Did Beantown Bring It?

One audition episode down, seven more to go before we hit Hollywood…

Here are my thoughts on what Beantown had to offer…

Instead of the sappy beginning the show did last year, “Idol” decided to take a different route and show us previews of upcoming contestants—something they don’t usually do. It’s all part of their “They all start somewhere” theme for this season…

And was it just me or could that receptionist have been Kellie Pickler’s sister?...

Nice to see the show take on the headlines head on. But when they say “a new beginning” why do I feel like it’s the beginning of the end?...

When they said Simon was “steering the ship” I think I almost teared up…

Am I the only one who thinks that this was Victoria Beckham’s audition to be the fourth judge? She is represented by “Idol” guru Simon Fuller after all. But did anyone else notice how many horrified looks she gave the cameras?

Was it just me or did Janet (the “Idol” karaoke master) remind anyone else of Mary Catherine Gallagher (“SNL”)? However I think I will take her advice and jump up and down in front of the mirror every morning and say I’m awesome…

I think Maddy, the 16 year-old with 11 siblings (four of whom have Down’s Syndrome), will be a big story in Hollywood. “Hallelujah” was an excellent choice and a very mature one for a 16-year-old…

Did anyone else feel a little sad when Simon told Pat he was “something to look forward to” for next year?

Apparently at this point we saw some good female auditions, but since my local FOX affiliate felt the need to fire their local break in the middle of them, I can’t tell you anything about them. So if anyone out there actually got to see them, please let me know who they were…

I think Amadeo (“Hoochie Coochie Man”) will be a big story in Hollywood…

Loved the use of “Return to Innocence” for Derek’s (“Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word”) piece. Who else laughed out loud when he said he liked how Chris Brown touched kids? I think he had an actual voice in there somewhere if he would just make up his mind about it…

And the show couldn’t have thrown Clay Aiken a little bone and used his version of “Sorry” for their montage?...

I could possibly put Luke (“Girl Like You”) on my hottie list…

What was up with Kara having such a short fuse with Andrew (“House of the Rising Sun”)? I can see her being irritated, but…Loved Simon changing his mind about him when Kara said she hated him…

Ashley (“If I Ain’t Got You”) was gorgeous and good but she’s the type of contestant that gets swallowed up by Hollywood…

LOVED Tyler (“Let’s Get It On”). I’m with Victoria. His look was great…

Lisa (“Vision of Love”) had an actual voice in there somewhere. Maybe it was hiding in her backside that the judges couldn’t take their eyes off of…

Mike (“Yesterday”) is one of those contestants that usually I like but doesn’t get to go through. I’m glad that wasn’t the case this time. Loved the Boston accent. But why did Simon and Randy leave? And what exactly does he do as an actor on Codzilla?

I loved the lower register of Katie (“At Last”), but she could also get swallowed up in Hollywood. And poor Ryan. When he told Katie to call her grandmother, did he forget that she can’t speak English?

Why is Simon so antsy?...

I really liked Joshua (“God Bless the Broken Road”). I understand what Simon was saying about the immaturity of his voice for a 28-year-old, but I’m glad they let him go through…

Justin (“Feelin’ Good”) is what you call the total “Idol” package: looks, voice and touching personal story (had to overcome cancer). But I was totally surprised by his audition. It was very different. I’m putting him on my hottie list…

After hearing about his Nigerian heritage, I was a little surprised to see the graphic say Bosa (“You Look So Good in Love”) is from Columbus. He was a nice guy with a good story, but I wasn’t all that impressed. I don’t know if he’ll last that long…

What is up with all of the big families?...

Leah (“Blue Skies”) was so good she got the sly Simon smile, but I can see Hollywood chewing her up and spitting her out—especially if they do Group Day (which I don’t know if they’re doing or not)…

In all, 32 from Boston made it through to the next round…

My favorite from Beantown would definitely be Tyler, with Justin coming in second…

What did you guys think? Do you think we saw the next American Idol tonight?

Tomorrow night we head to Atlanta with Mary J. Blige in the fourth chair for a 90-minute episode beginning at 8 p.m…

And by the way, AmericanIdol.com is promising that we'll be able to see everyone who advanced to Hollywood from Boston on the website beginning at Midnight PT (3 a.m. ET). I hope you guys will forgive me if I don't stay up for it...