'Idol' Auditions

Right here in Los Angeles, the hopefuls gathered at the Rose Bowl this morning as early as 2am. I'm going to make a wild guess and say there were about 10 thousand folks lined up. Apparently, only the producers of Idol will give out the actual number though. Can I just say for the record how absolutely irritating the producers of this show can be. They won't release information about how many auditioned, camera crews are not allowed to shoot the audition tables and they won't even tell us how many people get through to the next round. It's so ridiculous how they try to keep information under wraps. At one point, after media had been escorted out of the Rose Bowl, I had to use the restroom. So, I walk back in the front gate and a female Idol producer starts screaming at me "No media, no media. You need to leave." It sure makes me wonder what exactly are they trying to hide from us' I don't see the need for all the secrecy. So, I'll dish some dirt about the auditions instead.

Though I cover all of the American Idol shenanigans during the show's run, this is my first experience at the auditions. I was surprised to learn that auditioners don't just show up hoping to get in front of the judges. You needed to have pre-registered starting on Sunday in order to secure a ticket for a seat inside. Around 8am the massive crowd started pouring into the venue carrying coolers of food, blankets and pillows most of them knowing they had to settle in for a long hot day. It took 90 minutes before the entire crowd got into the Rose Bowl and another hour before the first group went in front of the judges.

Considering this is L.A., the land of models, actors and generally really hot looking people, this was a pretty motley looking crew today. Now don't go getting all upset with me. I wasn't the only one with this opinion. Even my crew was remarking how unattractive this crowd was. I'm just saying that I would think I would see some really beautiful people in line considering this is Hollywood. Go to any audition for a film or a soap opera in Los Angeles and usually every person is more attractive than the next. Not so here but then again I guess these are singers not supermodels, right' Besides as we all know, half the fun of Idol is watching the bad, not so attractive auditioners get slammed by Simon Cowell. However, that didn't stop the ladies from primping themselves properly. I walked into about 4 different bathrooms and each one was the same scene...girls cramming the mirrors glossing their lips, applying mascara and fixing their hair. The sad news is that considering it was 85 degrees outside and they were stuck sitting in the hot sun, most of their makeup would melt off anyway. There were also at least 7 girls that I counted who came to the auditions with their hair in curlers.

The thing that struck me as funny was how many people brought their kids along with them for the day. They couldn't find a babysitter' What happens if while you are auditioning your baby starts crying, "Excuse me a second while I change my kids diaper'"

The auditions finally got under way around 10:30am and according to some folks I interviewed afterwards only about 6 people made it through of the first 100 or so auditioners. The judges during this first round of auditions consisted of American Idol producers and staffers. Fourteen tables are set up and the auditioners line up in groups of four at each table. They are then asked to say their name and sing a song. If the producers like what they see then they get through, if they don't then they are told "not today." I spoke to a bunch of the kids who didn't make the cut and each and every person had the same comments. Basically, they all question the validity of the show and what they are looking for in someone. I asked a bunch of them to sing for me and truthfully most of them were pretty good, no worse or better then the five or so people I spoke to who made it through. Let's face it; this show is more about casting an interesting group of people than it is about true talent. If they picked 24 superstar singers for the final rounds, the show would be boring. As she was walking out one woman who had been rejected remarked, "I should have come dressed in a chicken suit, I would have had a better shot!" I didn't see anyone in a chicken suit but I did see a guy dressed like Uncle Fester. He didn't make it through. However, a woman wearing a prom dress and a tiara did make the cut. She and the probably several hundred or so that did make it through the first audition will have to fight their way through two more rounds (the first is on September 23rd in Los Angeles) before they go before the big guns.. Simon, Randy and Paula.