Author: Michele Amabile Angermiller

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Season 14 of American Idol is well underway, but Clay Aiken is not keeping up with the narrative.

Aiken, who last appeared on the show in season-five, singing a duet of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” with a super fan on the 2006 finale, told The Hollywood Reporter he hasn’t watched the Fox singing competition in nearly as long.

“I haven’t seen that show in ten years,” said Aiken on Tuesday (March 24), following a screening of his new docuseries, The Runner-Up, which premieres on the Esquire Network April 7. Aiken’s forthcoming show takes a compelling look inside his 2014 campaign for Congress in North Carolina.

During a post-screening Q&A, Aiken was also asked about his time on Celebrity Apprentice and real estate mogul Donald Trump’s recent announcement that he is forming an exploratory committee for a possible 2016 run for president.

Aiken, who noted that Trump will be “another colorful cast member” in the Republican race for President, is surprised the businessman is running.

“He tends to not like to do anything he is not going to be successful at, sticking his neck out,” Aiken added. “I like him as a person. He has been nice to me and supported me, but I think he’s got maybe less of a chance than I did.”

Michael Becker/FOX

It’s been a long month of auditions, but Thursday night’s episode of American Idol crossed the finish line in San Francisco — and not a moment too soon.

With viewers having already seen the New York auditions, which drew a deep pool of singers earning golden tickets, audiences are itching to get to the Hollywood rounds.

But not yet. First, there were more awful singers left on the stadium floor by season seven alum and judge for a day, Carly Smithson. Poor Carly had to suffer through many octaves of awful, including one girl who auditioned in a leotard. Question: why did they let through borderline sociopathic growler Christopher Michael, who nearly murdered his guitar and inspired Harry Connick Jr. to throw his chair? A befuddled Keith Urban can only muster that he loved “the passion” before all three judges showed him the door.

There were several bonuses for viewers looking for light moments, courtesy of Connick, who did his own bad audition serenading Jennifer Lopez and Urban with Sia’s “Chandelier” as he fell to his knees. Urban, in hysterics, praised “Harry ascending.” Someone get Sia on the phone for the finale. Stat.

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Lopez also had a funny line when Jaq MacKenzie said she was “15 and a half.” The 40-ish singer joked that people stop saying that when they are older, and said she was “40 and a half.”

Good singers were plentiful: 17-year old Adanna Duru impressed with Lady Gaga’s “You and I” (Connick cautioned about knowing lyrics, however); 20-year old Hunter Larson owned her Willie Wonka tattoo with pride and nailed Frank Sinatra’s “That Life”; and Tara Honda, who not only has the best audition name ever, but sang Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move” so convincingly she should get a shot to play a role in “Beautiful” on Broadway.

So with the golden tickets running dry, which ones truly made audiences take notice?

Daniel Seavey: He’s 15 and auditioned with “Hallelujah,” famously done by Idol alum Jason Castro to great effect. Seavy needs more seasoning, but shows promise when at the piano. He also slipped in a cover of Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up,” but Andrew Garcia-style for good measure. He may be young, but he knows his Idol. Urban sees something in the kid. Hollywood will be a chance to see if he’s right.

Rocky Peter: He’s from Nigeria and had a great story about living in poverty and begging for food. He took a risk with an original song — “Wrong Places” — and went sharp vocally, but his phrasing in the falsetto was too good to ignore.

Tyanna Jones: She’s 16, and the middle child in a poor but proud family. She wears a bow tie, already displaying her own individual style. When she sang “Wings” by Little Mix, she connected with the judges as well as the cameras. Connick praised her as very talented. She should do well in Hollywood.

Twitter: @MicheleAmabile, @Idol_Worship

Michael Becker/FOX

From the moment American Idol showcased Mustafa, the psychic cat of contestant Katharine Skitter, in a preview package, the immediate premonition was that the San Francisco auditions would be magical.

And they were.

From Skitter’s fabulously wacky audition in a fur coat the 15-year old insisted was given to her by one Mr. David Bowie (that story alone must have gotten her that golden ticket), to another hilarious montage of contestants failing to exit the room and a close up of judge Harry Connick Jr.’s  impressive “guns” after he raced Olympian Ryan Bailey, Wednesday night’s episodes was incredibly fun, and felt way too short.

Plus, how can the show go wrong when the race between Connick and Bailey featured Season 10 alum Haley Reinhart’s song, “Hit the Ground Runnin’” as its background soundtrack?

Another highlight: former soap actor Samuel Prince mistakenly calls Connick “Henry” and involves all three judges in a sketch, prompting one heck of a slap from Jennifer Lopez.  He didn’t get a ticket, but he provided some entertainment. Tim Tebow lookalike Andrew Bloom also prompted a judge sing along with an acoustic version of Alex Clare’s “Too Close,” something that Keith Urban said was a good sign.

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Lopez was exceptionally incisive in San Francisco, voting no on several contestants while doling out advice to hopefuls before awarding them their tickets. Lopez also foretold the fate of at least two hopefuls with her famed “goosies,” and looked like she was having a ball.

 Connick once again zeroed in on things that mattered: particularly cutting down a pair of twins for not tuning a guitar before an ill fated audition.

San Francisco churned out impressive candidates, including vocal teacher KellyAnne Rodgers, jazzy vocalist Chandler Leighton (who gave off a major Elise Testone vibe while doing a Billy Joel song performed by Erika Van Pelt in that same season), and raspy voiced singer Erika David, who impressed with Alicia Keys’ “No One.”

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Before the hour was over, three potentially major vocals stood out:

Reno Anoa’i: The 16-year old Samoan is one of six siblings, and had an impressive audition of “I Don’t Want to Talk About It”  by Rod Stewart. Anoa’I took the ballad and reinterpreted it with a ukele. Anoa’I does have work to do-Lopez told him to tone down the runs, and Urban instructed him to be in the moment when he sings.

Rayvon Owen: From the moment he walked in, the ghost of Paula Abdul could be heard talking about the “light” that shone when he sang “Wide Awake” by Katy Perry.  His voice is like buttah, and he gave Lopez “gooooosies!” Owen has star quality and a beautiful tone. There is lots to root for with Rayvon.

Maddie Hudson: She’s 16, and was bullied in middle school. The question is: why? This girl is beautiful, and Connick rightly told her she has every “Ingredient” to be a superstar.  She’s bluesy, with a fun and quirky personality and almost resembles Lorde. That’s a winning combo!

Twitter: @MicheleAmabile, @Idol_Worship