American Idol Audition Disasters Season 8
Blunders, Embarrassments, and Miscommunications During Auditions
Jan 27, 2009
This season, judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Kara DioGuardi made it through their tour of U.S. cities searching for the next American Idol with only a few televised glitches, including a perceived threat, woman in a bikini, and a giant bunny.
Idol Judges Travel All Over America
We’ve seen their visits to Phoenix, Arizona, Kansas City, Missouri, San Francisco, California, and Louisville, Kentucky, looking for the best singers, but also focusing attention on the worst, as well. Most recently, the four judges – along with host Ryan Seacrest – went to Jacksonville, Florida, New York City, New York, Salt Lake City, Utah, and for the first time to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Thousands of hopefuls turn out at every audition, assuming that what their tone-deaf family members and overpaid private music teachers have told them is true: They have great voices.
Luckily for television viewers who enjoy a diversity of talent (and lack thereof) most of the people auditioning don’t have the skills to back up their boasts. The following represent a few of the most entertaining blunders, embarrassments, and miscommunications from auditions this season.
Season 8 American Idol Audition Disasters
- A man at the Louisville audition drank from Paula’s straw when she asked if he wanted something to drink for his scratchy throat that supposedly affected his singing voice.
- Another man at the Louisville audition told judges “Be Careful’ as he left after an unsuccessful interview. Simon perceived this comment as a threat because typically this kind of remark would be issued to the one leaving by the one staying, instead of vice versa.
- New judge Kara cruelly suggested that a tall female contestant with a weak singing voice and awkward dance moves might be auditioning as a joke because she was voted “funniest’ in high school. The audition, however, was obviously not intended as a joke.
- In Phoenix, a bikini clad contestant (who works as a model) said that her version of a song was better than Kara’s version of the same song, which made Paula rush to Kara’s defense. Both women disliked this gimmicky contestant who immediately won over Randy and Simon with her stunning physical appearance, but mediocre voice.
- At the San Francisco audition, a woman who claimed to study anatomy to enhance her singing apparently didn’t learn much about anatomy or singing during her training.
- In Kansas City, Michael Castro (Jason Castro’s younger brother), revealed that he’d only just learned to sing and that he figured if his brother could do it, so could he. Typically those kinds of comments wouldn’t impress the judges, but his charm, nice voice, and red Mohawk won him a trip to Hollywood.
- In Jacksonville, an off-key physics major told Simon that 11 years from now, he dreams of owning a simple home with marble floors, which probably isn't quite the same ambition shared by most singers at auditions for national television talent shows.
- One man, who actually had a decent voice, ruined his chances by showing up with a large, excitable friend in a giant bunny suit who accompanied him into the audition room.
- The "Take it! Take it!" woman from Philadelphia auditions last year showed up in New York City this time. Although she changed her look and attempted to clean up her act, her singing actually got worse according to the judges.
- Salt Lake City auditions revealed some very polite contestants, but one large Goth girl in a mini skirt who claimed to have ESP displayed a rather impolite finger gesture after being told she gave a bad audition.
- San Juan yielded nine tickets to Hollywood, but thankfully the crazy rocker in outlandish costumes who used silly gimmicks (he performed as a human iPod) wasn't among them.
- Each season, producers take delight in presenting at least one contestant who vows to be mature and open-minded if he or she is not selected by the judges. These contestants make this promise on national television and then fall apart on camera afterward, providing emotional breakdowns in direct opposition to what they promised earlier. This season was no exception, when a young blonde revealed multiple personalities in front of the camera for a national audience.
For more information about American Idol, read Disney’s American Idol Attraction.
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