Idol, Shania, Blow Through Chicago Auditions

As American Idol arrived in the Windy City, Chicago, 12,000 Idol hopefuls waited patiently for their big chance. 11,977 went home disappointed, and empty handed. With Shania Twain ('You're Still the One;"Man, I Feel Like a Woman,") on hand to join Simon, Randy, and Kara.

Tonight's show got off to a great start, with the first contestant, Katelyn Epperly, sharing her life story with the judges. Having performed since she was 3, her Dad and Mom had always attended all of her events, until now. Her Parents had divorced, and Katelyn wanted to make her Mom proud, which she did by garnering all 4 of the judge's votes.

But the tide quickly turned, with a contestant starting her performance by passing out on the floor, on purpose. After getting up, her biggest claim to fame was making her breasts bounce, on demand. I wasn't sure if this was a comedy competition, or a singing show. She quickly got the boot, but that was kind of fun to watch.

Along came Charity Vance, a 16 year old blond beauty, who wowed the judges with her version of "Summertime." I personally think she will be one to watch as the show moves to Hollywood. Luckily, she brought her talent, because what followed her was a bunch of duds, who seemed to like to swear at the cameras, and make obscene gestures. I know Chicago natives are tough souls, but the parade of losers got very old, very quick.

The show soon became much brighter, with a returning contestant, Angela Martin, who all the judges remembered from the past two years of trying out on Idol. Two years ago, her Dad passed away just before she auditioned, and last year, she made it to the top 50. Unfortunately for us all, she missed a show, because she says she forgot to pay some traffic tickets. So, after hearing her story, she performed "Just Fine," by Mary J. Blidge, and once again impressed every judge, and got a Golden Ticket. As Simon commented, let's hope all her other tickets are paid in full.

The judges perked up, and handed out 7 more Golden Tickets, until the show once again came crashing down.Think of the most annoying screeching you have ever heard, and that sums up the next several contestants. I wish the show would give us a little less of that, and a bit more of the good singers. But, would we still watch?

Toward the end of day two, at least we got to end with more quality. John Park blew Shania away with his looks, and performance, and moved along to winners circle. The quality did not stop there. Paige Dechausse, who suffers from severe asthma, bravely performed. Although Simon was quick to give her a no vote, Shania and Kara went to work on Randy, and persuaded him to give her another shot in Hollywood.

In the end, Chicago only got 13 Golden Tickets, but the quality of all of them was the real story. I now have a favorite, and the show moves on to Orlando Wednesday night, with guest judge Kristin Chenoweth. I'll have to google her, because I'm not sure who she is. Stay tuned.