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Five Idol semifinalists found in infamously bad Seattle auditions

by Liz Finn-Arnold, posted Feb 20th 2007 1:01PM

Sanjaya MalakarAh, the infamous Seattle auditions. That was the show that caused all the controversy. Simon was too cruel. The parade of wacko contestants was relentlessly brutal. Before the show even aired, Simon had publicly denounced the Seattle turnout as "the worst bunch of miserable contestants EVER." Even Paula agreed, labeling the auditioners as "unusually fantastically delusional."

Seattle was the butt of Idol's jokes, deemed a pool of untalented crazies. Yet here we are, down to the Top 24, and the last laugh may be on Simon. A total of FIVE semifinalists were found in that "atrocious" city. In comparison, only one semifinalist was found in Birmingham, lovingly dubbed "Idol Country" by the show's writers.

Of the five Seattle auditioners who advanced to the semifinals, three are actually from the Seattle area: Amy Krebs, Sanjaya Malakar, and beatboxer Blake Lewis. Rudy Cardenas of California, and Jordin Sparks of Arizona, also auditioned in Seattle, earning golden tickets to Hollywood.

The breakdown of the audition cities and number of semifinalists found in each is below:

New York (5)
Los Angeles (5)
Memphis (6)
Birmingham (1)
San Antonio (1)
Minneapolis (1)

Earlier, Cowell had said, "We won't be going back to Seattle next year." Perhaps he should rethink going back to Birmingham, San Antonio, and Minneapolis, as well.

Could our next American Idol come from Seattle? And if so, does that redeem Seattle as the worst audition city ever?

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Darlene

They picked all the kids from Cal, Washington and NY to keep anyone from the south from winning again

February 22 2007 at 9:43 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bex

FYI- The initial million-people-in-line audition was at Giants Stadium. The audition for the judges was at Chelsea Piers. Well, that's what the footage would lead you to believe. Chelsea Piers is on 23rd street in New York City.

February 20 2007 at 5:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
David

Of course they are in CA every year because the show takes place there! My point is that the majority of the cities they change up where they go every year and they wouldn't have gone to Seattle next year even if they were amazing.

February 20 2007 at 4:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kyle

FYI, the NY audition wasn't really in NY. It was here in NJ at Giants Stadium. But yeah, they still called it NY and they do go to that general area every year.

February 20 2007 at 3:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bebop

what are you talking about? They go to NY and LA every year!

February 20 2007 at 2:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
David

They even talked about how bad Seattle was last night on the Tonight Show. Plus they never go to the same city two years in a row. The last time they went to Seattle before this year was season three. Next time they go will be season 9. :)

February 20 2007 at 1:53 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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