"American Idol" headed to Churchill Downs in Louisville, home of the Kentucky Derby. About 11,000 showed up to the city's auditions, and only 19 advanced to Hollywood. That made for 579-1 odds, officially turning the crowd into the longest of longshots to hit the track this racing season.
Most Likely To Be Unintentionally Mean: Either Kara DioGuardi is dense, or she has the potential to outdo Simon on the meanness meter. Rebecca Garcia couldn't remember the words to "Before He Cheats" even with the lyrics on her arm. Kara, noting that she was named "Most Humorous" in high school, thought she figured out the joke. "That was good. Funny!" the new judge said. But since it was not, in fact, a joke, she made Garcia cry.
The crying game: Even Paula Abdul made one of the auditioners cry. Leneshe Young, who was raised by a single mom and has been in and out of homeless shelters, was the rare singer who went with an original song and actually did well. But when Paula pretended to vote no, Young looked like she was going to burst into sobs, and the queen of nice quickly changed her tone.
Second chance at the winner's circle: At 23, Joanna Pacitti is already a veteran of the music business. Kara recognized her from a previous record deal, and Pacitti had a single in 2006. Still, despite appearing on such albums as the "Legally Blonde" soundtrack, she was unsigned and unloved by the music industry at the time of the auditions, and was crying with gratitude when she got her ticket back to Hollywood.
And Mudd spelled backwards is: Mark Mudd's claim to fame was that he was a descendant of Dr. Samuel Mudd, the doctor who set John Wilkes Booth's broken leg as he was fleeing after assassinating Abraham Lincoln. After his singing fell flat, he told the judges: "Be careful in whatever you do." They seemed to take that as a threat; as Paula scolded, "You don't say to people, 'be careful.'" Millions of moms and dads in the audience paused the TV and said "Hey! We say that all the time!"
Paula Palin?: Perhaps taking a cue from Tina Fey's success this year, Paula wore her hair on the first day in what can only be described as a librarian-esque updo. By day two, Sarah Palin called and demanded her look back, and Abdul's hair was back to normal.
Taking care of business: This may not be the best season of "American Idol," but it definitely has the best list of contestant occupations. Among the jobs held by the auditioners in Louisville: After-school tutor, ice-cream server, pizza server, parts inspector, and toothbrush company employee.
Who needs the HOV lane?: The cameras caught the four judges and Ryan pulling up for the first day of the Louisville auditions in five separate cars. It's a good thing that Al Gore probably wasn't watching. What a carbon footprint! Have they not heard of the new concept called the "carpool?"
Craig Berman is a writer in Washington, D.C.