High School Musical: Get In The Picture, Episode 4 – West Coast Semi-Finals

It’s the west coast semi-final rounds, which means the 30 lucky kids who were asked to come on down to Disney World will get the chance to show off their dance moves and solo vocal skills before being whittled down to ten by day’s end. Regina starts things off by leading a dance lesson and reminds us that it isn’t just about the moves but also about their personalities.

Band geek Ether struggles, while self-described perfectionist Shayna soars. Nick interrupts the audition and gets a round of applause. He asks if anyone has never danced before, and Stan the jock raises his hand, to which Nick responds that he would vote for him to win if he could. We get it Nick, you don’t like to dance – though I have a feeling we may be seeing him begging for a spot on Dancing with the Stars in a few years as his career continues to nosedive. Either that or Celebrity Circus.

From back-flips to jazz hands, these kids pull out all the stops before it’s time for the solos. The judges gather in an empty theatre and prepare to hear strictly HSM songs sung (or butchered, in some cases) in front of them. First up is Andrew, an acne-ridden Zac Efron lookalike and the star of the dance auditions. His attempts at acting while singing don’t really work, but he sounds fine enough.

To stand out, Christiana sings a guy’s song from the show, but her over-riffing bugs Regina. The same goes for Brittany, who looks remarkably like Destiney from Rock of Love 2. While most of the kids can sing, the Q&A with them proves to be awkward, but some stories stand out, like Madison’s confusion over whether or not she should continue on her Ivy League path or pursue singing, and T.J. who uses theatre to escape from his rough South Central upbringing.

Remember Ether and Shayna from the dance auditions? Their dancing mimics their singing, as Ether struggles through his song and Shayna really impresses the judges. Next up is Blair, who squeaked by in the first auditions mostly due to his charm. Can he get through this round on more than just his personality?

Stan the athlete stirs up some Mrs. Robinson feelings in Jen, but Chris worries that he may not have enough experience. Nerves really get to a lot of the performers, including T.J., who forgets his lyrics but trudges forward, and one nameless girl who breaks down into tears.

Next up are BFFs Shawn and Kelly, and we wonder if they can stand on their own individually. Kelly woos the judges by flirting with Chris during her song, and while Shawn impresses at the dance audition, his singing is more questionable.

Jen reads the list of ten names that prove to be the kids moving forward, and they are Stan the athlete, Hawaiian club singer Christina, Hawaiian karaoke singer Christie, Ether the band geek (a bit of a surprise after a lackluster audition), perfectionist Shayna, Ivy League wannabe Madison, Rock of Love’s Brittany, South Central’s very own T.J., the male half of the Shawn-Kelly BFF machine, and Lauren (no real story with her, but she is pretty cute).

Before the finalists break into pairs to rehearse for their duets, the other twenty must have their dreams crushed. Judge Jen takes it the hardest, having a rough time breaking all these kids’ hearts, and Kelly wishes Shawn luck before going home by herself.

The pairs begin rehearsing, with the most interesting duo being the first all-girl pairing of Madison and Christie. T.J. and Shayna have a rough time getting their harmonies right while Lauren has a rough time getting Ether to come out of his introverted shell. Shawn is pretty much the opposite of introverted, but Brittany works hard to break him of his musical theatre habits and butch him up. Anyone hoping for a love connection between Stan and Christina would be sorely disappointed as the tension thickly builds between the two.

Finally it’s time for the show, and Nick, the judges, and some lucky (or not so lucky, depending on your point-of-view) park-goers gather around a stage in Disney World to see what the duos came up with. First up are T.J. and Shayna doing a little Keith Urban. Shayna sounds better but is kind of dull, while T.J.’s performance is mediocre but he is very charming to watch.

Next up are Ether and Lauren, and correct me if I’m wrong, but are they performing Hootie? Sure enough, they strip the ‘90s cheesiness from the Blowfish tune and add their own brand of Disney cheesiness to it, including a pose during the last note that would put the cast of Mamma Mia to shame.

Wherever Belinda Carlisle is (which is actually an interesting question now that I think about it), her ears must be twitching as Madison and Christie butcher “Vacation.” Their harmonies are nice, but between the always-there flower in Christie’s hair (we get it, you’re from Hawaii), the over-choreographed faux cattiness, and the under-choreographed awful dance moves, all I can say is “next.”

Eve 6 doesn’t do any favors for Brittany and Shawn, who don’t even both trying to harmonize – and I think Shawn is unknowingly doing the robot while he tries to dance. If I weren’t writing a recap about this, I would have fast-forwarded through the whole song!

Stan and Christina put away their differences and charm the judges and each other to Michael Buble. The harmonies are nice and Stan doesn’t come across as amateurish as he had before. The ending is a bit corny, but they really could give Zac and Vanessa a run for their money!

So now it’s time to pick six to move on, four to go home, and wrap up the last step in the semi-finals. The judges have many different opinions about the final ten: They fear that Lauren and Madison don’t stand out enough, T.J. didn’t push himself enough, and Shawn pushed himself too much. Jen worries that Stan might not have enough experience, while Chris thinks that there is a lot more of Christina that he would like to see (get your mind out of the gutter!).

Nick gets the coveted list of finalists and heads door to door with the good news, starting with T.J. – and Nick unintentionally almost makes his mother pass out. Stan and Christie (whose mother wears a matching flower in her hair as well!) get the good news next, with Nick milking the news for all it’s worth, followed by Shayna, Ether, and Christina.

That means the Eve 6 duo of Brittany and Shawn won’t be moving on, nor will we see any more of Madison and Lauren. All the kids give words of hope as to where there futures will take them before Nick gives us a sneak peek at next week’s first round of HSM boot camp, which includes some unflattering first impressions, screen tests, and surprise guests (no Efron yet – sorry girls!)/

John Filizzola currently lives in Los Angeles, where he watches way too much reality television ever since Survivor won his heart. He can be reached at johnnyf82@hotmail.com.

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