Phillip Phillips + Reed Grimm Skate Through Round 1 of ‘American Idol’

The stakes are high in Hollywood Round 1 this week as some wannabe stars are hitting their marks and others are just hitting strings of wrong notes. After we enjoyed a line of epic foibles (like one girl begging in a high squeak, “Can I just sing one more note? Just one more?” … ), Steven Tyler went backstage to offer a bit of a pep talk to the nervous contestants, urging that he wanted to see some snapping, yelling and “freaking out.”

First up was Phillip Phillips from Leesburg, Ga., who was accepted by the ‘Idol’ crew in Savannah. There, he wowed Jackson with his rendition of ‘Superstition’ by Stevie Wonder. Though the kid has obvious pipes, one of his biggest accomplishments during Hollywood Week was taking his first plane ride (aside from skydiving).

We only got to see about four seconds of Phillips’ raspy take on James Brown’s ‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,’ and though it wasn’t enough to really be wowed, Phillips did come across as a strong young voice with enough good looks to boot. Though they didn’t let him sing for very long, the judges did take kindly to the talent after seeing him without the comfort of his guitar, and Phillips made it through to tomorrow’s show.

Next up was Reed Grimm, a charismatic kid who gives off an energy that makes you wonder just what you’re going to get out of him. And it didn’t help when he announced the song he was going to perform: ‘(I’ve Got A) Golden Ticket’ from Willy Wonka. But when he started scatting his way through it with a Jason Mraz-like beat, the judges seemed to get into it, and Grimm was able to walk away with his own golden ticket for tomorrow’s show.

Watch Phillip Phillips + Reed Grimm Perform on ‘American Idol’ Round 1 Auditions