Thursday, March 03, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: Las Vegas entries advance on 'Idol'

The final 10 women on "American Idol" lost two in Wednesday's cut. Clockwise from left are Carrie Underwood, Janay Castine, Aloha Mischeaux, Nadia Turner, Celena Rae, Lindsey Cardinale, Amanda Avila, Mikalah Gordon, Jessica Sierra and Vonzell Solomon. COURTESY PHOTO

Amanda Avila and Mikalah Gordon took another step forward in the "American Idol" competition Wednesday, advancing to the Sweet 16.

That gives Las Vegas two entries among the top eight gals after Wednesday's cutdown claimed two of their female colleagues and two more guys.

Voted out were Aloha Mischeaux, Celena Rae, Joseph Murena and David Brown.

The 23-year-old Avila, on a sabbatical from Treasure Island's pirate show "Sirens of T.I." to concentrate on "Idol," and Gordon, an old-soul 17-year-old junior at Cimarron-Memorial High, took different approaches to impressing the viewing voting public.

Avila got the crowd involved during Tuesday's show with Gloria Estefan's upbeat "Turn the Beat Around." Gordon, scolded by judge Simon Cowell last week for being a bit too rambunctious, toned it down but took a risk with the Billie Holiday standard "God Bless the Child."

"The audience looked like it didn't know what to make of it, with everyone clapping hands with a 'what in the heck is this?' look on their faces," wrote MSNBC's Craig Berman. "But the judges could not possibly have been happier."

Berman gave it a B-plus, the second-highest grade he doled out for the night, behind Jessica Sierra's A-minus for her cover of Martina McBride's "Broken Wing."

Avila, who dated superstar singer Josh Groban before moving here for "Sirens," got a B from Berman, who wrote that it was "the same kind of effort tourists can hear in most Vegas nightclubs."

Berman said, "But the judges liked it, probably because it was the first performance all night to really pump up the energy."

The local girls are long shots to win the contest, according to the Web site sportsbook.com, which listed Avila at 20-1 and Gordon at 30-1. Carrie Underwood and Mario Vazquez are co-favorites at 5-1.

The Scene and Heard

Monte Carlo magician Lance Burton, 44, is a grandfather for the first time. Granddaughter Kayla Jewell Burton was born Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Magician Nathan Burton of the Aladdin's "V!" is looking for showgirls to stay four-hour shifts with him during his bid to spend seven days sealed in a glass box, starting March 9. He's billing Friday's audition from 1-6 p.m. as the world's largest showgirl search. He plans to rely solely on energy drinks for sustenance during the stunt. ...

I hear a longtime Strip talent buyer and promoter is being wooed by the Clear Channel conglomerate.

Sightings

Sharon Stone of "Casino" fame, lunching on the lake terrace Wednesday at Marche Bacchus restaurant, 2620 Regatta Drive. ... Brandi Beavers, a dancer at Shadow bar in Caesars Palace, with a film crew shooting footage for A&E's reality show "Caesars 24/7" on Wednesday afternoon. ... Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, former Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer, NFL great Ronnie Lott and George Wendt, who played Norm in "Cheers," turning heads at the Nightclub & Bar Convention at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The Punch Line

"The Bush girls have been in so much trouble that today they announced that they were switching their party affiliation to the Kennedy family." -- David Letterman

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.