I like the recap of previous contestants and winners at the beginning. Touching.

The girls holding pics of David Archuleta and screaming ‘no’ at the announcement of David Cook becoming the winner of Season 7 is hilarious.

They’re heading to Phoenix, Arizona for the first auditions. Ryan Seacrest is standing at the Grand Canyon. I’m jealous. 10,000 people came to audition. Kara Dioguardi is joining the judges’ panel this year. She’s a writer and collaborater for Jewel, Pink, Pussy Cat Dolls, and Celine Dion.

The first contestant is Twan who is singing a Michael Jackson song along with tap dancing. My prediction is that he isn’t going to Hollywood.  He does “The way you Make me Feel”. He actually isn’t as bad as I expected. It’s a unanimous no from the judges.

Emily Wynne-Hughes is next whose mother was a singer. Emily is a singer in an all girl rock ’n roll band. She’s going to sing “Baracuda” by Hart.  I don’t like it. She isn’t hitting the notes right or something. Simon says very good. Paula predicts top 5 for her. She gets approval from all 4 judges. Um…maybe we were listening to 2 different singers.

Rocker Randy Madden is yearning for someone to tell him he’s great. He sings “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. Simon says it was wimpy and cliche. Randy tears up pleading his case for Simon. The bickering between Paula and Simon has begun already. Randy receives 4 no’s.

The next contestant is J.B. Ahfua. He’s good and has a very mature sounding voice for only 16 years old. Simon says he has a good voice but needs to loosen up a bit. Paula echoes on the voice. All judges say yes- he’s going to Hollywood.

Michael Gurr is singing “Starts with Goodbye”. What the heck is he doing? He’s hunched over and doing something funky with his voice. Randy is holding up a piece of paper to cover his face. Simon couldn’t understand a word and Paula agrees. Michael asks if he can come back in 5 minutes- Simon says 5 years wouldn’t make any difference. He sings another song- one by Kara Dioguardi and to no surprise, it sounds the same as the previous song.

Phoenix hits a dry patch as several contestants sing popular hit songs that don’t sound anything like the original.

Aundre Caraway aka X-ray is up next singing “Cactus Baby”. His dancing is over the top and he starts clapping during the song. Simon calls him Cactus. All judges pass on X-ray.

Next is Arianna Afsar who has been singing since she was 6. She founded an organization called Adopt-A-Grandfriend where teens perform for the elderly in nursing homes. She sings “Put Your Records On” and does a great job. Simon says she has a good voice. Paula says she’s stunning. Kara liked her. Randy liked it. She’s through to Hollywood.

9 others got tickets to Hollywood on the first day. That’s it?

Elijah Scarlett has the deepest voice I’ve ever heard. He sings “My First, My Last, My Everything.” He sings exactly like how he talks. Simon says it was like something out of a horror movie. Paula says he could do voice-overs in movies.

Lea Marie Golde is one those really annoying girls. C’mon you know the ones I’m talking about. She says she’s a cross between Hillary Duff and Madonna. Um…okay. She’s written over 100 songs and is Kara’s biggest fan. Wow, she has a lot of time on her hands for a 16  year old. She’s singing “Everytime We Touch.” Simon rolls his eyes during her song. Simon calls her performace annoying. Agreed. Kara compares it to a musical.  And it’s a no.

Stevie Wright is gonna sing “At Last” by Etta James. Wow, good job! She’s only 16 too. She made it. Paula says she has Kelly Clarkson strength.

Michael Sarver has the 5th most dangerous job in the world on an oil rig. He has a wife and 2 kids to care for. I hope he makes it and I haven’t heard him sing yet.  He sings “Thank You” by Boyz II Men. Fantastic! Kara says he’s like a sweet rough neck. Simon says he has likability. The judges say yes.

Nice, a girl in a bikini is auditioning. She tells Ryan she wants to make out when she gets her golden ticket. Simon says she’s smart for coming to her audition in her bikini. The bikini girl is Katrina Darrell. Surprisingly, she’s decent. The camera keeps zooming in on her. Ok, she’s cute, enough! The guys are first to say yes. Kara says she doesn’t have the voice to sing that song. She gets cocky with Kara. She’s on the hunt for Ryan to make out with him. Whoa, she really does kiss him. Yuck- at least it wasn’t an open mouth kiss.

Okay anyone that calls themselves “Sexual Chocolate” has issues. He’s singing a Stevie Wonder song. Simon calls it not great. It’s a no for Hollywood, but his mom is buying him a new car just for auditioning. Rough.

“Lets Hear it for the Boy” is sung by Brianna Quijada who has a very bubbly personality. Randy says no as does Kara. Paula says yes as does Simon. Wow, Simon never ceases to amaze me!

Deanna Brown has a huge southern drawl. She has a very unique voice. I like it-so do Randy and Kara. Paula likes her quiet confidence. Simon thought it was a terrific audition. We’ll see her in Hollywood.

Cody Sheldon has eye liner on. Ew! Not my fave!  He loves making horror films. He sings “Wonderful World” by James Morrison. Kara is surprised by his performance.  And we’ll be seeing more eye liner in Hollywood. Awesome.

Alex Wagner-Trugman taught himself to sing. This should be interesting. He wants Randy to join him on the chorus. He does a weird twitching with his head. Randy says it worked. Simon disagrees. He got the approval of 3 judges.

The auditions end with a ridiculous compilation of “Wanted Dead or Alive”.

Nope, Scott McIntyre has a touching story to close out the show. He is blind and plays the piano classically. He entered college at 14. He’s singing “And So It Goes” by Billy Joel. Beautiful. Scott is going to Hollywood.

27 total tickets were given out in Phoenix. Tomorrow the auditions will be in Kansas City.