Summary "American Idol" - "Hollywood Round No. 1" - Feb. 3, 2009

We see a montage of the audition cities and Ryan tells us that over 100,000 people tried out. 147 made it to Hollywood.

We see the Kodak Theatre and past winners. It's the location for Hollywood Week.

They all stand onstage as the judges walk into the theatre.

Simon tells them they have one shot today and it will be the most important day of their lives and that they're looking for a star.

For the first time all the contestants are going through "Boot Camp" which entails hair, make-up, a vocal coaching session, and a pep talk from Barry Manilow who is excited to pass on his experience. He tells them to become a star they need to combine preparation with this opportunity.

Half will get their shot today and the other half will go sightseeing.

The contestants come out in groups of 8, they will sing a cappella for the judges and their competition, passing the microphone down the line. They will be in or out.

First up Lil Rounds, who sings "I Will Always Love You" well but very loud. Kara and Paula give her a standing O. Kara thinks she's bold and brave.

Then Dennis Brigham, who sings "For Once in My Life," nasally and kind of goofily. Simon doesn't think anyone's going to take him seriously.

After each group sings they put them in two lines, in and out. The out group goes home right away.

Dennis is out but returns and says he won't go down without a fight and starts to sing again. He is mad they're sending him home, he says they suck as judges and makes fun of Simon's "cheap" clothes.

We see sped up versions of the auditions and then cut to the sightseers who are checking out the Hollywood sign.

A montage of contestants are being told that they overdid it.

Ryan asks Kara and Paula how it's going. Not so good, except for Lil Rounds they say.

Up next Nathaniel Marshall who sings "The Anchor Holds" by Ray Boltz. He knows it's not familiar but hopes they like the melody. It's a Christian song and he sings it with nice dynamics but very little range. Paula calls him on the bad choice in terms of range. Simon asks why he picked the song. He talks about how his life has been hard and it means something to him because music is his anchor, which keeps him from freaking out when bad things happen. He gets teary and says he wants this more than anything, it's on his skin. They comfort him.

Then Anoop Desai who sings "If It's Magic" by Stevie Wonder, well. Then Jasmine Murray who tackles "The Trouble with Love" by Kelly Clarkson, also pretty well. Then it's hippie chick Rose. We see her going through the vocal coaching and that she is struggling to find her voice amid such gifted singers. She cries and feels like she's let her dad down. We cut back to the audition and she sings "Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding and plays with it a little adding blue and bent notes, it's kind of sweet. All 8 are through to the next round.

We meet prepping contestants, who are, predictably, freaking out. Stephen Fowler does Stevie Wonder's "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" and Paula says he nailed it, Randy loved it too. I'm not sure what Jorge Nunez sang but he sang it well. Paula thought it was beautiful. I'm also unsure of what Von Smith sang but it was loud and melodramatic and overwrought. Simon thought it was indulgent nonsense, horrible, and really annoying. And yet when it's time to vote Stephen, Jorge, and Von are all through. Von is humbled that he's getting another chance.

We see another montage of contestants being told by the judges that they picked the wrong song for them even though Debra Byrd, the vocal coach, told them to be very careful. We see people leaving, some taking it well, some not.

Noman Gentle aka Nick Mitchell the "comedian" from the New York auditions is back. We see his audition again. We see him throw away his "Norman" clothes and say that he's gonna be serious. And then he shows up and acts the fool singing "And I Am Telling You..." from "Dreamgirls." He's half goofy and half not bad, calling out to the balcony and Seacrest. Randy calls him hilarious and banoodles but says that the crazy thing is he can actually sing. Simon doesn't know what to do with him. Paula says he's got talent and would like to hear him be serious and stripped down. And the verdict is... he's through. He promises Seacrest he will ditch the clown suit. Also through Scott McIntyre and "new mom" Frankie Jordan, but we don't hear them sing. (And we see other people who made it but aren't told who they are, which must mean that Scott and Frankie make the top 36).

We get a recap of Day 1 at the halfway mark.

For some reason we see the second group of 83 contestants being ferried around Hollywood to the Kodak.

We meet Jackie Tohn the "rocker" from the New York auditions, who can't settle down. We see a snippet of her audition. She banters about clothes with Ryan. (She says she's 28 but her bumper says she's 27?) She sings something I don't recognize in an annoying, grinding voice that she likely thinks sounds like Janis Joplin. Randy likes her. Paula says she likes her too. The results for Jackie's group? She and three others made it. She's sad that some of the other people are leaving.

We see a montage of people meeting and making friends. And another one of people being rejected and saying goodbye.

We meet best friends Danny Gokey and Jamar Rogers. They talk about the loss of Danny's wife, Sophie. They goof around with each other. Jamar sings "California Dreamin'" kinda soulfully, but kinda overwrought. Randy is a big fan and thinks he's different and relevant. Danny sings Seal's "Kiss From a Rose." He's got a very Seal-esque voice, raspy and pleasant. He hits a few clunkers but is mostly pretty good. Paula loves him and thinks he's ready to record. Both get through.

We get a montage of people getting compliments and being put through.

We are reacquainted with Katrina "Bikini Girl" Darrell We see a snippet of her audition. We see her now saying that she thought when Kara started to sing it was rude and it meant that Kara was insecure. She kisses Ryan. She sings "Breathe" by Faith Hill. She's passable at the beginning but nothing special. Kara calls her a beautiful girl and says she had her there for a moment at the beginning of the song but that it went off and got thin at the end. Simon makes a clawing noise. Kara asks for help from Paula. Paula agrees that it started well. Simon interjects that Katrina isn't getting fair criticism from the lady judges. He agrees with Katrina that with music it would've been better and that it was better than her first audition. Randy agrees with Simon and thinks she's had lessons. The verdict, the whole group is through. Kara tells her to leave her number and bring her pole tomorrow. Katrina says she knew that Kara didn't like her.

We see a montage of people we met at the auditions earlier but didn't make it through.

Two people are singled out as having left their famiies at home Jesus Valenzuela from Puerto Rico and "roughneck" Jeremy Michael Sarver. Sarver sings "I Love You More Than Anything" by Gavin DeGraw, nicely enough and Randy loves him. Jesus sings "Lately" by Stevie Wonder not so well, but not horribly. Jeremy is through. Jesus is out.

The last line performs and we see snippets of David Osmond, Erika Wesley both of whom sound good. Then "punk rocker" Emily Wynne-Hughes who isn't nervous, which is of course a terrible sign. She plans to sing "I Put a Spell on You," for which she gets kudos and then changes her mind at the last minute and sings "Excuse Me Mister" by No Doubt. Paula, Kara, and Simon are all disappointed by the song choice. And the final verdict is Emily and David make it but not Erika. Erika is the only one who didn't make it from that line and asks for another chance. She doesn't beg but is steadfast. Paula says she was fan, but that she was beaten out. Erika wants to know how she can convince them. Paula and Simon start to bicker. Erika tries again. Kara says it's not up for discussion. They send her off. She thanks them for hearing her out. Ryan tells us Alexis Grace, Brent Keith Smith, Maureen Boskovich, and Adam Lambert all made it, none of whom we hear sing.

104 made it through and we see a montage of them all celebrating.

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