Or idiot that showed up dressed like Apollo Creed from Rocky. :rolleyes: WTF is wrong with these people?

OMG! He is gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the reasons why the two guys from Seattle got on the Today show was because one of them turned out to be a Special Olympics athlete. The niece of my best friend also knows him. Really nice, making fun of a kid with disabilities. I'm really surprised American Idol didn't get more criticism for that...it just shows that they need to be more sensitive to some of the people that come through that door. I'm sure they can tell the people who have real emotional/mental issues from the ones who just want their 15 minutes.

The Special Olympics folks have made a formal statement about it.. from this article
http://www.realitytvmagazine.com/blo..._idol_c_2.html

According to the official Special Olympics press release, “While polite isn’t a word one would normally associate with Cowell and company, a viewing of the episode in question shows that the judges were in fact gracious and very encouraging to Jayne during his rendition of "God Bless America." At one point, Abdul commented admiringly about Jayne’s spirit and advised him to "Always believe in yourself."”

The press release went on to state, “Whether on the stage of American Idol or on the field of competition for Special Olympics, people with intellectual disabilities don’t want to be pitied. They want to be judged for who they are and appreciated for what they can achieve. American Idol should be commended for providing Jayne with the same opportunity to succeed as any other contestant.”

After what, 6 years? of American Idol, the public KNOWS how these judges are and that the negativity is what gives them the ratings. Any of the people coming on this show are opening themself up to public scrutiny. Where were these kids' families or friends to discourage them? Where are any of these contestants family/friends? If I had a friend that was tone deaf, or had a disability and I knew they pretty much should just show up with a big red X on themself, I'd do anything to stop them from going. These people should know what they are getting into, unless they are just trying to get their 15 minutes.

The first thing Simon said to him when he came in the door was, "Have you borrowed Randy's trousers?" commenting about his weight. I just think that's a terribly rude thing to say to some one, especially someone you've never even met or spoken with.

As for "pity" for people with disabilities, I'm well aware of the issues. I won't get into what I've experienced as a Special Olympics volunteer or around my aunt who was a paraplegic most of her life. I was not suggesting pity, I was suggesting some *decency* be shown to people who clearly have been encouraged by people who were probably well-intentioned to try out and "go for it." We love to tell people in this country that anything is possible, and a number of those people at the AI auditions probably would not be there if they hadn't been told by people that care about them that they were good singers, just because they didn't want to hurt their feelings. Also, all of the people we see on the TV have been passed on to the second round by producers who've already heard them...don't you think that gives some of them even more false hope? Their info./applications are also passed on to the judges, so the producers and judges are aware of their situation/issues/trivia, etc. Of course I'm only talking about the people who seem to have...issues...not people who are just cocky and obnoxious and know they can't sing.

I dont understand why Paula is mean to some people, but then other times she chastises Simon for being mean.:confused: :rolleyes:

The girl with the insane hair and her insane-haired mother? From Gainesville, FL. Alachua County Residents!

(UF students know exactly what I'm talking about.)

I LOVED Simon at the end. He was cracking me up.

I saw on my TiVo that next Wednesday's show is "Best of Idol Auditions 2007." Maybe we'll actually get to see the good ones! No one really stood out tonight aside from the looneys.

I must've missed it, where was Paula on day 2?

They said Paula was attending "a family matter" or something like that back in California and therefore was unavailable for Day 2 of the Birmingham auditions.

I like the Jack Osbourne looking guy. He's funny and he has a nice voice.
I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in the Hollywood round.

Family and friends deluding relatives/friends is what is wrong with America today. If a person is tone-deaf and/or flat and cannot carry a note in a bucket, you need to be the one to tell them, not Simon Cowell and the Fox Network. You can recover from hurt feelings, but national public humiliation takes a lot longer to get over. I really wish that these people encouraging these terrible performers would just stop right now. Every single bad auditionee has said "my family/friends/people say I can sing really well." They're as idiotic as the person auditioning.
The last chick tonight, for instance, Brandy-oh god, why do people encourage that? "people say I can sing." It makes me wonder if they've actually heard her.

Me too!! He was really funny when asked why he wanted to be an American Idol and he said, "Because I want to make David Hasselhoff cry." How funny was that!! I don't even remember that at the end of last season.

Hung over. Did you see her on day 1? I'm betting she was hung over for days.

Courtney Love is potentially replacing Paula???? http://www.usmagazine.com/courtney_love_1 So, basically, they're replacing one cracked-out lunatic for another.