Leave it to Texas to provide one of the most unsettling father/son interactions of all time.  I’m referring of course to 19 year old, non-kisser, Bruce Dickson who is saving his whole self for marriage, and his Father who holds his heart until that day.  Literally holds his heart.  They wear interlocking necklaces of a heart and a key.  They did a demo for us.  It made me twitch.  And he’s not much of a singer either.  </shudder>

Next, musician Brandon Green compulsively peeled his fingernails and kept them in a bag and showed us.  It is because of this that I can not remember anything else about him like if he sang well or if he was green lit to Hollywood.  He’s just the fingernail guy now forever.  Also memorable was the slightly mad and wholly grateful Kayla Hatfield who survived a nearly fatal car crash a few years earlier and gave a growly Janis performance that charmed the snot out of Simon.  18 year old, vocal imitator, Kady Malloy is Simon’s favorite so far.  It probably didn’t hurt that she sang his favorite song. 

Day two in Dallas yielded another mixed crop of hopefuls including a very sweaty 28 year old Douglas Davidson who told the camera that his dad hates him and that he worries about losing his voice because Christina Aguilera said it could happen.  His performance was honestly scary as he dry heaved through Livin’ On A Prayer and mumbled and panted and walked in circles.  He was also escorted out.

Angela Reily’s animated karaoke version of Baby Love was great for damage control, but even the influence of her hunky model/husband wasn’t enough to sway the judges.  She did not make the cut but I do hope to see more of them.  Hella cute.

Future Oklahoma governor hopeful, Kyle Ensley, surprised with a butterscotch voice that seemed to originate from a different body.  Regardless, they liked his sincerity and made him promise he wouldn’t go the way of Clay Aiken before yessing his way to Hollywood.  Colton Swon also received a yellow paper even though he’s a country-rocker, bar-band kind of dude. 

But none of the cowpokes even  came close to the super duper tractor hotness of my Mississippi farmboy, Drew Poppel.  Humble and hardworking, this country son has twang for miles and will be boarding his first ever airplane to make the trip to LA.

However, the quote of the evening belongs to the denied Kyle Reinneck who stated, “I haven’t seen myself rock out but I hear that I’m pretty intense.”  The judges agreed and sent him home, guyliner and all.  Nina Shaw, on the other hand, was saved by her legs.  They’re swell.  And her “jazzy, old fashioned” voice was ok too.

But before the jukebox could power down on Dallas, it was time for Renaldo Lapuz to spread his message of unity and love.  Looking like a Filipino Liberace in a feathered hat and metallic robe, Lapuz belted an inspired, original composition for the judges, giving them the ideal opportunity to test this season’s NEW! interpretive dance rating system as illustrated below:

Good lookin’ out, man:   24 hopefuls

Photos by me via the TV