The first audition of the night was Joey Catalano, who lost 204 pounds before auditioning. He sang “Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5 and did a remarkable job. I found him to be very likeable and down to earth, and I’d love to see him make the top 24.

Then, of course, there was the first bad audition of the season, courtesy of Alaa Youakeem from Egypt. He reminded me of Borat, and I wasn’t surprised that he sang “How Deep Is Your Love” really badly.

Next up, Melanie Nyema, who was apparently once a backup singer for Taylor Hicks. She sang Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.” She did it well, and I liked her voice, but I’m not convinced she has a lot of star power. I can see her making the top 24, but beyond that, I’m undecided.

I’m nearly at a loss for words over James Lewis. Before his audition, he dubbed himself “unique” and this immediately raised a red flag for me. “Unique” is almost never a good thing. Imagine my not-surprise when he sang “Go Down Moses” and had all three judges laughing hysterically.

Three rapid-fire bad auditions from Nick Stano, Sybill White and Zhengzhong Yu. Moving right along… to three rapid-fire GOOD auditions from Junot Joyner, Jose Candelaria and Jonathan Baines.

From the start of her segment, I didn’t expect Temptress Brown to be a good singer, but I did like her. I was very touched by the story about her very ill mother. She sang “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” and was in tears when the judges said no. All three judges walked out with her to greet her family, which I thought was very sweet.

Next, we were introduced to Mark Hayes and his cricket noise. Oh good, more gimmicks. He sang “White Christmas,” but apparently it was the slow-motion version. Not surprisingly, he gets a unanimous no.

Then it was time for a guy who couldn’t sing OR dance, Udgeet Sampat. He proceeded to sing “My Way” in a monotone. Simon told him he was nuts… and Udgeet’s response was to ask him to explain what he meant. Really, how many possible meanings for “You’re nuts” could there be?

Cue the corny “I Love Rock & Roll” montage featuring several bad singers. Mercifully, it wasn’t very long.

Alexis Cohen… probably one of the most insane hopefuls I have ever seen. I reiterate: Extremely weird is NEVER a good thing on this show. Extremely weird ALWAYS equals very little talent. Alexis was no exception. She sang “Somebody To Love”… badly, of course… and then proceeded to call Simon a “big fat bad word” and go on a never-ending rampage.

From the beginning of her segment, I was rooting for Angela Martin, the full-time singer whose daughter has Retts syndrome. There was just something about Angela that struck me as very real, someone who I would vote for on a week-to-week basis. She sang an excellent rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” I really hope to see her in the top 24.

Elise Wojciechowski’s spastic dancing and screaming did not bode well before her audition, and I was not surprised when she killed “Feelin’ Good.” She was followed by two more bad auditions from Teresa Anello and Brandi Park, who both apparently felt that loudness equals talent.

And what would a new season of Idol be without at least one way over-age contestant who claims to be trying to send a message? This year, it was Milo Turk with his original song, “No Sex Allowed.” Um… what?

Kristy Lee Cook was my favorite audition of the night, and I can definitely see her going really far in the competition. She sang “Amazing Grace” beautifully. Her hobbies include camping, fishing and kickboxing, and she sold one of her best horses so she could audition for Idol. She’s very likeable, and reminded me of Carrie Underwood in a lot of ways.

Along with the over-age contestants, there can’t be a new season of Idol without someone who bargains and does something stupid in exchange for an audition. This is where Ben Haar comes in, with his cloak and his costume (or lack thereof). Paula finds his body hair distracting… so of course, he goes out and waxes it all off, because that makes ALL the difference in the world. When he returns later in the show, Simon and Randy cut him off about two words into his song and tell him to leave. Good riddance.

Two more bad auditions from Pedro Rivera and Shekhinah Bathyehudah. Yawn.

Oh, and for a change of pace, here’s another bad audition from Paul Marturano. But wait… a spin! He’s written a love song for Paula! It’s a song about… being a stalker. Okay, that’s creepy. Restraining order, anyone? Simon asks him to leave, and eventually has him escorted out.

Speaking of stalkers… Beth Stalker is next. She’s a stay at home mom by day, and a club singer by night. She released an album when she was 4 years old. Unfortunately, she made a horrible song choice, “Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered.” She has a decent voice, but I don’t expect to see her go much farther than the Hollywood round. There’s nothing really memorable about her.

I was intrigued by Chris Watson’s musical influences- Nirvana among them. He struck me as being very together and confident, and he caught my attention immediately when he sang “Follow Me.” Unfortunately, I think it’s quite possible that he could be a bit egotistical in later rounds.

Next, we have Christina Tolisano, who’s auditioning simply because she wants out of her hometown. Don’t we all? She murders “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,” then blames the train wreck on her Star Wars hair. Cue the 20-minute rant about how she didn’t get picked because she’s dorky.

The final audition of the night was from Brooke White, the nanny who’s never seen an R-rated movie. Like one or two other contestants tonight, she has a good voice, but she chose a horrible, one-note song, Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Like a Star.” She has a good, raspy voice, but again, I don’t see her getting very far because she just doesn’t stand out.

Tomorrow, we’re off to Dallas for more auditions. Hopefully the trend will continue and we’ll see more great contestants!