American Idol held their Louisville auditions at the famous Churchill Downs racetrack, known for the Kentucky Derby, great hats and mint juleps. The track officially opened in 1875, and it’s been a Louisville mainstay ever since.

Louisville, by the way, is pronounced by most Kentucky natives thusly: Loo-uh-vull. This city is not pronounced, as Ryan Seacrest seems to think, as Looey-ville. Nor it is called Loo-iss-ville. The s is silent and there’s no long e sound - unless you are a Yankee. Outsiders like to say the state is somehow divided over the pronunciation issue. This is not the case - we’re just good-natured enough to poke a bit of fun at those who are. Say it with me, now - Loo-uh-vull.

But I digress. The show opened not with a Louisville native but a Cincinnati girl named Tiffany Shedd. This bleach blonde wore too much make-up and sang abominably. Her very long exit scene was punctuated with rage. We can’t all be singers.

Philadelphia-born Joanna Pacitti, who was once signed, did not share a similar fate. This pretty brunette was known by Kara DioGuardi and sang quite beautifully. The panel, impressed with her chops, quickly gave Pacitti a ticket to Hollywood.

Next came Mark Mudd and the “be careful” controversy. Mudd was hyped for a while before the show aired as being a threatening person. I looked forward to his audition with the usual macabre glee. Born in Cox’s Creek, Kentucky, Mudd is an actual relative of the infamous Dr. Samuel Mudd. Not familiar with the story? Mudd was the actual guy who fixed up the leg on one Mr. John Wilkes Booth, who by the way was not from Kentucky, the very night the latter fatally shot president Abraham Lincoln. Mark Mudd himself is your classic good ole boy, but he was a bad singer. He sported a UK cell phone case (I’ve got one, too - Go Big Blue) and a denim shirt. Upon his departure, Mudd politely told the judges to “be careful.” It was the catalyst that started a bit of a row among the judges and tons of promos from FOX. Ridiculously, Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul reacted quite badly to the comment, convinced that this was a dire threat. 

On this topic, I can write with some conviction. I know, quite surely, that Mudd meant no harm in his words. I know this because I’m from Kentucky, and clever enough to recognize old-fashioned southern hospitality when I hear it. It’s quite common, in fact, for people ‘round here to tell one another to “be careful” - it’s a phrase I use every time I offer up a farewell. But you can’t always expect Yankees to take such phrases in the proper fashion - I personally had a similar experience while on holiday in New York. At any rate, let me assure you that Mark Mudd is not going to go on a rampage because he didn’t get a golden ticket. Even having never met the man I feel quite confident in this assessment.

At any rate, a good-looking Ohio boy next took the floor before the judges. Brent Keith Smith had a nice look, a nice voice, and a nice audition. He garnered four yes votes and a ticket to Hollywood. A clip of the well-known Louisville Slugger Museum (immediately recognizable for the enormous bat that graces the building) followed.

Irene Angueloba from Tennessee sang so horribly, her bit was nearly over before I finally figured out what she was singing. Obianuju Omwurak from North Carolina was equally bad, as was Will Heuser from Louisville. Ryan Benningfield, another Louisville native, turned up with weak pipes and a wild outfit that guaranteed him at least a little TV time. Patrick Warner, from Ohio, finished up the montage of bad singers.

Dueling piano player Matt Giraud was next. His voice was a little breathy but nice enough to listen to, scoring him not just four yes votes but a rare compliment from Simon Cowell. The notoriously hard-to-please judge was reminded of Elliott Yamin (season 5) and told Matt “you could be great.” He’ll have to the chance to prove, in Hollywood, whether or not this is true.

Ross Plavsic from Crestview Hills, KY came next. He was, for lack of a better description (or any more information than what I was given), a nerd in a suit. His wobbly rendition certainly wasn’t enough to impress the panel. Paula Abdul looked a little ill, but Kara seemed highly amused. “That was very interesting,” Kara offered a diplomatic statement, just before Ross started to drink Paula’s water. He was summarily dismissed, sang for the cameras on his way out and received rousing applause from the crowd. Just one more aspect of southern hospitality, y’all.

At the end of Day 1, ten hopefuls received their tickets to Hollywood. Which singers from Day 2 would join these lucky few?

Adorable Alexis Grace, from Memphis, was the first to follow them. She presented a tiny, blonde package - and delivered an overwhelmingly powerful, soulful voice. It was very surprising. Simon Cowell said he liked her “commercial face,” and Alexis wrangled four yes votes from the judges.

Energetic Louisville native Aaron Williamson next entered the audition room. It’s very hard not to like this guy - and he really, really put it all on for the judges when he sang. I liked him, and so did the judges, but he did not manage to win them enough to get his golden ticket.

Rebecca Garcia’s fame preceded her into the audition room. This Louisville-born beauty was seen by one Paula Abdul on the local news. She sang Carrie Underwood very nervously. Rebecca’s a pretty girl, but she’s no singer, a fact that Simon Cowell tried to make plain to her. Kara thought the audition was a joke, which truly upset poor, hopeful Rebecca. Cowell told her to “stop, quit the singing” and sent Garcia on her way. She was very disappointed.

Next came a montage of the Hollywood-bound: Kris Allen, from Arkansas; Felicia Barton, from Virgina; Ryan Johnson, from Ohio; and Shera Lawrence from Bowling Green, Kentucky (approximately two hours as the car drives from Louisville). All sang beautifully, all received golden tickets.

Laneshe Young, from Ohio, was the main story and last singer of the day. She was a very cute girl in a very cute outfit with a very melancholy story. Is it just me, or is the show even smarmier than usual this season? I feel a little like I’m being guilted into caring about the fate of the singers. At any rate, despite her very rough road, there’s no reason to feel pity for pretty Laneshe. She’s got a great personality and a great voice, and she’s definitely on her way. Young even had the courage to sing an original song - and she nailed it. Simon Cowell told her “I think you’re fun.” Randy Jackson “thought it was hot” and all the judges were more than happy to send her to Hollywood.

All in all, 19 from the Louisville auditions will move on to the Hollywood Week auditions. I still can’t get a full list of who these people are, nor do I know if even one of them was actually born in Louisville. However, Kentuckians, let us not forget lovely little Deanna Brown (from Louisville, though she auditioned in Phoenix) won her golden ticket early and will join her fellow Kentucky natives in Hollywood. She’s still my favorite - for obviously biased reasons.

Idol auditions will continue next week in sunny Jacksonville, Florida. Let us just hope that the jaded judges run into no more “be carefuls” during their tour of the south.

(You can find all the American Idol 8 posts here.)