Maybe they are trying to avoid another Joshua Gracin?

I didn't think she was super-great but I thought she could hold a tune and I was surprised that they at least did not pass her through to the next round. SHe probably wa snot good enough for the finals but in previous seasons they usually let through people who at least proved they could sing.

But in the beginning, Simon did go on about how they are trying to raise the bar this year. And it did appear like they had much fewer pass-throughs than previous seasons. Granted we have only seen one city so far, but they did not show us many people who made it through.

Regardless if it's a hard song to sing acapella or not, he would have been better off choosing something that wasn't so technically demanding. His higher notes were quite weak and he hunched over quite a bit trying to get them. If he lasts for a while, I'll be surprised.

I didn't know how much I appreciated Clay Aiken after hearing "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" butchered by that one "singer" in the auditions.

I also wanted the airborne chick to move on. I would hit it.

This is actually my first A.I. episode. Will we get the same "No matter what you say, *I* know I'm good" attitude away from NYC? I can see self-pride, but come on now.

You can count on it. We still haven't seen the person who throws water on Simon and gets kicked out by security.

Simon was a hypocrite for praising Scooter Girl for having a gimmick, but ripping on every other person that had a gimmick (like magician, the "hoarse" girl, etc).

Well, anyone with a modicum of talent and a gimmick got praise for their "originality/personality" and sense of humor, otherwise, out you go!

Best line of the night was by Simon in response to a girl who said she had God by her side:

"Well it looks like God took the day off, sweetheart."

A good hearty laugh resulted in our neck of the woods.

And scooter-girl needed to be bitchslapped. She's not even pretty.

How could Simon, Paula, & Randy possibly see all of the contestants? There must be thousands of people who show up, and each one gets at least a minute or two with the judges. Do they screen a lot of folks out beforehand?

Yeah, they pre-screen. Only the best and the worst (and interesting) get through.

das