dropping 2 bills (without wine) gets you a little slack! I recently ate at Michael Mina’s restaurant in SF, that he partners with Ayesha Curry, called International Smoke. He does a great job.
2 bills sound about right, but we got wine. We ordered a bottle of Patz and Hall Pinot (good stuff) and split a fish bake. That kept the staff from hurrying us up. The fish bake was awesome. Vino was so good we decided to stop by the winery to taste when we were in Sonoma.
We rarely splurge when we vacation in HI (I usually cook our Costco loot), but this was money well spent.
I am tearing up!!! I want to go back!! Ko Olina… the place of joy - indeed!!
We heard Alyssa. She was good.
There were some who made the top 20 that I don’t remember seeing before. Riley, the 16-year-old country girl, was one of the ones I didn’t remember.
I’m not a fan of Eddie Island.
Jeremiah (PK who worked as a janitor at his parents’ church) makes me cry, but I love his voice.
And Laine. Whoa. He changed a lot in the last year!
There was a line of folks by the public restrooms next to Aulani- apparently relatives and friends waiting to be ushered into the pit to watch their singer.
The auditions began at 5 (?) when it was still light and finished at 8 when it was pitch black outside.
Egads. Katy’s outfits are quite something. Glad we did not see THAT. ?
Wow. No wonder rooms at Aulani were so cheap that week. Not only half of the beach chairs was removed from the beach to clear the space for the stage, it looks like the guests were restricted from using the lagoon for a day or so (we stayed in the condos next door, so did not see the madness, and our lagoon was quiet and useful).
The “Ginger Kid” made the top 20!!! Wooo!! He sounded very, very good live.
Oh phew!! Uche made it! That was the last song of the show we watched. That’s when everyone stood up and began dancing. And that’s when the little punk wiped out off his SUP in the lagoon.
My favorite “ginger kid” is Jeremiah Harmon, the preacher’s kid, but I liked Walker Burroughs also.
I really liked Dimitius Graham, the kid with the face and neck tats. His range is amazing.
Could not believe Uche got a golden ticket during his first audition and now think he’s one of the front runners. I still think he needs to tone it down a little— but what a performer.
It will be interesting to see Ashley Hess get back on the piano, hopefully for good.
I’ve had my ears (and eyes- both very attractive) on Country gals Laci Booth and Riley Thompso, right from the get go, and I think Laci has the best shot of winning.
Good show. The last time I was on Oahu (not including a layover) was in 1987. Didn’t that property use to be the Turtle Bay Resort?
The producers are over-pimping Laine Hardy and it is really starting to annoy me. First the “surprise” audition and now completely changing his look for his Top-40 Showcase performance Sunday night and reigniting the Katy crush thing. It’s almost as if ABC is trying to make up for the judges sending him home too early last season but I think they are hurting him more than helping.
I am not a big country fan but I agree Laci has a good,interesting voice. I think she will do well on a variety of music genres too.
But is it my tv, or does anyone else think she looks orange? I know it is a spray tan or something but for me it is a bit distracting to watch her.
@jshain - Turtle Bay is in a different part of Oahu. Aulani is in a resort area called Ko Olina - the land owners had a vision of developing it into a beautiful resort area after construction of 4 man-made lagoons, but it was a slow process. There used to be just one hotel there, Ihilani by Marriott (which is now the Four Seasons), then Marriott built their timeshare, the condo developments went up, and finally Aulani was permitted and built. We have stayed in Ko Olina since 2004 or so. It is definitely getting more crowded. The developers sold an empty lot to a Chinese company that wants to build an Atlantis-branded hotel next to Aulani. I have seen the artist renderings of the Atlantis, let’s say Aulani will be dwarfed by it! The condo owners on the other side of the empty lot are trying to sell before construction noise starts…
The show did look like a commercial for Disney/Aulani. I am sure there were a lot of inconveniences for the hotel guests with areas closed off for taping, that’s why the rooms were at a decent discount, apparently. The camera operators were placed between where we were sitting and the stage to strategically not show even a sliver of the Four Seasons. I have to say that some singers sounded pretty bad… those were the performances that were not shown or only briefly shown yesterday. Overall, good show, and much less Katy than in the preview ones. Which is a good thing.
I was really impressed with the sound mixing. I thought most of the performances sounded really good considering it was an outside venue. Much better sound editing than what The Voice produces inside. Wondering: did they have a backup plan in place if there had been extended rain?