American Idol kicked off its 11th season Wednesday in Southern style. And the year's first audition show, shot in Savannah, Ga., had enough characters to populate a Tennessee Williams play.
There was Amy Brumfield, a 24-year-old from Gatlinburg, Tenn., who lives in a tent. Gabi Carrubba, a 16-year-old tap-dancing champion. NBA dancer Brittany Kerr. Eric Nowak from Buffalo, N.Y., convinced that Steven Tyler is her future ex-husband. Shaun Kraisman, who's convinced he's Ryan Seacrest -- and a good enough mimic to convince just about everybody else. (Fine, let Ryan go to the Today show.) And there's diminutive 17-year-old David Leathers Jr., better known to his friends as Mr. Steal Your Girl, who actually competed in a singing contest with Scotty McCreery two years ago. David hinted that he beat Scotty that night, but I'm not sure I believe him, good as his Michael Jackson-like versions of Remember the Rain and Never Can Say Goodbye were.
Who will people still be talking about once the Hollywood rounds hit? Maybe Shannon Magrane, the 15-year-old daughter of former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joe Magrane. Maybe Schyler and Colton Dixon, who returned from last season -- though the judges had to drag 19-year-old Colton, who barely missed out on the semifinals last season, back into the mix against his will. But they'll definitely remember Phillip Phillips, a Georgia boy, named after his daddy, who has a country-fried accent and sings Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson like you wouldn't believe.
All in all, 42 contestants from Savannah got golden tickets. And the ones we saw showed a lot of promise.
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