Mile-high 'Idol' hopes for all ages

"American Idol" has reached the kind of cultural status that thousands upon thousands of people show up to try out at every auditioning city.

Though few get the chance to sing before the judges, it still leaves an awful lot of people to fit on camera, particularly when Fox is so keen to get its celebrities-fall-and-hit-their-head-on-the-ice show on the air that the network limits two days in Denver to 60 minutes of airtime, minus commercials.

Given the limitations, the show's producers are judicious in who they choose to give airtime. Train wrecks are always fun, but it also helps to highlight at least a few contestants good enough to reach the next stage of the competition.

Particularly in the audition stages, the camera focuses on two types of hopefuls: teenagers who look like their next stop is a PG-13 movie and an ice-cream soda, and music veterans who know time is running out on their chances at stardom. The first chance and the last chance are always the most compelling.

Denver offered some of both. A teenager managed to impress the skeptics, a woman from Kansas facing a second eviction got good news, and a married father of two stepchildren came all the way from North Carolina to take his chance at the Hollywood round. And, of course, there were the usual screechers and screamers to keep the audience laughter flowing.

'Normally I loathe 16-year-olds'
At first, it looked like the Mile High City would turn into Death Valley for the entire region. Marlows Davis Jr. became the traditional first contestant in line who has his delusions of grandeur rudely shattered, but the three that followed were no better. It looked like the acerbic Simon Cowell would have to spend his bathroom breaks writing up new insults to keep the show moving.

Lisa Tucker shut everyone up. The rarest of all auditioners, a well-grounded 16-year-old with both of her absurdly normal parents on the scene, offering quiet but firm support, she became the first on the broadcast to make it through.

Even Simon was silenced, chewing on his pen thoughtfully as though he were shocked that someone at the Denver auditions wasn't completely terrible. "I think you're the best 16-year-old we've had through put the competition."

"Normally I loathe 16-year-olds," he added unnecessarily, since it's pretty obvious that Simon loathes all teenagers, as well as puppies, rainbows and most of humanity. Considering that then-16-year-old Diana DeGarmo was the runner-up in season three, it either says a lot about Tucker's performance, or Simon's lack of long-term memory.

It may well be the former; Tucker isn't the typical teen contestant. She was a finalist on "Star Search" as a 14-year-old in 2003, appeared as "Young Nala" in the Los Angeles production of "The Lion King" when she was 11 and was tabbed by Variety Magazine as one of their Top Ten Kids to Watch. Odds are small that she would be scared to perform in front of Paula Abdul.

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