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So here's the start of the fourth season of American Idol. I am excited that it is finally getting started! Welcome back to those of you who read my Idol reports last year. (Welcome back Simon if you've got me bookmarked. )

Tonight marks the beginning of the audition round. There will certainly be some fantastic, some average, and some disturbing performances, and I will do my best to comment, critique, or crack wise about them.

As I watched the show, I was thinking about how to best write about the audition rounds. Should I do a full recap? Should I comment on everyone? What should I do? I decided to choose five highlights from each show to focus on. Hopefully that will serve to make my reports easy to read as well as slightly entertaining.

The changes in this year's show thusfar seem to be: Alterations to the post-Hollywood/ pre-theater round (maybe good news), celebrity judges in the auditions (probably good, but Mark McGrath is a bit overexposed -impressive and funny tonight!), higher age limit for contestants (very good news), and apparently new colors in Simon's wardrobe. (It was a little shocking to see him in green, wasn't it? This may take some getting used to.)

Top five highlights from the Washington auditions:

1) Three guys passed through on Stevie Wonder songs. I am wondering if Stevie songs are going to become as hackneyed as the last two seasons' Whitney Houston songs.

The most impressive Stevie was a music teacher named Anwar Robinson. He seemed to have a cool and collected personality without appearing apathetic. Top that off with a good voice, and we're looking at a probable top-twelve finalist. (I liked McGrath's comment that Anwar looks like both Millie and Vanilli. Funny.)

2) My wife and I disagreed about the singing talents of one guy named Constantine Maroulis. (He's the rock singer from New York.) My wife said that she liked his version of Aerosmith's Cryin, while I thought it was pretty bad. The judges thought the same as my wife.

My wife and I did agree that this guy Constantine has a lot going for him in the image department. He is hansome, and has an excellent speaking voice. On stage with a microphone, his movements remind me of Robert Plant. I don't like his chances in the next round. Rock singers don't fit in the competition.

3) The segment with the two teenage white girls who were upset about not passing. The blonde girl was just strange. The other girl who was "sent from god" wasn't much of a singer, but was very beautiful. She should look into modelling.

4) Regina Brooks sold her wedding ring to pay for her trip to Washington DC. She passed the audition, but it isn't clear whether her husband supports her singing aspirations.

Regina impressed me with her smile, but I am a worried that she might be a little "strange" to go too far in the competition. (Stranger than last year's Jennifer Hudson.  Well... maybe not.)

5) Mary Roach sang her way into infamy with a truly weird performance. What was even more disturbing was her interaction with the judges after the audition. There were allusions to "voices in her head", and she was just shocked when the judges suggested that she couldn't sing.

Post production did a really good job with adding Simon's double-take and then the "Psycho" music as she was leaving the hotel. Funny and sad at the same time. (I think that this is a case where post-production makes someone appear stranger than they actually are. However: good television!)

Miscellaneous comments:

** Honorable to Aven Moore for perfecting a unique look (I'll call it "Evil Barney"), and holding onto a bad note for an awfully long time. I have a feeling that we'll see him in subsequent "worst audition" shows.

** I thought that Derek Braxton's bitter comments toward the judges were pretty funny. It is like he was prepared to badmouth the judges even before the audition went horribly wrong. Stinging (partially accurate) criticism. Regardless of what he said, his audition wasn't so good.

** One more mention goes out to poor Jesse who just couldn't take the pressure. He sang poorly, and forgot his lines. I really felt sorry for the guy because I know that the same thing could happen to me if I were in his place. (I'm not so good under pressure either, so I empathize.)

That's it for the first night of auditions in Washington DC. Check back tomorrow to see how the Saint Louis ones went!