This auditioner assumed every contestant would go before Simon, Paula, and Randy. [Link]

Doing the math, you figure if the Idol judges are in your town for 2 days, the maximum # of auditions they could do would be roughly 12 an hour, and I don’t see Paula and Simon working more than 8 hours a day, so that’s maybe 96 auditions a day, and they’re there 2 days. So 10,000 people show up, minus the 192 auditions done by the star judges, leaving 9,808 auditions that need to be done by some other judges.

Nevertheless, the show has interest because it puts some very funny things on display – namely the fact that people often don’t realize how lacking they really are in talent. Professional musicians and actors lose auditions all the time and life goes on, but amateurs think of things as “once in a lifetime.” Because in real life, their lack of talent will never give them a shot at a music career. Real musicians practice and work hard and network and move on. When the show gets boring for me is when they choose their final 32 or whatever it is and force them to grind through week after week of pop cover songs by mostly amateur singers.

Taylor Hicks, by the way, is in my opinion the best true musician to ever sneak through the competition. He’ll probably be over produced and over packaged, which may cause him to lose most of what is appealing about him in the first place – authentic passion and talent. Time will tell.

The show’s format also does a poor job of attracting any singer/songwriter type, because original music is not encouraged. The producers of the show know that 98% of original music is boring, and doesn’t sell, so their best bet is to feature a parade of hits. They are in business to earn a profit after all, so you can’t blame them.