Double the love

At first, it seems like plus-sized best friends Corliss Smith and Brittany Wescott, of Jacksonville, Fla., showed up at the auditions to find a man - they sit on a few laps and even talk about it with Paula when they get in the room to audition. Normally, this would annoy me, but these girls are just contagious - they're so full of life and so happy, I find myself hoping they do well.

Corliss goes first - she had said Ryan Seacrest was too skinny for her and that she wanted Randy, so Simon makes her sing directly to him. I'm not crazy about her song choice, but her voice is pretty - a little thin, though. Randy says it's very nice, but before they can say much about it, Brittany takes her turn.

Just a quick aside: Is Randy really wearing red shoes??? What's that about?

Anyway, Brittany sings to Simon and I think her voice is a bit better than her friend's. Now let me say this - neither girl can outsing Melinda Doolittle or LaKisha Jones from last season, but like I said, their personalities are so infectious, you can't help but like them.

And it appears they cast their spell on the judges, too, because both girls get a ticket to Hollywood. And as a bonus, the judges get a round of hugs and kisses from them both.


Oh boy - how fickle am I? I have a new favorite and her name is Suzanne Toon. She's 21 and lives in Clearwater, Fla. She went to a performing arts school and performed in musicals, but she had to take a break from it because she got pregnant when she was 18. The baby's father stuck around for a while, but he chose to leave and so she is alone raising her daughter. She starts crying in her interview and says she's sick of struggling - that she wants to give her daughter more than what she had and more than she can give her now.

And Suzanne can sing. Paula tells her there's a sexiness to her voice and Simon says she becomes more attractive when she sings. Not that she's not already attractive - I'm not crazy about the way she did her hair all in spiral curls, but she has beautiful eyes. I'm not sure she got more attractive as she sang, but whatever gets her through to HOllywood works for me. And she does get through, so I'm looking forward to seeing more of her.

People like her is why this show is great - it provides opportunities to people who would otherwise not have them and it's wonderful to see how the show really impacts the lives of people who are struggling financially, or who are ready to give up on their dreams.