American Idol Auditions News (Page 3)

As American Idol gets set to premiere tonight, we've uncovered a pair of pictures from two hopeful contestants.

You should recognize at least one person in the first photo: yes, that's previous American Idol champion Fantasia. By her side is brother Ricco. He tries out during the initial round of auditions, but we've already heard Simon Cowell say he doesn't exactly measure up to his talented sibling.

Don't look for Ricco to advance very far.

Next, we come to Erin Hughes. The lobster outfit is cute, but costumes are typically symbolic of a lack of singing ability.

Visit our site every day for the latest American Idol updates, reviews and photos. We look forward to a super seventh season with our readers!

Simon Cowell recently talked to The Los Angeles Times about the upcoming season of American Idol, as well as his possible exist date from the show.

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

Q: Tell us about the level of talent this year.
A: I think personally it’s one of the strongest years we’ve had in a long, long time. It’s younger. I think the talent is more current. They’re more interesting people. So I go into this season a lot more optimistic than I went in certainly last year.

I mean, Paula and Randy went on the record last year saying the bar has been raised and all that nonsense and it’s going to be one of the best years. I didn’t go along with that. I didn’t believe it. But I will go on record this year saying it’s one of the strongest lineups we’ve had.

Q: You made references to this year’s contestants being more interesting people. How is that the same or different than talented people and in the audition process how do you look for interesting as opposed to necessarily the talented?
A: I am making these comparisons to a lot of artists that you see on the Internet now who are kind of doing their own thing. And they have a certain quirkiness and they have their own style. Rather than just a ton of talented puppets for want of a better word. These people just look more current, sound more current.

They’re definitely individuals. And I think three or four of the contestants we’ve got this year all would get recording contracts without "Idol." I think they’re that good. It feels more fresh than I’ve seen before and definitely more memorable.
Q: Do you have an exit date in mind and can the show go on without you?
A: Nothing is gonna last forever. I think the exit date will be determined by the public, who eventually are going to get sick to death of you if they haven’t already. I always in my mind thought I’d go up until the end of my contract, which would be two more seasons after this one. Nine years is probably enough to inflict on anyone.

Can the show exist without me? Absolutely. It would probably get better.

Last week, Paula Abdul opened up about Simon Cowell and his new nickname for his traveling buddies as the group embarks on the latest round of American Idol auditions.

“He [now] calls Randy and I ‘Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.’ I’m Dee, Randy’s the Dum!” Abdul told People.

She says Cowell came up with the unflattering name during the audition process for the show’s upcoming season, which recently wrapped up.

“What’s happening is Randy and I have been agreeing on the talent as he disagrees,” says Abdul. “He thinks we don’t know what we’re talking about, and the truth is Randy and I do know what we’re talking about. It’s Randy and Paula against Simon. I’m on the winning side!”

Overall, of course, Abdul confirms that she and Cowell are getting along.

“In the past couple of cities we’ve had no arguments. He’s still pestering me like hell, but we get along pretty well.”

What's Randy Jackson's take on his insulting sidekick? He sums up Cowell’s attitude by saying: “He’s cranky.”

But the bright side is that the audition process has been “really, really good, I must say,” Jackson admits. “You still get the crazy buffoonery going on, but for the most it’s been pretty good. I would say somebody with skin and teeth is definitely going to win!”

We can't wait to see who that is.

Standing outside Texas Stadium with thousands of other “American Idol” hopefuls Monday, LaCondra Davies knew she was bound for Hollywood. Again.

“I know the game now,” said Davies, 29, to MSNBC who was booted from the show last season after making the first cut. “You can’t give them everything at once.”

At they resumed auditions Monday for the seventh season of American Idol, producers from the Fox ratings juggernaut gave about 15 seconds to each of the of would-be singing stars who turned out. Last week in San Diego, more than 12,000 people showed up when the show kicked off its seven-city casting call.

Producers shied away from estimating the size of the horde that ascended on Texas Stadium, but the line stretched as wide as 30 people and snaked around a fourth of the building.

They sang (though not always well), stood and sometimes wilted under a stifling morning sun in the parking lot as they waited to get inside. Ice packs were given to some who struggled with temperatures that climbed past 90 degrees.

Dallas has proven fertile ground for Idol talent before. Kelly Clarkson, the first and most successful winner, is from the neighboring suburb of Burleson. Nikki McKibbin, who finished third to Clarkson, is from nearby Grand Prairie.

Patrick Stephens, 23, said he auditioned in Birmingham, Ala., last year only to file out “like a loser.” His approach Monday was more laid back as, like scores of others, he fiddled with an iPod — not rehearsing songs but instead watching videos of standup comedy.

“I don’t have an interesting back story if I get picked,” said Stephens, a technical recruiter from Plano.

Thousands of people hoping to be the next Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson or even Sanjaya lined up outside Qualcomm Stadium on Monday as auditions for the seventh season of American Idol began.

Some brought makeup kits, Starbucks cups filled with throat-clearing salt water and even karaoke machines. Others came before dawn, armed with sleeping bags and pillows.

"Why wouldn't I get here early? My No. 1 goal is to be on the program," said Lonnie Beatty, 20, who spent the night on a trolley platform just outside the stadium grounds in order to be one of the first in line.

A publicist for the show said 12,000 people showed up for their chance at stardom.

John Edward Carey, 27, was one of the lucky few rewarded with a ticket to the second round of tryouts.

The custom guitar builder and post-punk rocker from Van Nuys, near Los Angeles, made it to the final 25 last year on his first outing and said he decided to give it another shot after dropping 35 pounds and getting an encouraging e-mail from a producer.

"Last year I thought, 'I want to make it to the top 50,' and I did," Carey said after his tryout. "This year I want to make it to the top 10. This year I want to win it!"

His wife, Annie, said she pushed her husband to audition after listening to him criticize contestants on the show.

"He kept saying, 'I can sing better than that,'" she said. "So finally I just said, 'Fine, you go audition and stop interrupting my show!'"

Would-be contestants began lining up at 3 a.m. They had already spent hours in line over the weekend waiting to register for wristbands to get into the tryouts: neon yellow for singers, slate gray for supporters.

"I haven't slept in two days," said 16-year-old Jessica Schaffer of Temecula, explaining she drove around all night until she was allowed into the stadium grounds.

With the Comic-Con entertainment expo drawing a record crowd of more than 120,000 to San Diego over the weekend and thousands more in town for a sandcastle competition and an international youth soccer tournament, American Idol hopefuls who wanted some shut-eye resorted to the classified Web site Craigslist.org or even military bases for beds.

Click here to read the rest of this ABC News story.

Those hoping to become the next Jordin Sparks have their chance... beginning this week!

American Idol 7 auditions kick off today at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.  Registration actually started two days ago and according to FOX 6 in San Diego, and thousands showed up and waited in line to claim their wristbands for the auditions.

The American Idol 7 San Diego auditions follow on the heels of the San Diego Comic-Con, which was attended by over 100,000 comic book fans .

Over the next several weeks, American Idol auditions will be also held in the cities of Dallas, Omaha, Atlanta, Charleston, Miami, and Philadelphia.  A list of rules, frequently asked questions, and a release form for the auditions can be found on the official American Idol website.

We wish the best of luck to all hopefuls trying to become the latest to follow in the talented footsteps of Sparks, Carrie Underwood and others.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's Bon Jovi night! Forgive American Idol Worship, but this is our favorite musical act in the history of musical acts. Let's get to it ...

- Can Phil Stacey do justice to Blaze of Glory? It's an all-time classic from the movie Young Guns - and Phil is far from an all-time classic artist in our eyes. But he impresses again. This was a perfect song for him, we admit it.

- Jordin Sparks takes THE Bon Jovi song: Livin on a Prayer. She also may have insulted our idol with the comment that her mom grew up on the band. Then again, she is only 17. She's also struggling a great deal with rock week. And she knows it. Please don't punish this amazing singer for one rough performance, America.

- Now, let's see what Lakisha Jones shows us this week. Hmmm, we wonder why Jordin didn't choose a ballad like this. Randy says "Lakisha is back" and Paula says something about a "little something something." And, well, Simon wants to kiss her. And he does.

- Okay, Blake Lewis, go ahead and give Love a Bad Name. If that's what you can all this rendition of the song, that is. Randy and Paula absolutely love it, though. And Simon refers to Blake as a "very brave young man."

- Chris Richardson will now tackle Wanted Dead or Alive. And it's extra tough because Chris Daughtry did so well with it last year. The judges basically give him props for doing the best he could in a genre that isn't his thing.

- Let's rock on, Melinda Doolittle. She wants us all to have a nice day, but my beautiful cohort says she isn't positive Mindy made her feel like the day was particularly nice. Simon and Randy are overwhelmed by the performance, though.

No pressure, viewers, but your calls won't just affect the future of American Idol. They may affect the future of the world. So let's get started ...

- Ryan shows us a glimpse of himself and Simon Cowell in Africa. It's a side of these two we don't see very often. And it is rather moving.

- To begin the actual auditions, Chris Richardson takes on an Eric Clapton classic. It's gotta be hard for the judges to be critical under these circumstances. For example, Randy seems overly complimentary. And even Simon praises C-Rich like he just invented the wheel.

- We now go across the country and see some of the poverty right here in America. The money from tonight's show will assist these areas, as well. It really is impressive that Idol is doing this.

- But it does makes performances such as the one by Melinda Doolittle now seem unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Maybe that's the point, though. As usual, Mindy Doo looks overwhelmed and baffled by the applause. It's well deserved, though, as all judges give Doolittle the props she's earned.

- Ouch, they really ask Blake Lewis the biggest sacrifice he has to make to be on the show? During this sort of telecast? Sort of an unfair question when compared to the plight of others we've seen. Tough song choice by Blake here - can anyone really sing like John Lennon in this case?

- Lakisha Jones is up. We're not sure if she's smiled once throughout the competition. The judges are so hung up on Fantasia, though, that Paula can't even talk. Not that that's unusual. Cowell comes down pretty hard on LJ, the crowd comes down on Cowell and the world is right again.

- And now let's hear from last year's surprise top performer, Phil Stacey. He goes with Garth Brooks, yet another major artist for an Idol to emulate tonight. Pretty solid. Again. Who knew?

- Let's close things with our favorite, Jordin Sparks. Gosh, she's really just 17? She just keeps getting better and better ... and better. Brilliant, Simon says. Sums it up to us.

Martina McBride is in the house tonight. Let's see what else American Idol country music night can deliver ...

- The difficult task of going first falls to Phil Stacey. McBride calls the initial part of the practice session "stiff." Hey, she's a great judge already! We have to say, though, this genre does sort of fit Phil. He sounded really good and almost entertained us even.

- That's almost a tough act for Jordin Sparks to follow. But, wow, she certainly does the job. We can't say it any better than Simon just did: Of course she can win this thing.

- Sanjaya Malakar is singing "Something to Talk About." Which might as well be his hair and presence on this show, as opposed to whatever Bonnie Raitt intended it to mean (love or something). Simon tells it like it is ("utterly horrendous") and Ryan yells at him for some reason. What else can a judge say about that performance?

- Lakisha Jones is up next. She wants Jesus to take the wheel. And probably wants the judges to stop talking about they all criticize this rendition. Might she be in trouble tomorrow night?

- We don't have time to ponder that because Chris Richardson is on stage. The judges all agree that there was no emotion in the song - and we agree. It's like C-Rich just wanted to get off the stage. Maybe he had a date with Lauren Conrad.

- Melinda Doolittle plays up the humble card in the pre-performance interview. She may need to ditch that after she keeps impressing the judges and viewers like this, though.

- And Blake Lewis closes the show with a decent enough rendition of a Tim McGraw song. Nothing too fantastic, but he's certainly not going anywhere.

It's Jenny from the Block night, fans. And Ryan Seacrest says Jennifer Lopez is an "unstoppable force." We guess you could call her that. Or maybe just "phony." Either works, really.

Anyway, on to the show ...

- Melinda Doolittle is sporting some sort of soccer mom style hair. And, maybe because we have nothing to compare her performance to yet, actually didn't blow us away this week. Wasn't anything that really Swayed us about it.

- Randy is all about Lakisha Jones tonight, but Paula actually doesn't agree for once. Way to stand up for yourself, Ms. Abdul! We thought it was solid enough, but were mostly entertained by J. Lo trying to give Lakisha singing advice.

- Smooth is a Latin song, really? Rob Thomas sure had us fooled. The song seems too low for Chris Richardson, but the judges like it. Simon even calls it the best so far. We're not gonna argue with him ... but nothing about Richardson seems original to us (sorry, Lauren Conrad).

- Haley Scarnato certainly is original, though. Those were satin short shorts, right? Turn the Beat Around is a fun song and she has fun with it. Vocals weren't anything great, but it's not hard to see this singer selling a lot of records, is it?

- Now we come to Phil Stacey, who doesn't do anything more for us this week than he has in the past. The dude is just boring. This performance was okay enough, but he definitely lost it at the end. We hope he's the next to go.

- Okay, if Jordin Sparks is struggling, we blame the theme for these lackluster performances. Her Glorida Estefan rendition is decent, but nothing compared to her earlier weeks. Then again, has anyone's been so far?

- Look at the cajones on Blake Lewis! The guy covers a song by J. Lo's husband .... and does it very well. It's hard for this creative singer to ever really have a bad performance.

- Gee, we wonder if FOX is saving Sanjaya Malakar for last just to build rating. The network would never do that, would it? If Simon says it's "not horrible," though, we're pretty sure this dude will last at least another week.