voices worthy of a golden ticket, week 3

Idol features the Austin auditions this week and there were really promising voices that stood out from the lot:

JOHN WAYNE SHULZ, 23. His voice is as natural as him being a cowboy. Still lacks a little power but has really great potential.

NICK FINK, 19. I like the soothing and suave voice; sounds really classy. He has this Michael Buble-thing going on.

JANELLE ARTHUR, 20. Her voice is a little generic, but you've got to be impressed by her falsetto runs.

CASEY ABRAMS, 20. I have a theory: If you see a guy with an overgrown beard and an unkept hair, there's a 70% probability that he has an amazing voice. Take Damien Rice for example, and Ray Lamontagne, and William Fitzsimmons, and Wakey! Wakey!'s Mike Grubbs.

I am quite disappointed with the Los Angeles auditions in general. I mean, it should be a pool of talent, right? I guess not this season. But's there's still flickering voices that had shone through...

TIM HALPERIN, 23. This hardcore J-Lo fan can sing! Smooth and well-controlled. I like the tone and his falsetto is commendable.

JUSTIN CARTER, 27. He sang just a couple of lines but enough to showcase the quality of his RnB pipes.

KAREN RODRIGUEZ, 21. Her personality oozes out through her voice, I can tell. She reminds me of the singer from the old Freestyle band. What's her name again?

In general, I am a little tentative about the talents this year, but I am sure they'll develop through the course of the season. One city to go and then Hollywood Callbacks which starts next week!