‘Idol’ contestants in Miami: What we know

“American Idol” took a trip to Miami last week, and as we’ve come to expect, there was no shortage of untapped talent – or of total nutjobs.

After a disturbing performance by meat market-worker/belching queen Shannon McGough, 25-year-old Robbie Carrico got things back on track. Three yeses and a “quite good” from Cowell had Robbie the rocker heading to Hollywood. But Robbie the rocker wasn’t always so rockin’: he was once a member of the pop band Boyz N Girlz United! A quick Google search turns up pictures of Robbie sporting mesh shirts and frosted hair – and even a photo of Robbie with ex-girlfriend Britney Spears!

“I would like you if I was drunk,” mused Cowell, after Ghaleb Emachah’s audition. “Sober, I don’t think it works.” Still, the 27-year-old Venezuelan import and Miami resident made it through to Hollywood. Between his thick accent and a proclivity for kissing complete strangers, we don’t recommend getting too attached to Ghaleb – he won’t last long.

Dubbed “Big Girl BFFs” in the “A.I.” blogosphere, Corliss Smith and Brittany Westcott already have a growing fanbase. The 20-year old Jacksonville, Fla., natives charmed the judges with their old-school jazz style and flirtatious demeanor.

Corliss is so lively that just looking at her MySpace page is an anti-depressant. From the ecstatic smile in her profile pic to her online name, “Fabulous And Thic......F.A.T.!!” Smith seems to be made of fun. Oh, but sorry Randy, according to her MySpace page, she’s in a relationship.

Brittany’s MySpace page is equally loud and proud. Like her BFF Corliss, Brittany loves scary movies, but unlike Corliss, Brittany is single. “Being the unordinary is my motto,” writes Brittany on her page. “I love to just have fun” – and it shows!

21-year old single mother Suzanne Toon just wants to give her daughter, Madison, more than she had – and “Idol” loves that. And although Madison’s father didn’t stick around, Suzanne is hardly starved for love. In a blog post titled “…Another Toon, But This One’s Talented,” Toon’s brother Jason writes, “I try to keep my personal life out of this space, but let a proud big brother have his moment: last night, my younger sister Suzanne Toon was featured in a segment on ‘American Idol’. She’s a good kid. Don’t say anything mean or gross about her, or I just might sell your credit card number to some unsavory friends of mine.” Consider me warned!

19-year old Ramiele Malubay of Miramar, Fla., didn’t wow Simon, but Randy and Paula still sent her through to Hollywood. She wants to be the first Asian American Idol, following the tradition of contestant Jasmine Trias, who went on to become a star in the Philippines. We checked out Ramiele’s MySpace page, and from her sexy photo to some racy, unprintable quotes on her page, we’re thinking there’s more to Ramiele than the cute, innocent girl we met at auditions.

Singing competitions are nothing new for 20-year-old Syesha Mercado. In 2006, Mercado was a contestant on ABC’s “The One: Making a Music Star.” She is the daughter of a Motown backup singer, and she grew up singing in a church choir. Syesha attended Booker High School and then went on to be a theater major at college. Syesha’s MySpace page includes commercials she has shot for KFC, Ford and everything in between. On her page, Syesha classifies herself as a “Singer/Actress/Dancer/Model/Writer/You Name It... LOL”. Well, she certainly isn’t afraid of a little self-promotion.

At her audition, Natashia Blach seemed way too gorgeous to be a nobody, so it didn’t take “Idol” scholars long to unearth the truth about Natashia. She bears a striking resemblance to an actress listed as “Natashia Williams” on IMDB.com, who has over 18 credits to her name. If Natashia Blach is in fact Natashia Williams, then according to IMDB, she once modeled the Wonderbra!