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Tonight's audition show from New Orleans was probably the most interesting audition show that I have ever seen.  I was impressed by a few of the auditions, interested by the bahavior and comments of the judges, and was entertained by a few of the performances.

Tonight's Show Top Five:

1. The Amazing Leroy Wells- Leroy's audition is possibly my favorite audition of all the auditions I have ever seen.  Leroy blasts into the room stomping, clapping, and rhythmically chanting some sort of jive talk.  I doubt that he could put a comprehensible string of words together, but he was fun and entertaining.  I enjoyed Leroy's audition from start to finish.  (Reminiscent of "The Truth" from "Crank Yankers.")

If you missed the show and have access to a video of tonight's episode, I recommend that you make a point of it to see Leroy's audition.  Even though Leroy didn't pass, his performance was extremely memorable. 

(Sorry Trina, but I couldn't discern a title to an actual song that Leroy sang.)

2. Celebrity Panelist Gene Simmons-  If Simon Cowell isn't careful, Gene Simmons may very well overtake him as the industry's most accurate televised critic of aspiring popular musicians.  Gene had quite a presence in the audition room, he took command of a lot of the auditions, and his assessment of the performers was dead-on.

I was most impressed with Gene's commentary on Gomez Addams look-alike Darren Beck (he sang "Delilah.")  Gene told Darren that he has a lot of personality and that he sings alright, but that his  image is his strong suit.

I also liked his commentary toward the minister Jeff Johnson.  He told this young minister that he should steer toward country music because his spirituality would interfere with his sincerity when doing pop songs, but would lend itself well to country.  (Does Gene have an "Insightful" box that I can check?)

There are a few more comments on my note paper about Gene, but the bottom line was that he was really cool in there.

3- Paula Abdul's Temperament-  It seemed as if Paula Abdul was upset about something the whole show.  She didn't like Simon rushing her, she didn't like what Simon said, she didn't like...  Seems like she got up on the wrong side of the bed!

Everything came to a head by the end of the auditions where Simon and Gene split with Randy and Paula about whether a pair of twins should be passed on to Hollywood.  The Moletta Twins incidentally didn't make it, as they probably shouldn't have.  At the end of the audition, Paula and Randy left the set in a huff.

4- "Best Audition Ever" David Brown- This one guy came in the room and proceeded to belt out some song (that I don't know.)  It seemed decent enough, but really over-the-top for me.

Afterwards, Simon, Randy, and Paula agreed that it was possibly the best audition of the whole series.  What??  Did they forget Frenchie Davis, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, and Fantasia Barrino?

Maybe this was one of those situations where the guy sounds better live than recorded on television.  That seemed to have been the case with Ruben a few times.  (The judges would go gaa-gaa over what was seemingly a mediocre performance -on television- by Ruben.)

5. Michael Liuzza- Sang a version of the song "Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans."  This affable, large, young man did an excellent version of this song.  It may have been the best song of the whole night.

Hopefully Michael has a few more tricks up his sleeve, and can sing just as well in a variety of genres.  The positive about this guy is that he is at least seemingly more mature than last year's "one-trick-pony" John Stevens.

There you have it.  The top five points of tonight's show!  Here are a few bullet points to cover the rest for you:

• Bobby Barfoot, was a big Idol fan.  (He brought his Idol scrapbook.)  Yodeled during his audition.  Stood behind the screen to sing Stevie Wonder's "Lately."  (The first time we saw Paula visibly irritated in tonight's show.
• Lindsay Cardinale-  Cute girl who passed on to Hollywood singing "Standing Next to Me."  I liked her performance, but I was on the fence about her choice of clothing.  I think that she would have benefitted from covering up her shoulders or wearing a choker or a scarf around her neck.
• Movie projectionist Robert Solomon sang "Dancing in the Street."  If I were to ever audition for Idol, this is what I would sound like.  Scary...
• Sundeep Achrega- Tall accountant who sang "Eye of the Tiger."  He had enough of a buildup to make it seem like he could possibly sing.  Once he started, it was a no-go.  Oh well... at least he's gainfully employed.
• One set of twins The Jefferson Twins passed.  They got Gene Simmons to don a pair of dollar-sign sunglasses. 

So, that's it for tonight's show.  Let's see what happens tomorrow in Las Vegas!