Recap of Louisville Auditions

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All of the following content was written by Brian Mansfield

Hello, merry Louisville

We're off to Kentucky, and, for once, Idol acknowledges a person the hardcore followers already know will be there -- Joanna Pacitti, who had a deal on A&M Records when she was 16 and had a much-publicized firing from the Broadway production of Annie when she was 12.

Up first, though, it high-school student Tiffany Shedd, who butchers Mariah Carey in a much more entertaining way than anybody from San Francisco would have last night. She'll still maintain a positive attitude -- as in, she's positive she can sing better than anybody the judges are going to pick instead of her.

Now we get to see Joanna -- who's 23. Ryan doesn't go into much depth about her previous career, but at least they acknowledge that she's had one. Hey! Kara recognizes her -- "I know this girl!" she exclaims, and mentions the A&M deal (good for her). Joanna sings Pat Benatar's We Belong (a personal favorite), and while she's got a big voice, she's learned how to use it. She knows when to pull back and when to let loose. It's easily one of the best audition performances we've seen. Kara takes charge (and, note, makes Simon start the voting so everybody else knows how to go). Joanna gets tearful at her second (third? fourth?) chance. She's not just going to Hollywood -- "I'm going back!" she cries.

Coming up, we've got Ross the Super Nerd, who looks like he might have the potential to land a place in Idol lore.

His name is Mudd

Mark Mudd has a classic backstory -- he's a descendant of the surgeon who fixed John Wilkes Booth's leg after he injured it leaping from the Ford Theater balcony. And he's almost died five times. Mark, who's got an accent that makes Kellie Pickler sound positively refined, burns through George Jones' White Lightning. Paula doesn't think this is the right competition for him, and she's right -- he'd be much better off on Nashville Star. He tells Paula to "Be careful," and Paula -- considering all she went through with Paula Goodspeed -- naturally freaks out.

Up next, It's former Nashville Star contestant Brent Keith Smith, who sings Can't Get Enough, and the judges can't get enough of him. Except for Simon, who thinks he could've made a bigger impact. It's rough, but it's the kind of constructive criticism Simon gives only to people he think actually have the chance to improve. Kara starts in by saying Brent's the kind of artist who, if he "had just one great song ... " Which, of course, was Simon's point, just less brusquely expressed. Singing Bad Company aside, Brent could be this season's country singer -- here's a video he did for CMT's 330 Sessions.

From bad to better to worse

"Is it me, or is the show getting weirder this year" Simon asks in the middle of a montage of the best bad auditions we've seen this year -- including a guy in a hockey goalie's mask.

Matt Giraud reminds Simon of Elliott Yamin, as he sings Gavin DeGraw's I Don't Want to Be, but says Matt needs more confidence. Hollywood will give him the chance to develop it. Even though we get some backstory, I'm not sure we've scratched the surface on this guy. Could be a dark horse.

Ross the Super Nerd (sorry, never caught a last name) organizes Chinese characters by their radicals (don't ask). He auditions with Cara Mia from Jay & the Americans, but he sounds more like something from the Carnival of Souls soundtrack. Paula's response: "Got anything current?" The judges ask if he wants something to drink, so he takes a sip from Paula's cup (poor Paula looks like she's ready to hide under the table). Then Ross sings Love Me Tender, and Paula asks for a new cup.

Ten Louisville contestants go to Hollywood the first day, including one with purple hair.

Matt's MySpace

Derby Day 2

We're back for a second day at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. Meet Alexis Grace, who has a child named Ryan. She goes deeper into the Aretha Franklin catalog than most, singing Dr. Feelgood, and the power of her voice surprises the judges. Simon: "Good! You've got a very commercial face." Randy: "I think you could come out of your shell and surprise the world." It's official: Louisville's got better singers than San Francisco, hands down (and thank goodness).

This is ... America's Next Top Idol

This segment starts with a montage of mediocrity than the producers would have stretched to 12 minutes in San Francisco. Local boy Aaron Williamson's here to live things up. He sprints into the judges' room -- and he's here "to be America's Next Top Idol." He sings Christian Clearwater Revival's Have You Ever Seen the Rain (hey, it's what he said). Well, not sing so much as scream. Too bad -- if he could've pulled off the R&B shouter, he could've brought an entirely new dynamic to this show. Kara looks like she re-enacting a famous scene from When Harry Met Sally. It gets so loud, Ryan rushes in, afraid he's missed something. Kara and Randy wish they could pass him through, but they know he's not nearly good enough. Seeing a bad audition like Aaron just makes me wish we could see a good singer in the same vein.

Paula recognizes the next contestant, Rebecca Garcia, from the morning's local Fox newscast. Rebecca sings a horrible version of Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats. Best I can say: At least she's not a guy. The judges think it's a joke, because Rebecca was voted "most humorous" in her high school class. For once, it's Kara and Paula that put the contestant in tears.

We're running short of time, so we get a quick run-through of Hollywood bound contestants: Kris Allen, Ryan Johnson (who's been in a band called In Stereo), Shera Lawrence and Felicia Barton.

Felicia's from Virginia Beach, Va., and she has sung on the street there. She’s big into Celine Dion and Natasha Bedingfield, as well as gospel singers CeCe Winans and Israel Houghton. Her husband is an audio engineer.

Saving the best for last?

Leneshe Young, who spent time in homeless family shelters as a child, brings a "100 percent original" song called Natty to the judges, and the Big Four are impressed not only with her singing but her writing as well. She's an easy yes, but Paula has some fun at her expense. Paula says "No," then seeing Leneshe's lips begin to quiver, quickly backtracks. I sure hope this girl can sing other people's material, because she seems like a real sweetheart with some real talent.

Next week, we go to Jacksonville

Louisville: The Summary

Tuesday's San Francisco auditions may have been the worst Idol ever, but the show reversed its fortunes in Louisville. Kentucky's largest city yielded some of the season's most interesting contestants -- from Mark Mudd (a descendant of the surgeon who worked on John WIlkes Booth's injured leg after he shot Abraham Lincoln) to Leneshe Young, who impressed the judges with not only her voice but her original song, Natty.

For once, Idol producers acknowledged a singer's previous musical history -- of course, it helped that Kara DioGuardi recognized Joanna Pacitti, who once had a deal with A&M Records. They weren't so forthcoming about Brent Keith Smith, who performed on Nashville Star as, simply, Brent Keith. All in all, this might have been Idol's most solidly talented crop of the new season.