'American Idol' Auditions: Austin Recap

'American Idol's' third visit to the Texas capital in 10 seasons was full of surprises, shenanigans and second chances.

The hour started with a much hyped apology (via Ryan Seacrest's Twitter account) from Steven Tyler that amounted to little more than a lame joke. Yes, we know Steven has a potty mouth and a well-earned reputation for rather uncouth antics, but after all the debate over the portrayal of Milwaukee contestant Chris Medina's brain-damaged fiancee, many thought the mea culpa might have something to do with that. Instead, we got to watch Steven mouth the F-bomb. Oh, 'Idol,' after 10 years, you still don't realize that humor is not your strong suit.

Getting down to business, Austin offered up a number of future Top 40'ers, which you can read about here if you're up for some spoiling. And it seems with Simon Cowell off the bench, the judges are all about giving those who let nerves get the best of them a second chance. Case in point: 17-year-old British expat Hollie Cavanagh. The teen's first attempt at an Etta James' classic "was all over the place," according to Steven. Randy Jackson accused Cavanagh of hitting something like five different keys during her performance. Jennifer Lopez offered the shaken and tearful teen a second chance, and she nailed it with Miley Cyrus' 'The Climb,'thus earning a ticket to Hollywood.

Of course, it wouldn't be a proper Texas audition episode without a genuine cowboy in the house. Twenty-three-year-old rancher John Wayne Schulz filled the quota nicely with his movie star good looks and well-received rendition of Brooks & Dunn's 'Believe.' Unlike other self-styled country singers we've seen so far (Milwaukee's Scotty McCreary comes to mind), Schulz' vocals have the potential to break out of country, should the challenge arise. Though we've been told there won't be as much pressure on this year's contestants to stretch outside their chosen genres.

Seventeen-year-old student and Ryan Seacrest obsessive Courtney Penry was played up as another gag contestant. But the teen demonstrated talents beyond stalking Seacrest and doing a mean Chicken Dance, with her take on Sugarland's 'Stay.' Steven cited Penry's "star quality," while J.Lo said the teen's vocals "had parts that are really strong points and parts that had weaknesses." Randy said no, despite acknowledging her "pretty good" vocals, but J.Lo and Steven saw the girl -- who named Ryan Seacrest "the sexiest man alive" -- through to Hollywood.

After a parade of pranksters and tone deaf contestants (including a woman in an armadillo costume), a trio of solid singers came through. Watch out for rocker Caleb Johnson, who nailed a rather unusual audition choice in Soundgarden's 'Rusty Cage.' Shauntel Campos impressed the judges with a Bill Withers' classic and Alex Carr earned high praise for his spot-on take on Luther Vandross' 'A House Is Not a Home.' I only wish we got to see more of these three and less of the armadillo girl.

Austin also brought forth another power couple in 19-year-old suit salesman Nick Fink and 21-year-old receptionist Jacquelin Dunford. Both earned spots in Hollywood, despite their schmaltzy gimmick.

But the two biggest stand-outs of the night have to be 20-year-old Tennessean Janelle Arthur and 19-year-old Californian Casey Abrams. Arthur's first stab at Duffy's 'Syrup & Honey' didn't blow the judges away, but after Steven asked for something "a little more uptempo," Arthur brought the goods with Shania Twain's 'No One Needs to Know.'

And Abrams threw the judges a curve ball when the self-described Seth Rogen lookalike walked into his audition with a melodica. But his rendition of Ray Charles' 'I Don't Need No Doctor' not only got him an instant, unanimous "yes," but also brought the trio out of their seats, dancing all the way backstage.

Tomorrow night we're off to the City of Angels! For a peak at who to look out for, check out our Top 40 spoilers!

'American Idol' airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8PM ET on Fox.