bunt sign live

American Idol: Chicago Auditions
American Idol is a music show, and it’s a competition, but a lot of the time in the auditions it’s a comedy. People have to know they’re setting themselves up for humiliation when they try out, but it’s also kind of touching how many untalented people really think they can become stars. Some of these folks are just pathetic, but if they’re willing to perform, I’m more than ready to laugh at, say, the deputy sheriff from West Virginia who sang “I Shot the Sheriff.” Over and over and over. (Well, he did say he was going to sing “just the chorus.”)

The first set of twins, the guys from Memphis, were very good, and they deserved to go through to the next round. The sisters from the corn maze were very sweet but obviously not ready for Hollywood, yet for some reason the judges are sending them there. The 16-year-old twins from Michigan? Maybe the judges were just worn down by the bad singing, because otherwise they would never have let these kids go on.

The audition rounds are really the judges’ show, and the three of them have their own shtick that plays pretty well against the off-key voices and over-the-top personalities. The byplay among Simon, Paula and Randy is the main reason to watch at this stage of the competition.

And the dynamics of the three of them can be the only reason they let crazy Dave, the bouncy fellow the animals talk to (in English) advance. Randy jokingly gave him an okay, and Paula took advantage, merely to get under Simon’s skin. Her yes was more embarrassing to the competition than Dave’s song.

Advertisement