Another miserable audition show, this time in Atlanta.  Some quick thoughts:

I absolutely hate when Kara’s into an audition or performance and then starts grooving her head to some slow jam only she can hear.  It totally reminds me of the only John Mayer performance I’ve ever enjoyed.

Keya Johnson (Miss Congeal-iality, according to guest judge Mary J Blige) was cute and congenial (and can quite possibly congeal liquids at an extraordinary rate), but I don’t think her voice will carry her very far.

I think Tisha Holland (red pants - last girl in a three girl montage) might be awesome, but they barely showed her.  Kara said it was the best they’d heard that day, which I think she probably says four or five times per day.

Jermaine Sellers (Joliet church choir dude whose mom has a spinal condition) might be the top contestant we’ve seen so far.  He has a great voice with a really sweet tone.  He seems appropriately humble, and his smile is infectious.  He went a little overboard with the improvised vocal runs while singing his own version of “One of Us,” but at least we’ve seen he can infuse his own style into other genres of music, something the judges have been over-emphasizing since David Cook (and the thing that doomed Lil Rounds last season).

Vanessa Wolf (the Tennessee country girl who jumps off bridges) has a pretty, Dolly Parton-esque tone to her voice, and I agree with the judges that she’s authentic, but I don’t see her going far, based on her lack of stage presence and unpolished voice.  Her audition song was literally two notes, back and forth.  I think she’ll be swallowed up in Hollywood.

What’s the over/under on how many times Simon’s “joked” that he was a contestant while walking into the judge’s room (like he did when came in for Day 2 and said “My name is Simon, I like to sing”)?  It would’ve been marginally funny if he sang this, like my partner did last night after his lame joke.

I forwarded through the ridiculous dramatization of the hillbilly almost dying twice or whatever.  One of the all-time low points of Idol, and that’s saying something.

Mallory (South Dakota girl who sang Janis Joplin) fits one of my least favorite quotas: the blah pretty girl with the rocker voice.  Her dopey grin was annoying, I thought she was way full of herself, and her voice wasn’t all that.

I was surprised they let Skiibo Ski (I’m pretty sure there are two “i”s in Skiibo) through to Hollywood.  He wasn’t as bad as Simon thought, but his voice was mediocre, and his shtick was tired.  Ratings move?

“Pants On The Ground” was a nice way for Idol producers to espouse their racist b.s. through a troubled vet.  Way to go.

The cop had a great voice, but…. you know.