Orlando was the host city, so American Idol 9 started Wednesday’s audition episode with footage of an actual rocket launch. How many careers will the show launch - or even end - this year? That knowledge is many months away, so for now let’s just focus on a bunch of bad singers…and, a few great ones.

Ten thousand turned up to sing for the judges in Florida, but the men of Idol (Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson) were more than two hundred miles away in Miami. Meanwhile, Kara DioGuardi and guest judge Kristen Chenoweth arrived in the sunny audition city.

Eventually, the men arrived (and a little hungover, at that), and the show carried on with the creative Theo Glinton. He shouted out “Battlefield,” and the judges allowed him to carry on far too long. “When you walked in like that, I mentally said no,” Simon Cowell caustically told him. “It doesn’t work, man,” Randy Jackson added. “Not for this,” Kristin Chenoweth squeaked sweetly.

Many more would be turned away as the day wore on. Among those who waited was Seth Rollins, who has an autistic son at home. Rollins, 28, is an insurance adjuster with one last chance of getting on the show (due to the age limit cutoff). He struck a chord with judges as he beautifully sang “Someone to Watch Over Me,” with a fair modicum of control over his smoky vocals. “I like your voice,” Kristen Chenoweth complimented him. Seth quickly won himself a unanimous “yes” vote from the panel.

Jermaine Purifoy also sang an old standard, this one famously crooned by Tony Bennett. His voice was perfectly modulated. Kristen loved the “pure” sound of him, while Randy Jackson found himself “blown away.” “I think the chicks will like you,” Simon Cowell decided, and by the time the praise was through the golden ticket was rather anticlimactic.

Eventually, only one contestant remained at the end of Day 1. Shelby Dressel, 18, is a waitress who can’t use the right side of her face. Even without full use, it’s a very pretty face. Since Shelby also had a pretty voice to go with it, her chances at Hollywood looked good right away. “I liked you, but I wasn’t blown away with your voice,” Simon Cowell admitted. Randy Jackson, however, really liked her and the voice. Kristen Chenoweth saw potential. All four of them gave Shelby a positive vote, bringing the day’s total up to 18 ticket-winners.

Day 2 was conducted without a guest judge, making Paula Abdul’s absence from the show even bigger. The day began with Jay Stone, who added quite a few special effect sounds to his audition. When he finally did begin to sing, it was hard to determine whether or not he actually had any vocal talent within it all. Even so, the performance was interesting enough to win over Kara DioGuardi. “That was pretty amazing, though,” she declared, giving him a “yes” vote. Jay then busted out a few tuneful licks to prove to Randy Jackson that he can truly sing (and he can). “Okay, so it’s a no,” Jackson decided anyway. Simon Cowell’s vote was also a firm no. Outside, Ryan Seacrest gave an accurate play-by-play of events in the room for the friends and family - who were soon overjoyed when Stone won himself a golden ticket after DioGuardi was able to sway Randy’s mind.

Janell Wheeler impressed the judges with her bluesy vocals, Brittany Starr Jones wowed them with her charismatic energy and Kasi Bedford brought a lot of spunk with her raspy tone. All three were given a ticket to survive another audition on American Idol.

Cornelius Edwards sang Tina Turner with a little too much energy, seriously rending his pants in the process. “That is sacrifice,” Simon Cowell was impressed enough to give Edwards a speedy “yes.” “Just get some new pants and leave,” Randy Jackson told him, but only after welcoming Cornelius to Hollywood.

A pair of adorable sisters followed, both from New Jersey. Bernadette Desimone went first with an entertaining little number, though her vocals might not be the strongest. Amanda Desimone then stepped forward to sing with more power and better vocals. Randy said yes to both girls. “How do you break these two up?” Kara asked, giving them both a yes vote. Simon gave them both golden tickets, though he said he would have given Bernadette a no.

Jarrod Norrell vowed not to give in before he launched into his very warbly version of “Amazing Grace,” which he delivered with a ton of confidence but no actual singing talent. He seemed to be trying very hard as the judges stared with bemused looks on their faces. “What was that? Do you really think you’re a good singer?” Kara DioGuardi wanted to know. “Honey, it sounded like a lawnmower,” she added. Simon Cowell tried to dismiss him. Norrell begged for a little more time, then launched into his tune even as Randy Jackson tried to persuade him against it. After a few moments, Jackson called for security. “I can’t leave. I cannot leave,” Norrell said, as security guards forcibly took him from the audition room. Jarrod was handcuffed outside the chamber and led out of the area. Not quite as dramatic as the teasers made it out to be - and the handcuffs really, really seemed unnecessary.

It was time for a more positive vibe as the episode reached its end. This good vibration was achieved with Matt Lawrence, an all-American guy who once craved adventure. At the age of 15, Lawrence robbed a bank and went to jail for four years as a result. Okay, so he’s more interesting than the average contestant. He appropriately sang “Trouble,” and belted it out in a very pleasant voice. It was good enough to get him through to Hollywood, as the entire panel saw fit to vote him through. Simon thought it was the “easiest yes,” he’d said all day.

The show will be in LA next week as the audition episodes continue. Meanwhile, make sure to check out our other American Idol 9 posts.