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Day two of the audition round kicked off from Saint Louis Missouri. Tonight's show had a few good/ intriguing auditions, as well as some poor ones.

Saint Louis Highlights:

1) Egomaniacs:

Two contestants entered the room sporting tremendous egos.

Former television news-talent/ cruise singer Joseph Schoen stopped by with his posse of supporters. He had the superstar ego coupled with an average singing voice. His performance (of "My Girl") on the audition was EXTRA-CHEESY. What really sealed his fate was the fit he threw once the judges started criticizing him. Unfortunately for Joseph Schoen, he didn't pass the audition. (That's fine. He didn't really come off as sympathetic, did he?)

Another performer who brought a big ego was the androgynous Aa'shia Jackson. She sang a version of the Jackson Five's "I'll Be There" with an unnaturally high voice. (It sounded like she had been inhaling helium.) For some reason, Randy and Paula put her through. Simon (showing sanity) voted "No." We'll see how she does in Hollywood. I'm not expecting much.

2) Simon's weight-loss kick:

The first two auditions featured a trio of slightly overweight triplets, and another big-boned lady. None of them could sing well enough for the competition, but Simon didn't shy away from mentioning their weight.

Simon's comments on weight are kind of interesting. Although nobody likes to hear it, keeping oneself fit is a relatively important part of being a public person/ idol. I think that fixating on weight may hurt someone's self-image, and possibly cause psychological scarring. On the other hand: Simon's comments do reflect what people will think when they see certain performers on TV. Being overweight or out-of-shape is something that performers should try especially hard to avoid, as a performer's image is something that music consumers consider when making music purchases.

3) Singers that were passed on to the next round:

One of the guys who passed through was the son of baseball hall-of-famer Ozzie Smith. Osborne Smith II looks an awful lot like his dad. I wonder whether he will do a backflip when coming on stage sometime.

Ozzie Jr. has a pretty good voice, and I like his chances in Hollywood. I am a little worried for him however: being a son of a professional athlete, his won't seem like a "rags-to-riches" story that helps inspire the nationwide audience's support.

Another notable who passed through was farmgirl Carrie Underwood. Very pretty, seems like a nice girl. My wife and I both liked her immediately. I think that out of everyone we saw on tonight's show, she has the best chance of making it into the top-twelve. A real "Girl Next Door"/ "Sally the Farmer's Daughter" type. (Possibly my early favorite if she doesn't get pigeonholed as a C+W singer.)

4) Spectacularily bad auditions:

There was one guy named Johnny Hayes who sang a song named "My First Love." This guy initially looked like he'd do okay, but as soon as he opened his mouth my wife cracked up. It was pretty funny. (He's the guy who said that everyone in his family thinks he is a good singer.)

Another guy who made an impression was this dude who claimed to be able to sing like Brian McKnight. The camera showed Paula do a "spit-take" with her "Coke" as soon as he said that. Needless to say, his audition wasn't so good.

The two nerds at the end of the show weren't particularily bad, but their auditions were entertaining. Dirk (the rounder guy) has a likeable quality that will take him far in life.

5) Human drama:

Music teacher Angel and her student Jeremy Wakefield both showed up for auditions. As the story goes: Angel was just trying out just for the experience, while she really hoped that her young student would pass on to Hollywood. Ultimately the teacher passed the audition (singing "Ain't nobody" ), but her student (singing "Ain't too proud to beg") failed.

The teacher was obviously upset as she broke down crying in the hallway after her student's audition. I felt really bad for her because she was so hoping that the young man would pass.

Jeremy's performance wasn't so good. The singing was alright, but his performance was far far over the top. I am sure that he'll make something of himself someday. I was especially impressed with his demeanor after the audition. He took rejection very well. I'm rooting for that guy in the future.

Simon Cowell had a really funny line about Angel, saying that: she was dressed like she was on a shopping trip, and just happened into an audition.

Well, that's it for tonight's show.

Next week it is New Orleans!