# American Idol auditions 1/20-21 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214 "2009-01-20T21:22:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/41 "2009-01-22T05:52:45Z")
YAWN! Dang, what a snooze. This must be why I’ve never watched much of the audition episodes in previous years. The only one I’m rooting for is Ms. L. Young. She seems too sweet to impose her with a nickname. The rest are whatevs. As for blonde cutie single mom - OK, so you get knocked up at 19, babydaddy goes away to military school and you wanna spend the next several months away from your kid on the slim chance you’ll wring out some sort of “successful” “music” “career?” I’m getting kind of sick of these yahoos who twist their youthful indiscretions into sympathy-begging “I’m doing it for HER” nonsense. Nothing against her in particular, just the idea that we are supposed to appreciate her talent MORE because she got herself knocked up in high school. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/42 "2009-01-22T05:54:06Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Wow, uh, that first blond one was… um… _special_ wasn’t she? Special…special…now let’s see…Oh yeah! D-E-L-U-D-E-D: Special. That’s it! Hell, I’ve seen sick cats who would be ashamed to sound like that. I was a little ticked at the Mountain-of-Hype/Molehill-of-Substance over the “threat” from Country Boy. He accepts the “no” with reasonable grace, exits appropriately saying “take care,” then “be careful,” and they think it’s a flippin’ threat? It’s one thing to say “you’d better be careful” in a menacing tone (which he didn’t), which would be like “you’d better watch your back.” That might be reasonably construed as a threat. But this was clearly “be careful” as an alternative phrasing of “take care,” a well-wishing form of “goodbye.” A threat? What a bunch of tools. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/43 "2009-01-22T12:53:51Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > I was a little ticked at the Mountain-of-Hype/Molehill-of-Substance over the “threat” from Country Boy. I know! I wondered if they had to edit out all subsequent hysteria as each contestant exited with some version of “Y’all take care now.” You’d think the judges had never been to the South. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/44 "2009-01-22T13:24:20Z")
I’m all hatey about Kara. She’s surprised that Simon’s an ass? Holy cannoli, girl, you make Paula look like the sane, level-headed one. Way to bring the drama. Country Boy- that was blown so out of proportion. Larnox Girl cracked me up. Ryan: “Tray-kia”. Her: “It’s Tray-cheeya- see? Says so right there. Tray-cheeya.” ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/45 "2009-01-22T14:22:36Z")
My gripe 'o the night: Day 1 in Louisville, they gave out 10 golden tickets, and we saw auditions by four of them. They then spent over a minute of screen time showing all ten ticket-holders whooping it up and celebrating. Hey producers – rather than showing us how happy they are to be moving on, how about showing us _the reason_ they’re moving on? From that day alone, there were six people going to Hollywood from whom we didn’t hear a single note. How about ditching that minute of celebration screen time and instead show us 10 seconds of vocals from each of them? ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/46 "2009-01-22T14:22:42Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I know! I wondered if they had to edit out all subsequent hysteria as each contestant exited with some version of “Y’all take care now.” You’d think the judges had never been to the South. I couldn’t believe the overreaction to an innocent southernism like that! But didn’t he say, “Take care and be careful?” It was the “be careful” part they didn’t understand. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/47 "2009-01-22T15:15:24Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > I was a little ticked at the Mountain-of-Hype/Molehill-of-Substance over the “threat” from Country Boy. He accepts the “no” with reasonable grace, exits appropriately saying “take care,” then “be careful,” and they think it’s a flippin’ threat? It’s one thing to say “you’d better be careful” in a menacing tone (which he didn’t), which would be like “you’d better watch your back.” That might be reasonably construed as a threat. But this was clearly “be careful” as an alternative phrasing of “take care,” a well-wishing form of “goodbye.” A threat? What a bunch of tools. That made me really angry. I’ve known a lot of people here in the south who end every conversation with “Be safe” or “Be careful”. Especially from people who tend to have been in bad accidents or work in dangerous professions. I was pissed when I heard them get after that guy about that. They were way out of line. ---
**Author:** ![simply\_cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@simply\_cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simply_cats)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/48 "2009-01-22T15:35:37Z")
I don’t have much to add, but I did snicker when I read Drain Bead’s post because I had the exact same thought about plaid jacket man. When he was up there, I yelled out “Zoolander!” much to the amusement of my co-Idol junkies. For my daughter, I had to demonstrate “blue steel.” Good times 🙂 Overall, I agree with the general consensus. I hope there is some actual talent worth listening to this year, because the auditions are making me drowsy. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/49 "2009-01-22T16:10:03Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > That made me really angry. I’ve known a lot of people here in the south who end every conversation with “Be safe” or “Be careful”. Especially from people who tend to have been in bad accidents or work in dangerous professions. I was pissed when I heard them get after that guy about that. They were way out of line. Not only that, but they made a point of mentioning that this guy had been in several bad accidents that almost killed him. So saying ‘be careful’ is probably second nature to him. Add in Simon’s idiotic question, “Is that a gun?” when it was clearly a cell phone in a waist pouch, and it seems to me that you had a whole lot of sheltered Hollywood bias there. Dumb redneck cowboy - dangerous, threatening, probably has a gun… ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/50 "2009-01-22T17:09:01Z")
I figured that “Be careful” simply meant “Take care.” Too bad the judges couldn’t figure this out. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/51 "2009-01-22T19:40:21Z")
I too am developing a Cara (Kara?) hatred. I can’t quite put my finger on it yet, but there is something wrong with this woman. I liked Leneshe Young’s song and singing - that was catchy. I have fingers crossed for this young lady that she can make a better life for herself than her mom’s life of having umpteen kids and living in a shelter. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/52 "2009-01-22T20:12:03Z")
I’m getting sick of the judges hammy reactions to the “bad” contestants. SHOCK! HORROR! DISBELIEF! :rolleyes: And what was with Kara(Cara?)'s amateur acting job with that one girl: “Oh, I see you were voted most funny in school. So that was a joke right? hahahahahaha. Oh, it wasn’t a joke? Oh gosh, I’m soooooo sorry.” Spare me the fake theatrics ms. who-are-you-again. Sometimes you can see the look in Simon’s eyes “god, this is going to be a loooong season of suck. i should have walked away last year. this turd of a show is going downhill fast. but the money is sooo good.” ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/53 "2009-01-22T20:30:38Z")
There are a ton of very good singers around. Most are interchangeable. It is the bad singers I like to see. After the auditions are over i quit watching. What makes it strange is what they must hear in their own ears when they sing. Some are shocked to find out they suck. It would be so easy to have a playback system in place. Then replay and ask if it sounds good to them. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/54 "2009-01-22T22:49:46Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I’m getting sick of the judges hammy reactions to the “bad” contestants. SHOCK! HORROR! DISBELIEF! :rolleyes: > And what was with Kara(Cara?)'s amateur acting job with that one girl: > “Oh, I see you were voted most funny in school. So that was a joke right? hahahahahaha. Oh, it wasn’t a joke? Oh gosh, I’m soooooo sorry.” > Spare me the fake theatrics ms. who-are-you-again. Yeah, that was a moment when my opinion of her dropped another couple of notches. No, there is no one audtioning here who is doing it as a joke (unless it is fairly obvious, like they show up in a bunny suit, and even not then sometimes). > [@](#): > > Sometimes you can see the look in Simon’s eyes “god, this is going to be a loooong season of suck. i should have walked away last year. this turd of a show is going downhill fast. but the money is sooo good.” I don’t think so; I think Simon knows exactly what he’s doing, and what he’s in for, and a clueless idiot screeching at him (during singing, after singing, and from his fellow judges) is a day at the office for him. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/55 "2009-01-22T23:27:19Z")
You think they brought Kara on board to be The Official Biatch, hoping to deflect attention away from how drunk and incoherent Pauler is? Terrible season, so far. ---
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/56 "2009-01-23T01:03:30Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > Larnox Girl cracked me up. > Ryan: “Tray-kia”. > Her: “It’s Tray-cheeya- see? Says so right there. Tray-cheeya.” Ryan: Wow, that’s straight out of health class. Her: Oh no, it’s off the internet! ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214/57 "2009-01-24T03:18:14Z")
Since I’ve been gone, I just caught up on the last 3 (or was it 4?) episodes. There are several people I like so far, so I’m looking forward to Hollywood week. I read through the previous thread, too, and was surprised there weren’t more comments on Von Smith, the “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” guy. I’ve been wondering for nearly 2 years why he hadn’t tried out for Idol, ever since I saw [this video of him singing “And I Am Telling You”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od3sbMeYokI). He won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, for sure, but the boy does have some mad pipes (he reminds me of a cross between Tom Cruise and Peter Brady in that video, though). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-auditions-1-20-21/482214.md?page=2)