American Idol Auditions for Boston: Katie Stevens Emerges as an Early Favorite
Katie Stevens Backstory and Talent Headline The First Audition
American Idol 9 broadcast its first episode on Tuesday, January 12, 2010. The crew visited Boston to hold initial auditions. The usual bad auditions were shown, something which I never enjoyed but is a hit with many casual viewers. A few potential early favorites were featured, as well. Katie Stevens, the 16-year old singer who learned fluent Portuguese from her grandmother, emerged as probably the most promising American Idol favorite at this stage.
American Idol fans are well aware that the show tries to sway viewers with interesting backstories. Katie's case is no different. The Katie Stevens backstory is that her grandmother has Alzheimer's Disease. Katie needs to sing before her Grandma forgets everything. They even showed her singing "At Last" to Grandma in the kitchen and cut away to her "At Last" audition. The judges all gushed over her. At least the editing made it look that way.
What was ignored is that, while Katie has a great vocal tone and potentially excellent phrasing, she consistently cuts off her notes in an awkward manner. Katie needs a lot of work on her transitions. The potential is there, but she will have problems later in the competition if she keeps cutting off her notes. She can probably improve that aspect of her singing with a little guidance and practice.
It is not surprising that the judges were shown giving nothing but praise to Katie. Once they have a favorite, the producers tend to edit the comments until the contestant makes the voting rounds. Expect to hear lots of judge praise for Katie until the voting rounds. Things may change then, but she will likely be put in the most positive light for now because the producers almost certainly will be pushing for Katie to make the Top 12.
Despite the obvious vocal issues, Katie Stevens does have a great natural voice, she is beautiful, and her backstory will touch the hearts of many fans. I wrote about American Idol spoilers before that may emerge as favorites this year, but Katie appears to be an absolute lock for the voting rounds and a very likely contestant for the Top 12. Her age and apparent lack of training will probably stop her from winning the whole shebang, but expect Katie to be a solid favorite to go deep in this ninth season of American Idol.
