'American Idol': Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler Go to the Big Easy, NOLA

More of the same was dished up New Orleans style on Thursday night's "American Idol." The second night of auditions was held once again in the Big Easy or NOLA (New Orleans, LA). In 2004 was the last time "American Idol" held auditions there, a year before Hurricane Katrina. Now there was no mention of that disaster, but there were plenty of disastrous singers throughout the one-hour show unfortunately. On a bright note a number of excellent singers were brought to our attention. Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler are getting more and more comfortable with their new judging duties. Let's see what the Crescent City brought us.

NOLA "American Idol" Audition Highlights

Thankfully the first singer is a vocal and piano teacher who lives up to his profession. He sang the traditional and then a jazzy version of "Over the Rainbow." Sara Sellers large lips got the attention of Steven Tyler. There was some banter about being related. I gratefully appreciated she picked a Bob Dylan song for her audition instead of the same old, same old songs heard over and over again. Sara did a great version of "To Make You Feel My Love."

We are introduced by Ryan Seacrest, who has been virtually absent from the auditions compared to seasons past, to Randy Jackson's Louisiana roots. He was born and raised in Baton Rogue. The daughter of Randy's football coach brought him photos of his high school days. Her father and Randy had a nice reunion in the judge's room. Her audition went well and is on her way to Hollywood.

Brett Lowenstern shares his story of being different in high school. He is from Boca Raton, Florida. Brett's hair is red, tightly curled and long. There's no denying he is charismatic. For his audition he takes on the ambitious "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen's frontman, Freddie Mercury and does Mercury proud. Closing out the show was Paris Tassin's back story of being a single mother to a special needs child. She literally brought Jennifer Lopez to tears with her version of Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home."

A Montage of Bad Singers and Others in the Crescent City

It certainly would not be an "American Idol" audition show, would it, without the bad singers whether they're planted there or they show up by sheer coincidence. Whatever is the case New Orleans seemed to have more bad singers than the premiere episode from New Jersey. Once again most of them were relegated to a montage clip before the commercial break or segue into another audition. However, there was one really good singer who got a golden ticket to Hollywood. My problem with him was asking Randy and Steven to take off their shirts. Was that really necessary?

Also, Ryan Seacrest kept hyping about a 15-yr old with a brilliant voice. Yes, he sang very well, but wasn't that great. If he had auditioned before the late, great Simon Cowell that boy would have been brutalized verbally by him. As far as the other bad singers we had our precious time wasted with in their televised auditions I will not dignify their presence any further by name or song title.

The Big Easy's Array of Talent and the New Judge's Overview

As you can see it was just a handful of good talent we saw on TV, yet a lot more golden tickets were awarded. We saw those going to Hollywood with tickets in hand as a group in various locations, including the last scene with Ryan on a riverboat cruise. Perhaps Steven and Jennifer are awarding too many tickets? It was once again a gentler, kinder show the likes "American Idol" has never seen before. Apparently when the show does go "live" Steven Tyler will be on tape delay. This is what Nigel Lythgoe, the executive producer, has stated. Tyler's quotes are becoming memorable such as "From my melodic sensibility, it was really delicious." There's no doubt we will see an evolution coming from Jennifer's and Steven's judging abilities and styles in the coming weeks and maybe seasons to come.

SOURCES:

American Idol - Official Site for Videos, Photos and Community, American Idol.com

Brian Mansfield, "Good Morning, 'American Idol', how are you?", Idol Chatter - USA Today.com

Kara Warner, "Steven Tyler's Best 'American Idol' Quotes from New Orleans", MTV.com