'Idol': More music from Jermaine Purifory, and last night's other Golden Ticket holders
The Orlando auditions on last night’s American Idol (see full recap here) were a dream come true for a few budding musicians. We watched 11 hopefuls take home a Golden Ticket — even though a grand total of 31 singers were granted one — and some of those 11 left us wanting more. (Ahem, Jermaine Purifory.) So we took to the Web to find more of the successful auditioners’ music:
Jermaine Purifory: His rendition of “Smile” made us all, well, smile. But you can find Purifory all over YouTube, performing solo — like on the track embedded below, written by the musician — or with Lee University’s Voices of Lee, an a cappella choir that was featured on NBC’s The Sing Off. (Purifory was not featured on the program, sadly).
Janell Wheeler: Wheeler — who already has competitive chops, based on the fact that she won a competition called Orlando’s Got Talent late last year — is juggling plenty of music genres: On her MySpace page, the singer says her style is “Country, Pop, Soul, Glam, Fun…pretty much just me.” But she seems destined for country, based on the tracks on her page. Fun fact: Wheeler was once romantically linked to college football star Tim Tebow.
Brittany Starr James: This Golden Ticket holder claims on her MySpace page that she sounds like “Aaliyah or Alicia Keys.” A bold claim, but her existing music seems to fit in well with the R&B scene. (She’s also got several videos up on YouTube.) The singer is also a multitasker: She’s developed her own recording company, JB Starr Entertainment.
Seth Rollins: Expect the dad to break out the guitar during Hollywood Week — this YouTube video proves he is a proficient strummer.
Jay Stone: The “beat-box extraordinaire” performs a beat-boxing medley that includes songs by the likes of Donna Summer and Salt-N-Pepa in this video. But he takes on other classic hits as well: Check out this medley, which includes a track from a little band called Queen.
Now back to Jermaine:
Do you think any of these Orlando hopefuls could make it all the way?