It’s kind of nice to have only one hour of auditions but it also means we see even fewer of the good singers. In fact, we caught just six of the 31 who made it to Hollywood from San Diego. We also saw 10 bad singers. So we’ve seen and heard 16 of the 83 who have made it through after three cities. Of the six good ones, I liked Tetiana, Michael Johns and Samantha the best. Carly was good but she really is too professional for my taste. Been there, done that. Maybe the whole WSJ story thing colored my impression. You can see why the “Idol” producers left that out but it is kind of lame that only those of us who read and write these blogs know about her background.

Arrogant? But good: Tetiana Ostapowych of Venice, Calif. is stunningly beautiful, looks a bit like the receptionist in “Ugly Betty.” Her voice is lovely but Simon says she is only good, not great. “Obnoxious,” Simon said.

Heartwarming story #1: Perrie Cataldo of Phoenix is a single dad with a four-year-old son whose mom died in a nasty, unspecified way in 2005. He’s got some presence and his take of Boyz II Men is a bit over-boiled with the vibratto but he’s certainly good enough for Hollywood.

Michael Johns, 28, of Los Angeles (originally from Australia) has the looks and the pipes to make it to the top 50. In fact, if the spoiler page is correct, he is.

Wow! Three good singers to start off. This must mean a lot of bad ones to come.

Here they come: Marat Hayrapetyan wears an absurdly frilly white shirt. Christopher Mitchell is no Ace Young. Tehilla Lauder just kind of slays them with vibratto. Then there’s the copycat Mariah Carey lover. Valerie Reyes has some of Carey’s breathiness and vibratto but none of her vocal strength or tone. Then the high notes come and breaks glasses across the country. “The only resemblance to Mariah Carey is Mariah Carey’s CD left out in the sun for a year, then trying to play it,” Simon said.

Then the gimmicky singers—Joseph (dressed in a Mexican poncho) & Juanita Mejia (doing a mime deal). Joseph actually wasn’t half bad but a gimmick is a gimmick. Monique Gibson ruins a Whitney song, then dared to try Mariah. Ugh! Then her friend Christopher Brown also screws up Whitney and wouldn’t shut up. He gets escorted out, thank God.

Love thy Simon: Samantha Musa is a Simon obsessive and her sis sits on his lap while she does Aretha Franklin. She’s a beaut and she’s actually a good singer. “I thought it was a great audition,” says Simon.

Try, try again: Then there’s the “idiot” who did the Statue of Liberty in season five and came back. Blake Boshnack of Long Beach, N.Y., who has tried out 11 times, did a decent, almost desperate “Stand By Me” and the judges didn’t stand by him at all. Simon tried to get Paula to say no and she wouldn’t say it.

Alexandria Ruiz got a no. Sarah Long was incomprehensible and was compared to William Hung (“The biggest insult ever,” she said.) Then a bunch of no-name sad folks. Fan-holding, shy Alberto (“Singing is the ultimate rebuilding of my soul”) Hurtado looks like a nightmare in the making before he even sang. And his biographical song was indeed horrid. “The most depressing song in my life,” Simon said.

Dreadlocked Aaron “Leave Me Alone” Garrett was dismal.

Emotional story alert: David Archuletta is a man who has had partial “vocal paralysis” and does John Mayer reasonably well but isn’t quite good enough. He might get a sympathy vote. “You have a really good voice at 16,” Randy said. “I think you have a nice tone, mature for your young age,” Paula said. “I agree with Paula and Randy. A great choice of song,” Simon said. Yup, he got the sympathy vote. (According to MJ’s site, he won Star Search when he was 12.)

They end with Carly Hennessy (who is called Smithson, her husband’s name, on the show). She auditioned in Vegas season five but couldn’t get a visa. She was also the source of the Wall Street Journal story about a singer MCA spent $2.2 million on and she sold only a few hundred CDs. This latter info was not included to the audience. Anyway, she’s back and quite nervous. She also added a monstrous tattoo on her right arm since 2005, probably influenced by her tattoo shop owner/hubby (who has tattoos on his face!) Vocally, she’s a pro and it shows. “That wasn’t as good as two years ago,” Simon said. I thought it was okay but she didn’t move me at all.

Good news: with only one hour, they didn’t bother with the “group” sing.

And here’s Kellie Pickler on Ellen DeGeneres performing her third single “Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind.” Thank you DJ Slim for your work on taping it! For once, Kellie keeps her pups in check. She looks great! This song is skirting the top 20 and it’s not half bad!