Episode Recap: American Idol - Season 6, Episode 1

Episode 1 Original Air Date: January 16, 2007 Two-day, four-hour extravaganza! Does that mean we'll get the audition episodes out of the way sooner, so can we can get to the final "good" episodes - or will the audition portion of the season be even more bloated. Count on the bloating. Minneapolis, hometown of Prince. Apparently that is all this city has going for it. The Contestants: Jessica, make-up artist, idolizes Jewel. What she doesn't know until right before her audition when Ryan tells her is that Jewel is a guest judge today. Jessica has chosen "You Were Meant For Me" and proceeds to do what appears to be a Jewel impersonation. No one likes it, not even Jewel. Humiliation City. Troy Bennet, a bearded, bespectacled young man who describes himself as "urban Ahmish". The description makes sense as his wardrobe looks like an Ahmish costume that got interrupted in the middle of converting to something modern. Troy has never seen American Idol, as he does not own a "broadcast television". He doesn't know any of the judges, either. He does so poorly during his audition, he needs to go back to being Ahmish. Jessie, young man who tells the judges he can "hit some of the same notes as Mariah Carey". Unfortunately, none of those notes are supposed to be in the song he is trying to sing. He stops abruptly in the middle of the audition and says he needs to drink some water because he's nervous. He drinks some water and runs back into the audition room, to the surprise of the judges. Once his throat is properly lubricated his second attempt is only slightly less awful then the first one. Simon tells him so. Jessie responds, "Well, you're entitled to your opinion." Monroe, dressed as Apollo Creed (red, white, and blue boxing gloves, robe and Uncle Sam hat), so judges know he's here to "knock out this performance". Sings aria in Italian. Simon says, "The fact that we're taking this seriously is disturbing." Denise Jackson, 16, was a crack baby. She seems decades older as she describes her life for us. Her mother still deals with drug addiction. Denise would've ended up in foster care if not for her grandmother who took her in. She doesn't blame her mom, though. "She can't help it, I guess," she tells us. Anyone who watches this really, really wants her to get through. Thankfully, all the judges like her and she's going to Hollywood. Teshawn Moore. She can't remember lyrics of "KISS" by Prince. That's OK, because the few words she remembers are off-key. She doesn't give up, though. Unfortunately, it's just painful to watch her. Perla from Colombia. Tries to flirt with Ryan, but calls him "short". Ryan does not like to be called "short". He says he's "average". Yeah, OK, Ryan. Perla sings "Call Me" by Blondie, and does OK. Randy asks her to sing "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira. She complies, even doing the hip gyrations. This is the song she should have done, as she does a much better job. Simon says her choices of songs will be difficult, since her first song was "heavily accented". But she gets through. The camera crew even follows her into the Ladies' room to listen to her gush about being chosen. Matt Volna, comes in wearing cowboy hat, shirt, boots, blue jeans. He describes himself as "old country". He says he'll win because he's so unique. "Carrie Underwood didn't have the look I have." After he performs a Johnny Cash song, Jewel asks in all sincerity, "Are you serious when you do this, or are trying to be funny?" Jarrod Fowler, sailer in Navy stationed on the USS Ronald Reagan. He won the "Reagan Idol" contest held on his ship. He gets through. Trista Giese. Sings the Cowardly Lion's number from The Wizard of Oz in the Lion's voice. Or she tries to sing it in the Lion's voice, anyway. She sounds more like Chewbacca. Shockingly, the judges don't move her through. But she's made a Wizard of Oz poster for Simon and company. "Do you want the poster?" she asks after getting rejected. "No," everyone says in unison. Jewel laughs, "God, you guys are cold." Stephen Horst, vocal coach. He begins his audition by blowing into a pitch pipe. Randy is not impressed, and tells him so. Randy is so frank about it, even Simon calls him "a bit rude". "You shouldn't be a vocal teacher," Randy tells Stephen, "I wouldn't take vocal lessons from you. I wouldn't tell anyone to take vocal lessons from you." Simon asks Randy, "Did you get abused as a child by a vocal coach or something?" Michelle Steingas, 19, country singer. Simon calls her "confident without being irritatingly precocious." She gets through. Dana. Her boss flew her and her sister to Minneapolis from California so she could audition for American Idol. Her boss and his wife even came along. She sings "Tell Me Something Good" by Chaka Kahn. At least that's the song she claims to be singing. Her version is unrecognizable. I don't remember Chaka Kahn screeching this song. After making a number of juvenile jokes about the nature of Dana's relationship with her boss, Simon and Randy call the boss in. Dana turns towards her boss and sings in front to him. She actually does a lot better, but not good enough. Matt Sato, 16. His parents didn't come with him, as they're not that supportive of his dreams, or maybe the bills that come from following his dreams. He sings "California Dreamin" for the judges and does a good job. He gets through. The first thing he does is call his mom on phone. She tells him she's proud of him. He cries. Awww... Rachel Jenkins, 21, works in her parents' body shop. Her husband is in Baghdad, as a member of the military, not a tourist, in case you were wondering. She's in Reserves herself, and she comes to the audition wearing her fatigues. "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" is her song. She starts well, but ends poorly. Still gets through. Tells Simon she likes his personality. Jewel says, "I guess you have to go through boot camp to like Simon." Sarah Krueger. She performs "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and does a great job. She's definitely one to watch. Jason Anderson, 16. Juggles while he sings. "Even the juggleing was pathetic," says Simon. Jason responds by juggling some more, just to prove what a good juggler he is. They tell him to try out for America's Got Talent, instead. He tap dances for them too, but it's as bad as his singing. He comes out cussing out the judges. Brenna. She has actually met Ace from last season and has a tatoo drawn by him. She reaches for high notes, but ends up scaring dogs in the next town. Randy is so frustrated by the lack of talent so far he calls Minneapolis "Minnehopeless". Josh, 16, inspired by dad who sings in the shower. He sings "Bad Day" by Fuel in a gravely voice. The judges call it a "fake rock" voice. Wanting to see if he's able to be flexible, Simon tells him to come back in 15 minutes and sing an ABBA song. Josh races around to find someone who knows an ABBA song. He learns "Dancing Queen" in a few minutes and comes back to perform it, also in a gravely voice. The judges want him to sing in his real voice, so he sings "Lola" from Barry Manilow, also in a gravely rock voice. The judges tell him to stick with his band. Only 17 out of 10,000 who tried out in Minneapolis actually make it to the next round. Tomorrow... Seattle.