Season 9, Season 9 Auditions

An off night for American Idol in Chicago … and my laptop

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American Idol judges handed out just 13 golden tickets during the Chicago episode. (FOX Photo)Before we get on with tonight’s audition show …

Worried that Simon Cowell’s departure will mean the end of American Idol?

Don’t. Adam Lambert told Oprah Winfrey this afternoon that the show will go on — that Idol is about the contestants, not the judges. (For more of what he said, go here.)

More encouraging might be the report from Zap 2 It that the parent company of 19 Entertainment is on the verge of signing a long-term deal with FOX that would keep Idol on the air for years to come.

Back to the Chicago auditions … between a laptop computer that wouldn’t work and contestants who couldn’t sing, what a frustrating night.

At least there wasn’t much to blog about since tonight’s attempt at live blogging was a dismal failure. But I promise to try again tomorrow night. If the laptop survives.

But really, wasn’t that episode a total letdown, especially after the fun “Pants On the Ground” show out of Atlanta.

All the signs in the world didn't seem to help the Chicago auditioners Tuesday night. (FOX Photo)And, let’s see. The judges handed out 31 golden tickets in Boston. They handed out 23 golden tickets in Atlanta.

Ryan Seacrest started tonight’s show by saying Chicago was the biggest audition yet. And only 13 people earned a pass to Hollywood.

Maybe the producers focused on the silly Tuesday night because there was a true shortage of talent.

But something tells me more time could have been spent on the Hollywood-bound and less on folks who would do anything, sing anything and act anyway in order to get a couple of minutes of TV time.

The highlights …

* After watching her feature clip, you have to think this is the year Angela Martin makes it to the semifinals. I mean, this will mark her third trip to Hollywood and Idol spent a lot of time outlining her string of misfortune. Including having to drop out of last year’s competition because of a traffic warrant. Then she got rave reviews from all the judges.

* John Park seemed to impress all of the judges with his voice and guest judge Shania Twain with more than his voice. She spent a lot of time talking about his “bottom end” in what ranks as the silliest moment from a guest judge yet this season.

* I thought one of the most distinctive voices of the night came from a guy named Keith Semple, who we saw for just a few seconds at the end of the show and didn’t impress Simon at all.

* We met Kaitlyn Epperly and Paige DeChausse, two gals with back stories. Kaitlyn tried out because Idol is her mom’s favorite show and her parents are going through a divorce. Paige has asthma and nearly died when she was 15. Both made it to Hollywood.

I’ll provide more on tonight’s golden ticket recipients as soon as I can.

I promise. After all, I’m now using a computer that actually works.

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