Summary "American Idol" - "Auditions: Boston" - January 13, 2010

The "American Idol" machine comes to the Bean to kick off the ninth season. Thousands of people came to Gillette Stadium for their shot at "Idol" glory.

Janet is very excitable, likes to jump up and down in an unflattering belly shirt, and claims that she does really well on the "Idol" video game. Predictably, she is bad, singing an awful version of "Pocketful of Sunshine." (Do viewers really and truly never tire of this?) Four no's.

Maddy is number 9 of 12 kids, she has several siblings with Down's Syndrome. She sings "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen and it's pretty nice, good pitch, a little breathy, and sort of earnest. They all like her and think she's got heart and soul. Four yes's.

We get a bit of holding room hijinks from a happy dancing guy named Pat who likes to yell "holla." He is, of course, awful, singing "Womanizer." All no's and Randy tells him to stop singing forever.

We get a quick montage of three women who make it through.

Jennifer who jazzily scats her way through "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead."

Deirdre who, I think, sings "Be With You" (by Mr. Big) in a sort of overheated way. And...

Jess who does a smoky version of "People Get Ready."

Amadeo is a big Italian family that we get to meet at a big pasta dinner. At the audition he tries to soak in the moment. He sings "Hoochie Coochie Man" with a lot of gusto. They like him, personally, and Simon wants to give someone like him a break. Four yes's.

Derek says he's a very spiritual guy who likes to go on meditative walks. He literally stops to smell the flowers outside Government Center. He does a weird, nasally, many voiced version of "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word." Simon says it was rubbish. Derek is sad that he won't be able to touch America.

We get a montage of sad, crying rejects.

Mere is another ball of energy, she likes anime and martial arts and is quirky and does a version of "Piece of My Heart" that is not good. Simon and Randy tell her she's not good. She gets upset and says singing is her life. Four no's.

Two boys get through in quick succession. They are:

Luke who impresses them with "Fall For You" and...

Benjamin who croons "All My Loving"

We meet angry Andrew who is mad about all the waiting. He finally gets in and he is bratty and obnoxious which is really too bad. His sulky weirdness tanks him since he actually does an oddly groovy, stylized version of "House of the Rising Sun" that is kind of swampy and theatrical. Kara says he shouldn't have such a bad attitude about waiting if he wants to be in show business in general and "Idol" in particular. She and Victoria Beckham are super annoyed by his arrogance and bad energy and think he doesn't have the goods to back it up. (Which is pretty funny.) Randy, Kara, and Victoria say no and Simon says he would've said yes.

We get a montage of people talking about formal training as a prelude to two people, Bill and Michael who can carry a tune but are way over the top.

This is a dream for Ashley who sings "If I Ain't Got You." She does a nice job. Kara loves her and thinks she's got commercial looks and voice and is her favorite today. Simon thinks she may have "it." Four yes's.

Tyler has titanium plates in his arms and curly hair and although he's a drummer he wants to be a frontman. He seems nice and sings "Let's Get it On" well enough to get the ladies very excited and four yes's. Plus, Victoria loved his clothes. Simon says he will remember this audition.

Ryan tells us 17 others got a yes as well.

Day Two

This hour we get a little Boston history and the inspirational stories and, of course, more deluded singers like....

Lisa who thinks she's a diva but who hits as many bad notes as good in her version of, oh no, "Vision of Love." She takes the abuse well. And...

Ryan whose "Ring of Fire" is not hot. And...a montage of people with tough accents and eccentricities.

Mike pilots the speed boat "Codzilla" in the Boston harbor. His version of "Yesterday" sounds fine, unremarkable, not bad at all but not amazing, but good enough to get him through with three yes's. (Randy is the one who said no saying he didn't think his voice was that great.)

Katie is from Connecticut and is really close to her grandmother, who has Alzheimer's disease. We see Katie care for her and sing to her. She sings "At Last" and is strong and confident. Four yes's. (She calls grandma and everyone has a nice cry.)

Joshua sings "Bless the Broken Road" in a sweet sort of nasally voice. Victoria thinks he has a nice little voice. Simon thinks he was forgettable. They taunt him while trying to make him more assertive. He gets four yes's just by being good-natured.

We get a montage of bad singers, bad songs, forgotten lyrics, etc But they all take it well. .

Justin is a cancer survivor. He sings "Feelin' Good" and they all like his voice, looks, and presence. Four yes's.

We get a montage of Victoria Beckham's generally nice and supportive demeanor.

Norberto sings "Every Time We Touch" but keeps forgetting the words. Victoria says she used to forget words too. Simon hated it and the fact that he sang it with a beard. He thought it was too weird.

Bosa is Nigerian-American and has seven siblings and seems very nice. He sings "You Look So Good in Love." It's fine. Simon says he was forgettable. Victoria disagrees and gets annoyed with Simon for him rolling his eyes. He gets three yes's. (Simon says no.) They tell him he has work to do.

The last contestant is Leah by her own description an overprotected, church-going gal from Long Island who has always expressed herself musically. She sings "Blue Skies" and she's got a strong voice, maybe a little overbearing and strident in places but also passages of nice tone and phrasing. Four yes's.

We get a montage of happy, joyful yes's. (Ryan says there were 31 overall).

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