The ship has sailed! The last Final is over! Done!

We have our four contestants for the Grand Championship!

And the winner of Final #4 is…

Louie Bello!

Louie brought movement and passion to his early-season performances that landed him in the Finals. He mesmerized the audience with his soulful rendition of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, and energized the band with a rocking cover of Stevie Wonder’s ”Superstition”.

Donna Lee DePrille nailed a perfect score during the regular season with her incredible rendition of the Janis Joplin hit “Piece of My Heart”. She brought that same energy and passion to the song on stage at the MGM and it was amazing!

One Step Away, the younger of our two Finals bands, brought their best performance of the season to the Finals. Winners of four Stars early in the season; Adam, Mike, Terrence, and Alex played all original material during their time on Community Auditions and proved that they are a  future hit.

Twelve perfomances down and four more to go. Louie Bello now joins his sister Lisa, along with Branden “Jus B” Wilson, and Liv Gaines in the Grand Championship.

Four amazing performers are left and this race is going to be close right up to the finish line. I cannot wait to see how this ends!

Liv Gaines won fours stars on Community Auditions, advancing to the Finals. Two weeks ago she won her Final, landing a spot in the Grand Championship.

Before the Finals, however, Liv had the chance to sit down for an interview with the fine folks from Good Morning CT, to talk about Community Auditions, music, and what it might be like to win it all.

Here she is!

There’s just more more Final before the Grand Championship next weekend, and it airs tonight.

Louis Bello, Donna Lee DePrille, and One Step Away are competing for the last slot in the Championship episode.

Last week Lisa Bello joined Liv Gaines and Branden “Jus B” Wilson in the Championship. Three out of four.

Over one hundred people competed on Community Auditions this season. Many more submitted for the chance to make it to where we are now.

Twelve performers made it this far. Nine have already been on stage at the MGM Grand.

I have seen every performance this year in person. There were some truly memorable competitions between incredible performers. I know my favorites, and I know you all have yours. Seeing them come this far and play on the biggest stage I’ve ever been on is a very gratifying experience. However things turn out, whoever wins, it’s been an elcetrifying road filled with performers I won’t soon forget.

You kids rock.

One more Final tonight, then the Grand Championship next week.

Rock on.

Two Community Auditions Finalists have made it to Hollywood on American Idol!

Jennifer Hirsh made the Community Auditions Finals in 2007 while Mike Davis made them in 2008. These two talented performers have now made their way to California for the Hollywood round on American Idol.

Stepping out from the Boston region, both Jennifer and Mike are experienced singers who will be working to get a spot in the top-24.

You can go to this link and vote for Jennifer and Mike as your favorite golden-ticket winners so far, and then you can follow them as they make their way through the challenges presented to them on AI.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/01/19/american-idol-season-9-boston-atlanta/

We are hoping to find footage of Jennifer in action during the auditions, but for now here’s Mike Davis’ audition, where he tries to get a date with Kara.

Check it out!

Community Auditions: Star of the Day is in the Finals!

Three Finals are now in the books, with one more remaining before the Grand Championship.

The Winner of Final Number 3 is…

Lisa Bello!

Lisa won four Stars during the 2009 season for her amazing renditions of the Etta James classic, ”At Last”, Mary J Blige’s “Real Love”, and the Gnarls Barkley number one, “Crazy”. Energetic both on and off the stage, Lisa connected with the All-Stars Band and made every performance a memorable one.

Briana Chaponis appeared on three episodes during the 2009 season, winning two stars, and many fans. Her fantastic rendition of Alicia Keyes’ “Fallin” was a hit with the judges and fans alike, and Briana was able to bring the same passion to the stage during the Finals.

One of the single most energetic performances of the season was from Michael Firicano. Performing an original song, “Back Then”, Michael stormed the stage and captured the attention of the judges and audience, and then brought that same intensity to the MGM Grand during the Finals.

Three more great performances down and three more left! There’s one more Final and just one more slot left in the Grand Championship. I am on the edge of my seat here, and I know you are too.