American Idol: Georgia on my Mind

Now I enjoy a good "bad audition" on "Idol" as much as the next person, but I can't be the only person who was ready for the auditioning portion of the show to be over.

And so it came to be with the last new audition episode in Atlanta. On Wednesday, "Idol" will air "Best of the Rest" auditions — meaning trainwrecks that weren't quite entertaining enough and Hollywood-bound contestants the producers feel have no chance in hell of winning (here's hoping we find a diamond in the rough).

Though Ryan Seacrest touted Atlanta as the place where past "Idol" superstars Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia were discovered, last night was mostly a disappointment talent-wise (like Miami). With one notable exception (more on her in the next paragraph), the contestant's backstories were infinitely more interesting then their actual singing, so I'm going to go ahead and refer to most them by their storyline, since I feel they stand little chance of getting past Hollywood week next Tuesday.

Amanda Overmyer (pictured, left) came in on her motorcycle and with a great, refreshing attitude about the competition — if the singing thing works out, cool, if it doesn't, she'll go back to nursing — and delivered one of the fiercest auditions of the season. When covering Janis Joplin, as Michelle did, it's tough to truly tell how polished a vocalist she is and, more importantly, what chances she has of becoming the next American Idol. I could easily see her becoming the female Chris Daughtry (as the judges suggested) or going the way of the equally fierce Tami Gosnell (who delivered an outstanding version of "Whipping Post") from last year and fading into oblivion. I hope it's the former, because I like her and because not everyone in the competition needs to sound the same.

Or at least not sound like the beauty pageant winner/Barbie doll who delivered a surprisingly good "Who's Loving You" and who Simon dubbed the "most annoying person I've ever seen in my life." I wouldn't go that far, but I also don't see her going too far — I remember her being better than I thought she would be, but I don't remember what she sounded like (and neither do you, right?)

Ok, so I guess Josiah Leming is the one other contestant who merits being mentioned by name (instead of "Guy Living in his Car who sounds British when he sings"). I think Randy is probably right when he says Josiah may be more at home fronting a band, but I like that the judges decided to let another contestant who sounds different through — even if his stench of desperation was the opposite of Amanda's grounded attitude.

The rest was a big pile of meh. I didn't even think the spectacularly bad auditions were particularly funny — except for that one Asian girl putting her own twist on Fergie's "Gramarous".

The Simon-obsessed fan who danced around horribly while she sang badly before she slipped and fell to the ground was more tiresome than amusing. I also had semi-high hopes for the snarky high school kid who vowed to put Simon in his place if the judge came after him (which he did, calling his performance a "bedroom audition) But that "confrontation" turned out to be a letdown as Simon deftly defused his attempts at sarcasm. Maybe the reason he got held back one grade was because his teachers didn't find him as funny as he thinks he is.

Some of the successful auditions left me equally underwhelmed. The evening started with that one glass guy (what a weird thing to be obsessed with — glass) delivering a passable but (as Simon rightly pointed out) karaoke version of "Don't Stop Me Now". If this were a Freddy Mercury sound-alike contest, he might have a chance in hell. Also, I didn't really get into the judges telling him to turn around while he sang — he's far from the only performer to make weird faces while he sings.

Then there was the girl who was auditioning about two days after her father died. Now, I realize that people grieve in different ways, and I don't doubt that she probably felt she was honoring her dad by following her dream, but damn — was there any way (short of her forgetting her words slipping and falling to the ground) the producers weren't going to let her through after hearing her story? Needless to say, her "How do I live" was incredibly emotional, but ok at best, but I have no idea whether her mediocre performance was due to the emotion she was feeling or her just being a mediocre singer.

So what'd you think of the last new audition episode of the season? Will you watch "Best of the Rest" or do you think it'll just be a glorified clip show? Finally, with all the auditions done, do you have a favorite heading into Hollywood week?