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It was time to ‘tankercise’ for the ‘American Idol’ judges

DENVER–It’s hard work listening to hundreds of people sing in one day, but Ryan Seacrest had a solution to help judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban a...
blue singer

DENVER–It’s hard work listening to hundreds of people sing in one day, but Ryan Seacrest had a solution to help judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. get through it: cans of “Boost Oxygen,” made by a small company in Bridgeport, CT.

As for the singing, some of the auditionees on Thursday night's "American Idol" brought it to the next level.

Tank had quite a story to tell. He has lost 60 pounds from his initial 400-pound frame with his new exercise routine, "tankercise," which he teaches in a studio.

Tank showed off his moves for the judges, and not only did they like what they saw, they also liked what they heard! Tank was a bit out of breath--as were many, due to the thinner air with the high altitudes in Denver--but he pulled through.

Meanwhile, J. Lo got a bit of a workout as well.

When Xavier Soller, an MC for the Denver Nuggets, was up, he had some props to bring along: a basketball hoop. Sports superfan Harry wasn't able to make the basket, and neither was Keith, but Jennifer scored on "American Idol hot shot" despite her tight dress!

Unfortunately, Xavier didn't have the singing chops to score a ticket to Hollywood.

It was time to ‘tankercise’ for the ‘American Idol’ judges

Another unusual performance came from "Blue," a singing nomad who sleeps outdoors and picks up and moves at the drop of a hat. Blue didn't prepare a song, rather she created one while there!

She asked each judge to tell her a word that was important to them. Keith picked "family," Jennifer "love," and Harry "music."

While Harry said he's "just glad there are people like you in the world because you made all of us smile," it wasn't enough for her to make it to Hollywood.

Emily Wears also had an unusual story to tell. The 25-year-old is an auctioneer, and she demonstrated some of the skills she learned in school.

Sadly, her quick talk didn't prepare her enough to make it to the next round.

But one momma's boy did! John Wayne Schultz was a return auditonee. He tried out on season 10, Jennifer's first as a judge, but was passed over for eventual-winner Scotty McCreery.

Schultz said it was a blessing in disguise though because his mother was diagnosed with cancer, and she died just a few months later. Not making "American Idol" allowed him to spend those last few months with her.

Luckily for Schultz, he had better luck this time, and the "big, handsome cowboy," as Harry called him, made it through.

Another success story was duo Amber Lynn and James VIII. The pair had some impressive pipes, and impressed the judges. Oh, but before singing, they had a chance to play with Ryan Seacrest's pretzel necklace, a highlight of the night.

 

And towards the end of the night we found a girl who may just be the next Jordin Sparks!

Okay, they don't have that much in common, but Jordan Simone impressed the judges with her looks and her voice. The 15-year-old shocked the judges with her age, with Harry even asking if people come up to ask her if she's 25.

After auditioning, it was clear it wasn't just her looks that were going to throw them off.

"She don't sing 15 either," Jennifer exclaimed.

They were quite impressed, with Keith even asking, "Is there something higher than yes?" during the voting portion.

Another possible front-runner jumped up on Thursday with quite a unique voice. Thomas Stringfellow, 17, entertained the judges with his name and his voice.

"That's, like, a genius name man. I love it," Harry said.

And the after-comments were just as good.

"You kind of naturally fall into your way of doing things, which is really appealing," Keith said. "Most people would just be copying [Ed Sheeran] completely."

Tune in again to FOX 61 on Wednesday for the next round of auditions.

 

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