Houston: "I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone"

At the beginning of the Houston auditions, Randy Jackson said Season 11 was a new beginning. Funny, I thought that’s what last season was. I guess he couldn’t come up with something as clever as Season 10: The Remix…

For the first batch of episodes, we’ve been seeing a lot more good than bad. So, we were due for a lot of bad. But we also got a lot of good that still didn’t make it to Hollywood thanks to a trip into “The Twilight Zone”…

Here are some of my thoughts on Houston…

The bad auditions normally make me squirm, but I admit I actually laughed at Phong Vu (“Unbreak My Heart”) because he was just so dramatic…

#Tylerism Alert: “You rode that one into the sunset”…

It was nice to see Baylie Brown (“Bed of Roses”) come back, although I wonder what kept her away so long. If I remember correctly, her group—which included Antonella Barba—was quite the drama fest in Hollywood. Hopefully, it will work out better for her this time around…

I love when JLo said, “Thank you, God” when Kristine Osorio (“God Only Knows”) started singing. JLo was just so happy that the single mother of three could sing…

We didn’t hear enough of Rachael Turner (“Undo It”) and Reagan Wilson (“At Last”) to know about them, but JLo was absolutely right about Cheyenne James (“Misery”). Cheyenne was awesome and I don’t know what Steven and Randy were thinking not letting her through. Especially since they let Linda Williams (“Fallin’”) through with that hideous audition. I wish whoever JLo looks at over to the side had jumped in and helped her at least keep Cheyenne in. It was a trip to the Twilight Zone indeed...

#Tylerism Alert: “I wrote ‘Dream On’ back when the Red Sea was still sick”…

Randy’s bad ear continued when he nearly stopped Cortez Shaw from finishing his R&B version of “Someone Like You.” His rendition was strange, but his voice was solid…

#Tylerism Alert: “I bet you’re crazy in—on the dance floor”…

Every year, there’s always that heartwrenching story that totally gets you. And this year’s so far is Ramiro Garcia. I had never known of anyone born without ears, but to hear him now is pretty remarkable. I have no idea why JLo said they were taking a leap of faith with him. No leap at all. The guy is awesome…

Golden tickets went out to 55 in Houston…

#Tylerism Alert: “Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things”…

Rock on, Steven. Rock on…