Carrie Underwood’s “Carnival Ride” sold even more than first-day estimates of about 425K and 450K. She ended up selling about 537,000 copies, according to hitsdailydouble.com. The Nielsen SoundScan numbers will be out later today but they usually are pretty close. That’s far bigger than her first CD, which sold about 315K two years ago. She has been on a major promo push, showing up on several talk shows and doing the National Anthem for game three of the World Series. And it doesn’t hurt that her first CD is nearing 6 million in sales and her current single “So Small” is in the top 5 on the country charts.

Mandisa also is selling a Christmas EP, available for download today and in stores November 20. It’s called “Christmas Joy EP.”

And Jordan’s cover for her first CD out November 20 looks like this:

She looks good, eh?

And according to mjsbigblog,, popmeister David Foster (Celine Dion, the Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand, Michael Buble) told an audience at Lincoln Center he is producing Kat McPhee’s next CD.

A blogger took photos of Diana DeGarmo performing at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon for a taping of the show “Gone Country.” Here’s the link.. According to the blogger, she got a good reception. Brenda, her mom, should be thrilled that Diana’s guitar had the words “Love Ya, Momma!” on it.

Other contestants she’s competing with include former Atlantan Bobby Brown, “Brady Bunch” alum Maureen McCormick and Wilson Phillips signer Carnie Wilson.

Carrie got to sing the National Anthem over the weekend for the World Series. Just his luck: Taylor Hicks was supposed to do so last night if there had been a game five of the World Series. But those pesky Red Sox swept the Rockies so no primetime exposure for Taylor.

Clay’s appearance on “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” is this Thursday so set up your Tivo. I’m sure he’ll be a hoot. I’ll preview it if I get an advance copy.

And Blake is offering a preview of his single “Break Anotha” here..

Close that hatch. Yes, the Hatch are goners. After watching the 12 finalists do Bob Dyland covers and originals, the Hatch is the easiest one to nix. First of all, the band’s original song was horrendously hookless and the lead singer lacks any real charisma or vocal talent. Plus the band came up second and that’s one of the worst spots to be in, especially for a two-hour show when viewership is extremely low at 8:10 p.m. (as opposed to just offensively poor by 9:50 p.m.)

But “The Next Great American Band” has to get rid of the two lowest vote getters. So after the Hatch, there are a few more candidates. Any band that goes first is vulnerable and that places Denver & the Mile High Orchestra in the crosshairs. Although the lead singer lacks edge and swagger, the group is distinctive enough to make it to week two. The Likes of You, though, are probably the most vulnerable to go because they were hardly seen week one and failed to excel week two though I do like the lead singer, even with the excessive falsetto.

I enjoyed Tres Bien, but the band is really retro 60s and its songs may not resonate at all with a broad enough audience. I’m also worried for Cliff Wagner & the Old #7 simply because the lead singer doesn’t have charismatic good looks and they play bluegrass.

Rocket are like a poor man’s Donnas. Tight band but the vocalist lacks the grit and skill to really make it work. I think the fact they are the only female band around might keep them around an extra week.

The other six bands, I think, are definitely safe. The 12 year olds Light of Doom can definitely rock and the only criticism the judges could come up with is the discomfort of seeing two of them shirtless.

The Muggs are also extremely tight (though this type of Detroit rock isn’t exactly modern) while Dot Dot Dot are oddly entertaining but deeply cheeseball in that Fall Out Boy sort of way. Nonetheless, I think they will cruise through despite harsh critiques from the judges.

Finally, the three standouts are Sixwire, the country band which already has a couple of top 40 country hits under its belt; Franklin Bridge, the black dudes who can funk it out with real energy; and my favorite, the Clark Brothers, three incredibly skilled brothers who performed this amazing original song “Billy the Kid.”

Next Friday: the theme is Elton John and Bernie Taupin songs. They will call up bands and two won’t get called. Those are the ones who are eliminated.

I see season three finalist George Huff is at Cobb Energy Centre this weekend for the Gospel Superfest but I haven’t been able to find out when he actually appears. The web site is quite useless, providing no specific schedules. It appears to be taped for TV so that may be why the schedule is so sketchy.

And Ruben Studdard was in town Wednesday night for a Boys & Girls Club event giving Falcons player Alge Crumpler a Hall of Fame honor. I didn’t know about it til I read it in Peach Buzz this morning. But I already caught him a couple months ago for a Georgia Aquarium Boys & Girls Club-related event, too.

Some of that $75 million raised through “Idol Gives Back” money is going to South Africa. Five charities each received $5 million in Africa including an anti-AIDS education program, according to this AP story..

Every newspaper is reviewing Kelly Clarkson when she comes into town. Here’s the Washington Post’s take.

• The new songs didn’t have the melodies, hooks or sparkle to inspire anything other than tame foot-tapping and obligatory applause. But her catalogue of pop singles recorded since her 2002 “American Idol” win more than compensated for her newer, weaker material.*

Carrie is scheduled to sing the National Anthem for Game 3 of the World Series at Coors Field tomorrow night. The Rockies are partly owned by folks active in the beef industry but Carrie is vegetarian. The Rocky Mountain News attempts to mine some controversy over this.

And don’t forget to check out “The Next Great American Band” tonight or at least tape it. It’s worth it.

Have a great weekend!

According to first-day estimates compiled by hitsdailydouble.com, Carrie Underwood will open with sales of about 400,000 to 450,000 for her second CD “Carnival Ride.” That will be No. 1 by a huge margin. Her first CD “Some Hearts” opened at No. 2 with 315,000 in sales nearly two years ago and has now sold almost 6 million copies.

In the meantime, she was caught hanging with “Gossip Girl” actor Chase Crawford at Justin Timberlake’s New York City restaurant Southern Hospitality, according to People magazine..

Otherwise, it’s a slow day in the “Idol” landscape again. No word on how Bo Bice is doing though on walmart.com. Sold for $9.72, “See the Light” is in the Wal-Mart top 10, behind Carrie but ahead of Reba and Josh Grobin.

I don’t have much today so far. Carrie Underwood reviews were mostly positive from what I could ascertain. We’ll see some sales estimates later today. “So Small” jumps to the top 5 on the country charts. The only other big “Idol” hit at the moment is Daughtry’s “Over You” at No. 7 on the top 40 chart.

Meanwhile, here are some shots I took from the “So You Think You Can Dance” tour Monday night. I took a couple of shots with flash before the guard told me not to. So I have mostly blurry shots off my not-so-great camera, from about 30 to 50 feet away depending on where the dancers were.

Above: Neil and Sabra

Above: Lauren and Pascha doing that cool robot dance.

Above: When in doubt, take a shot of the screen

Above: Sara is cute, even wearing that unflattering “So You Think You Can Dance” jacket.

Before I get to a brief recap of the “So You Think You Can Dance” tour at Gwinnett Arena Monday night, here’s a spot you can sample the new Carrie Underwood and both her and Bo Bice’s new CDs here. Thanks, MJs Big Blog for finding these. It’ll be interesting to see how many CDs Bo will be able to sell when he’s only selling it at Wal-Mart. I’m certain Carrie will sell at least 300,000 copies, probably closer to 400,000.

The tour at the Gwinnett Arena was a satisfying greatest-dances reprise from the show, a quick two-hours and a half that seemed to go by faster than the “Idol” tour last month. And the dancers fit the personalities we got to know over the summer. Sara, my favorite B-girl, was confident and just plain hot. Lauren was boisterously sweet. Winner Sabra exuded flair and confidence. Neil received the most squeals from the crowd and didn’t disappoint with his acrobatic moves. Pascha was charming, Dominic, a flirty jokester and Danny, technically amazing but emotionally distant. A few backups got to perform, too, including Jesus and break dancer Hok, as well as amazingly sexy couples dancer Anya and unmemorable Shauna, who covered for an injured Lacey adequately but not exceptionally.

The tour producers didn’t mess with most of the best dances, such as the robot hip-hop dance with Lauren and Pascha, Lauren and Neal’s “Angel and Devil” and the “Sweet Dreams” table dance with Sabra and Neil.

Here’s a video from the Philly stop of that “Sweet Dreams” dance:

I would have liked to have seen more extensive solos than the 30-second “dance for your life” bits mostly taken from the show, too. There were a few cool group dances, including one from the “Lion King.” And the video clips meshed seamlessly between dances. (A review of the season which included that Kennesaw robot dancer got huge cheers.)

The audience was heavily female, slightly younger than the “Idol” crowd a month ago. It was also slightly smaller, the small top balcony areas empty. But I’d say it was still at least 7,000 people, a very solid audience number.

I’ll post something more extensive info later today with photos I took from about 30 feet away from an inadequate camera and link to our pro Robb Cohen’s much better shots.

I checked in Friday evening for Kellie Pickler’s opening set at the Rascal Flatts concert at Philips Arena just to see how she’s matured and improved on stage over the past year.

She sounded a little raspier than normal. Her voice lacks the depth of Carrie Underwood but it still provides plenty of texture and warmth. Plus, she still has charm in spades. Though much of what she said during the show sounded like stuff she spouts every concert, she did crack at one point, “I forgot to brush my teeth. Nobody should get too close to me!”

I sat about 50 feet away and with no video cameras offering closeups, I couldn’t get a take on her makeup. But from my distance, she looked good. She had a blond bob she’s worn for awhile now, a pink tank top that showed off her new pups without being tawdry, tight blue jeans and those signature red high heels.

Her seven-song set included six cuts from her “Small Town Girl” CD and one new song. (No covers!)

1- “Gotta Keep Moving”

2- “The Best Day of Your Life” - This is a song she and Taylor Swift co-wrote while touring with Brad Paisley over the summer. She said it was targeted at past bad boyfriends whose lives will only go downhill after breaking it off with her. It’s actually a pretty good tune.

3- “Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind” - This is her third single off her CD and it was spun 11 times last week on Kicks. It’s got that honky-tonk flavor and should have no problem becoming her third top 30 hit. Kellie does lack that edgy grime that Gretchen Wilson could shellack on this tune and give it an extra kick. But it’s a solid song.

4- “Didn’t Know How Much I Loved You” - She said this is her favorite cut off her album. It’s a decent ballad.

5- “Small Town Girl” - This was the first song she ever wrote about Albermarle, N.C.

6- “I Wonder” - A truly touching tune about her estranged relationship with her mom that still works after multiple hearings.

7- “Red High Heels” -The song that kickstarted her CD a year ago and gave her her first top 15 hit on the country charts.

Amazingly, Kellie is the third-best selling artist so far from season five. Here are the eight finalists who have released CDs and their sales.

1- Daughtry 3.19 million - His third single is chugging along to another top 10 so I expect sales to easily exceed 3.5 million by year’s end.

2- Taylor 696K This one is going to strugle even to hit 700K at this point.

3- Kellie 637K - If that third single becomes even a modest hit, she has a chance to exceed Taylor’s total.

4- Elliott 422K His second single is “One Word.” “Wait For You” was a big surprise hit and we’ll see if he can strike gold again. He just received a “gold” designation, which means 500K delivered.

5- Kat 358K I get the impression no more singles are forthcoming on this CD so she’s not going to get much more in sales.

6- Bucky 285K He has a second single “It’s Good To Be Us” out after his first one “A Different World” made it to the top 10.

7- Mandisa 53K

8- Paris 20K

These are all Nielsen Soundscan sales estimates. The total sales for all eight season five finalists are 5.66 million, a majority from Daughtry alone.

I just saw the ratings for “Idol” spinoff “The Next Great American Band” and wow, it bombed. Just 3.5 million people checked in, dead last among the five networks. That was even worse than “Friday Night Smackdown!” on the CW.

Do you think the target audience simply wasn’t home? Or is the concept unworkable for a mainstream broadcast network?

Personally, I enjoyed the show. The crazies were kept to a minimum and most of the 12 band finalists showed real talent. The Las Vegas desert provided a stunning vista and the producers fed us a few interesting backstories (the dude with the missing arms, the bands proclaiming this to be their last chance else they’ll disband et. al).

The judges were okay. Ian “Dicko” Dickson, the Australian Idol judge was fairly predictable in his meanness though he threw in a few good lines. (e.g. “I didn’t fly 15 hours to watch Mr. Ed sing Kim Wilde,” he said to one really awful band. To another: “Ladies - that was like a semifinal in a cat strangling competition. Really bad!” “There’s a touch of Ned Flander in you,” he said to a dorky singer.)

Johnny Rzeznik was dull with his comments while Sheila E showed verve and harped on musicality. She even went up and played some drums when a Latin band tried out but the band was’t good enough to make the cut.

No Georgia bands were among the final dozen though a Tifton group called Blackbird, shown briefly, made it past the first cut.

My favorites included Franklin Bridge, an all-black rock-funk group from Philadelphia. a decent 60s retro rock band Tres Bien, a gospel-tinged trio with great skills called the Clark Brothers, a tight country act named Sixwire (though they’ve had a couple of charting hits before) and the Likes of You, an L.A. rock band with a soaring lead vocalist.

An entertaining group of 12 year olds channeling Iron Maiden, Light of Doom, made the cut, as did a token all-female band, Rocket, who played “Blitzkrieg Bop” and weren’t half bad.

A quality big band act also made it through (“Denver and the Mile-High Orchestra).

Did anybody catch the show? I’m sure given that this has the “Idol” imprint on it, Fox will air it no matter how bad the ratings are. Fox hasn’t had a hit on Friday nights in years and I don’t think people are even conditioned to watch the network on Fridays anymore. The game isn’t over yet.

Here’s the cover story.

She’s not a terribly fascinating as an interview and the revelations are thin. She seems mildly defensive on certain issues but otherwise, it’s not exactly a soul-baring situation. The basics: She wanted to make sure the new album “Carnival Ride” is pure country. Her voice has matured and she can hit some new high notes.

“I’ve learned this, that haters wanna hate. You could sing a song perfectly, you could write the songs perfectly, and some people are absolutely going to hate you.”

She loves performing, really doesn’t enjoy the “going to Victoria’s Secret” and fans seeing what underwear she buys. Her sisters married as teens but she’s in no rush at age 24.

And her defense of “Idol” being a shortcut and the resentments of some other country artists:

Every single person in the music industry knows if they had a chance like [Idol], they’d take it. And I’m sorry, anybody who says I took a shortcut, they are insane. We didn’t take the easy way; if anything we took a more difficult way. It was just unconventional, therefore it must be wrong.

She also knew the Faith Hill reaction was a joke. And Wyonna Judd’s comment about country music “getting a little vanilla” was “taken out of context” and not necessarily directed at Carrie.

And she said QB Tony Romo was too focused on football so their relationship never quite became one.

That’s about it.

I held back on this entry only because the previous entry about the reality show featuring Diana DeGarmo and Bobby Brown was so delightfully amusing and I wanted to keep that on top for at least the morning hours.

But alas, tonight, another “Idol” spinoff is starting, “The Next Great American Band.” It will be a two-hour episode tonight starting at 8 on Fox. (I’ll blog about it over the weekend.) We didn’t an advance copy so I’m not sure how it’s going to play out but I think the first hour is auditions of the top 60, then performances from the top 12 in the second hour. This show will have no results show so each week after this, when it’s only an hour, they will announce who was ousted during that show.

Next week, two will be eliminated, then two again the following week. After that, it’s one band at a time.

Nigel Lythgoe, in a phone press conference Tuesday, said overall, the format is similar to “Idol” with three judges and bands performing thematically. Interestingly, the first theme is Bob Dylan. I asked Nigel if there has ever been a Dylan song sung on “Idol” and he doesn’t recall.

“We aren’t asking them to change their style to turn them into Bob Dylans,” he said. “We are asking them to put it in their own styles.” He’s also doing an original music theme week (though the bands will play a cover tune, too, that week.)

He said there aren’t as many truly incompetent bands as there are incompetent solo singers in “Idol.” “Even bands that were terrible,” he noted,” were musically competent.” Some of the more ridiculous ones wanted to be like KISS, he said, some wanted to be Ziggy Stardust. “It’s a cacophony of sound.”

Out of 14,000 applicants (found through auditions, MySpace, videos, checking out rock clubs et. al), Nigel and the other executive producers picked 60 bands for judges Johnny Rzeznik, Sheila E. and Ian “Dicko” Dickson to track. And of the 12 finalists, he said “eight are absolutely terrific. It’s the sort of talent not given the opportunity anymore on radio or with recording executives. From that point of view, that’s why we believe in the show.” (There are a couple of what he terms “novelty” acts among the dozen but he couldn’t say anything more specific.)

Lythgoe “believes the audience is bored stiff with hip hop and won’t even buy it. If this television program is successfull… the market will open up with it.”

There won’t be guest stars because the show has so little time as it is. “We’re not padding anything,” he said, implying that some other shows he’s done (ahem) can feel a bit, um, padded. Then he got a bit jocular: “Your face will be contorted by the end of the show from pain of what you’ve not enjoyed or the speed we’re traveling.”

Now a bit about the three judges:

Johnny Rzeznik(above, center) is the lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls: Being a professional musician in a place where he has to critique other pros, “he started a little bit like a deer in headlights,” Lythgoe said

Sheila E is a female percussionist who has worked with Prince extensively over the years and had a few hits in the mid-1980s (most notably, “The Glamorous Life” and “A Love Bizarre”) Lythgoe: “Sheila E says it like it is given her musicality and background. She got up one time and started playing with one of the bands. She will try to help whenever possible. She’s not a Paula, all heart and love and just desperate to see people succeed.”

Ian Dickson (above) was the Simon Cowell-type on “Australian Idol.” Lythgoe: “He’s very bright and knows his way around the music industry… He fits that category of saying it like it is.”

I also spoke briefly to Sheila E. (above) about a month ago. Her thoughts of the auditions: “It was pretty awesome… Some talent came through. We’re excited we have some good bands coming.” And as a musician, she felt the same as Rzeznik at times, that it was hard to critique people. “At times, I felt really bad. Sometimes, I don’t want to say anything.”

Inexplicably, they held the auditions in Las Vegas in 118-degree heat. “It was kind of crazy,” she said. “I got a little dehydrated as much as we were drinking Gatorade. I had to take electrolyte pills. I was getting dizzy. It didn’t matter how much we were drinking.”

Sheila, who turns 50 in December (but sure doesn’t look it), liked the mix of bands she saw, including hip-hop mixed with R&B, R&B with gospel, pure rock, swing and a country act that did a remix of Tupac lyrics. “That threw us for a loop!” she said. She was disappointed she never came across a good Latin band.

Sheila E’s favorite from this past “Idol” season? Melinda. “I hired her for a gospel tour two or three years ago,” she said. “She was one of the eight singers we had. We had a 12 piece band. She was incredible. She was so shy. She never wanted to step out and do leads.”

As noted earlier, she is still buds with Prince. (I would have loved to have gotten some real dirt about Prince, but she wasn’t going to dish. ) She loves playing with him, the lengthy encores, the afterparties. For Prince, “besides recording, he loves performing… his music has grown. He’s grown as a person. We’ve all just learned about life in general.”

CMT is producing a new reality show “Gone Country” in which non-country singers will live in a mansion and compete to see who could best adapt to becoming a country singer. The celebrities include our very own Diana DeGarmo, as well as former Atlantan Bobby Brown, ex-Wilson Phillips singer and “Surreal Life” alum Carnie Wilson, “Brady Bunch” and “Celebrity Fit Club” alum Maureen McCormick, Sisqo (“The Thong Song”), Julio Iglesias Jr. and Dee Snider (Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”).

Production is currently underway in Nashville, according to CMT story, excerpted below.. The show is set to air over six episodes in January.

The celebrities will live in a Nashville mansion together and will compose songs with Nashville songwriters. In each episode, the cast will compete against each other in challenges that will test them musically and physically to adapt to a country music lifestyle, both on and off the stage. At the end of two weeks, the artist who is most prepared to impress a country audience, as determined by [John] Rich [of Big & Rich], will record and release a song.

I called Brenda, Diana’s mom, and she didn’t seem to know much about it. (Brenda is no longer managing her daughter.) I’ll update this entry if I get any more details.

Seriously, Diana could do well in this competition, especially compared to her fellow castmates. She did sing Martina McBride’s “A Broken Wing” during country week season three, three years before Jordin Sparks did it. I thought she did a pretty good job, especially that long note at the end. Simon even said that this style suited her. But he added: “You’re not yet connecting with the audience properly.” Alas, she landed her in the bottom three after this performance. (Reminisce with the video below of Diana’s performance in 2004.)

It will be amusing to see Diana interact with the likes of Sisqo, Dee Snider and especially Bobby Brown, who is doing this show just days after being in the hospital for a heart attack he denied he actually had.

Can Carrie evade the sophomore slump like Kelly Clarkson did with her upcoming “Carnival Ride”? Given how big her first CD was, it’s highly unlikely she’d be able to break 6 million in sales again. Her first single “So Small” is a top 10 country hit but it’s no “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” She does look great on the cover:

Want to hear 30 second snippets of songs from the CD? Check it out here..

Carrie has also been recently spotted with “Gossip Girl” star Chace Crawford.

And this quote from “Seventeen” magazine:

“It bugs me that because I’m a blonde from Oklahoma who sings country music, people think I’m stupid. People don’t give us Oklahomans credit. We don’t ride around in covered wagons! We have indoor plumbing. We’re smart, good people. I won’t say I’m business savvy, exactly, but I have common sense.”

In that article, she also denied ever having a real relationship with QB Tony Romo. If you say so.

And Ken Barnes at “Idol Chatter” has a list of Carrie’s numerous TV appearances. These include “GMA” on October 23, “Regis” on the 24th, “CBS Early Show” on the 26th, Leno on the 29th, “Ellen” on Nov. 5 and Letterman on Nov. 13. Phew!

Bo Bice’s “See the Light” coincidentally hits Wal-Mart the same day as Carrie’s. He is doing a small radio tour but his spotlight has dimmed to the point he won’t be showing up on “Ellen” or “Regis & Kelly” anytime soon. Sorry, Bo fans!

During a phone conference promoting “The Next Great American Band,” I asked Nigel a couple of quick questions about “Idol” auditions in Atlanta last week. (I’ll post later this week about his thoughts on the new show but we’ll keep this one to Idol.)

Five years ago, 46 people from the Atlanta “American Idol” auditions made it to Hollywood. Last week, only 49 people were even trotted before Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. (We don’t know how many made it to the next round.)

Lythgoe said that this isn’t necessarily a reflection of less talent emanating from the auditions. “We’ve been very very picky this year. We’ve just cut out a lot of crazies. The truth is once we have them on tape, we can use them in montages. It seems silly to waste the time of the real judges.”

Of the seven audition cities this year, he said San Diego was the strongest while Dallas was the weakest. “With Kelly Clarkson the only big star out of Texas, it’s truly the Lone Star state,” he joked. (Sorry, Nikki McKibbin. When I tried to come up with her name to Nigel, I blanked. Fortunately, he remembered her name after a few seconds of reflection. But she’s not a star despite finishing third that first year.)

He also repeated an earlier comment that “Idol” next year will focus more on personalities, less on guest stars and “Idol Gives Back” and Sanjaya’s hair and such.

Clay Aiken is jumping on the Broadway parade playing a role on “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” following other “Idol” alum such as Frenchie Davis, Diana DeGarmo, Constantine Maroulis, Tamyra Gray and Fantasia. Tamyra has even done two shows, first “Bombay Dreams,” now “Rent.” Fantasia is with “The Color Purple” until the end of the year.

Clay will join the cast January 18 as Sir Robin, a lead role, according to this Associated Press story.

Aiken will appear in the show, which is based on the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” through May 4, 2008. The musical’s book is by Eric Idle, an original member of the Python gang, and its score is by Idle and John DuPrez.

“Clay Aiken is amazing beyond that glorious voice,” said director Mike Nichols. “Turns out he is an excellent comic actor and a master of character.”

After all the brouhaha over creative control, mixed reaction to her latest CD and cancellatin of her summer tour due to slow sales, Kelly Clarkson is offering a stripped-down tour, which started over the weekend at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. She comes to the Cobb Energy Arts Centre November 27.

USA Today offers some details of her “shortish” show.

The Daily News hated the dour, goth, shrieky Kelly, loved the pop/soul nuance-filled Kelly.

I’m looking forward to seeing her and comparing her performance to that of her Fox Theatre appearance in 2005.

“American Idol Rewind” this past weekend harks back to Atlanta 2002, the year Clay Aiken and Vanessa Olivarez were discovered first at AmericasMart, then the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. That year, 6,500 people camped out and later for the three judges, Paula Abdul was absent. (Some prior engagement that was never specified. I’m not sure if she ever missed another audition in the seven seasons.) Amazingly, 46 people made it to Hollywood that year from the city. This year, only 49 people even made it before the judges in Atlanta a few days ago.

Even five years later, some of these bad auditions are indeed hilarious. “I’d pay you to stop,” Simon told Atlanta’s Omega Morris after she jumped around to “Born to be Wild.”

Patrick Lane of Athens, a pre Bo Bice rocker dude, tried Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name.” He actually isn’t half bad but Simon said “I can’t see you in the Burt Bacharach or Motown medley.” They sent him to Hollywood after he sang “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head,” which he said in a later interview he happened to know.

Vanessa is wearing something fairly horrendous, a coat with a red fur collar. But she’s still adorable and did a lovely “Bohemian Rhapsody.” “I thought it was excellent,” Randy said. “You’re going to Hollywood,” Simon said. “I originally chose a Jackson 5 song,” she told “Idol” in 2007. “But I needed to be off the cuff and make it interesting. I think when I went in, they thought I’d be a bad contestant. Then when I sang, okay, I don’t want to hear another 10 minutes of it, but that was good.” (I recently interviewed her and will post a blog entry about it later.) Here’s her audition on You Tube..

The most famous bad auditioner before William Hung was then-Newnan resident Keith Beukelaur with the bad haircut who sang “Like a Virgin” and was told by Simon he was the “worst singer in the world.” His odd dance moves didn’t help. The infamous audition is on You Tube, to refresh your memory.. I still laugh even though I’ve seen this a bunch of times. “That was horrific man,” Randy said. “When you said interesting and unique, you said a mouthful.” “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Keith said.

“Idol” found him five years later and he is still bitter about the experience. In response to Simon suggesting he go into dancing (facetiously), “I’ve not danced since those auditons,” he said in 2007 with a much better haircut. “At the time, I thought I did my well because from the years that I sang, not one person ever told me I was a bad singer. Not one. Simon. You can kick my *… Looking back, maybe I would have done better singing a song by a male artist. I don’t believe I’m the worst singer in the world.”

Halfway through the episode, 2007 commentator Clay Aiken introduced 2002 Clay Aiken: “Let’s just say he’s got the goods.” During the audition from the episode that aired in 2002 on youtube, a gawky Aiken confidently stated, “I’m the American Idol… You had some good talent but I think as far as the top 10 goes, I could have been up there.” He then does “Always & Forever.” ‘You don’t look like a pop star but you’ve got a great voice,” Simon famously said. “It’s really wild to hear that voice out of this look,” Randy said. Simon calls him “Clayton” and wishes him off to Hollywood.

In Clay’s 2007 interview, he said: “I finally get in the room. I’ve been told that Paula is not here. I’m like crap, my whole scheme, my plan is gone! It made me a little more nervous.”

I failed in the task of actually being at the later auditions on time at the Georgia International Convention Center though part of it had to do with the fact I wasn’t around most of the time. I did get back from vacation on Wednesday, the day Randy, Paula and Simon actually worked but I thought they’d do their work over two days rather than one. So I visited the center Thursday. It was empty and the janitors had cleaned the place up thoroughly. The only evidence I could find of “Idol” was a lone sticker in a garbage can.

Fortunately, my colleague Richard Eldredge in Peach Buzz got some scoop from his sources, including a hairdresser for Paula Abdul. There was also a nice scoop about Abdul being wooed by a partner of the Dolce Group. (Abdul had been here at least since the weekend.)

Though I’ve heard typically Randy, Simon and Paula in the past have screened 75 to 150 people per city, they ended up seeing only 49 over 12 hours Wednesday, or about four people per hour, according to the Buzz item. Since Ryan Seacrest did his L.A. radio show live that day from the Star 94 studios from 9 to at least noon EST, that meant they started around lunch hour at the earliest and worked til past midnight. Nigel & Ken, the executive producers really trimmed the pool down big time or perhaps the talent pool wasn’t as deep as they expected. I may have to ask Nigel a question about that Tuesday when Fox holds a phone press conference about the “Idol” sister show “The Next Great American Band,” debuting next Friday. I’m not sure how many even got to see Nigel and Ken.

I can do a rough calculation on the pure odds of even getting to this point. If say 10,000 people tried out in Atlanta (and I never got a concrete number), fewer than 1/2 of 1 percent got to see the judges. Wow. That’s tough! And you have to think that of those 49, at least 1/3 were bad singers so maybe 30 potentially talented people were screened. In the past, typically 12 to 25 would go to Hollywood. We’ll see how well Atlanta did sometime in January, 2008. (And probably half if not more of the people who tried out weren’t from metro Altanta.)

Fox held auditions for “So You Think You Can Dance” this past spring and not a single Georgian made it into the final 20. (But the cool robot dancer from Kennesaw State did make an impact.)

In Blender magazine, Kid Rock kicks “American Idol” down and uses reasonable logic:

What current song totally irritates you every time you hear it?

American Idol in general irritates me. It sucks. I think they should allow songwriters in. Someone singing a song they wrote — there’s nothing more powerful. But, whatever, they’re doing fine; they don’t need me, and I don’t need them. Somebody was bitching at me, “You talk shit about American Idol; there’s 30 million people who watch that show, smart guy. It’s the biggest show in America.” Is that a fact? Last time I checked, there’s 300 million people in America. I wanna sell my music to the 270 million smart motherfuckers who don’t watch that bull xxx.

Elliott Yamin is the opener for this year’s Star 94 Jingle Jam Monday December 10 at the Gwinnett Arena.

He starts at 7, followed by Colbie Caillat (“Bubbly”) at 7:45 a.m., the Jonas Brothers at 8:35 p.m. and Avril Lavigne at 9:50 p.m. I guess it’s not surprising why Star has been promoting Colbie so heavily in recent weeks.

Tix are $27 to $57 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday October 20 through www.star94.com, the Arena or Ticketmaster.

ABOVE: Bo Bice enduring question after question from me before the Cumming Country Fair concert October 11. CREDIT: Lara Thompson (blog handle; GARain)

This, or a version of this, will appear in the print edition Saturday:

For Bo Bice, a year late is better than not at all.

Last October, the former Atlantan and 2005 “American Idol” runner up abruptly canceled a concert appearance at the Cumming Country Fair because he needed emergency intestinal surgery. The proud Southern rocker, whose mom Nancy lives in Cumming, came back this year to make that show up even though he’s not technically on tour.

“For the longest time, I didn’t know what was wrong with me physically,” he said before Thursday’s concert. “It was taking a toll on me mentally.”

The doctors last year finally figured out he had problems with his intestines locking up, making it painful for him to digest food. With surgery, he said he’s been healthy since February and he’s ready to rock again. “The Lord has blessed me with so much in so little time,” he said. “I feel like 2008 will be a good time for me.”

We spoke with Bice about his health, his split with RCA Records and his new independently released CD “See the Light,” out October 23 exclusively at Wal-Mart.

Q: You’ve been ill for quite awhile, right?

Bice: I haven’t always been a cat who took care of myself. When I was younger, I used to be wild. I had a doctor tell me I might have an ulcer. I was a working musican. I didn’t have insurance. I didn’t know I was that sick for so long. To be healthy now and not be in pain after every meal is great. I used to have to ride out the pain for 15 minutes. Now I don’t have to lie and say, “I’m alright!” when I felt like collapsing.

Q: When did it get really bad?

Bice: The problem really showed up during “Idol” probably because of the stress. It was that and the way I was eating and drinking. I liked having whiskey then. Now I can’t do that anymore. I can have a glass of wine but more than two and my stomach hurts.

Q: How do you like living in Nashville compared to Birmingham [where he lived most of his life.]?

Bice: I really miss Alabama. I always joke with people that Nashville is as far north and as far west as they’ll pull me. It’s a beautiful place to raise a family. [He’s been married two years with a toddler.] And for me as a songwriter and producer, it’s the right place to be.

Q: Why are you no longer at RCA [who signed him after “Idol” and released his first CD “The Real Thing”]?

Bice: I think it’s just about things running their course. I loved my time there at RCA and appreciate it just as I appreciate “Idol.” I got to work with Carlos Santana and Richie Sambora.

Q: But did you feel the pop sound of that CD was truly you?

Bice: I’ve had to learn to precensor things I say. I’m a blunt person. Seriously, I was fulfilling a contract, fulfilling obligations. Was it the album I would have put out for me? No. But there’s no animosity. . . [Label kingpin] Clive Davis is very smart. He knew Southern rock was not going to make it on pop radio. He’s not in the business to make me look good. He’s in the business to make money.

Q: So tell me about the new CD. I presume you didn’t have to compromise on this one.

Bice: It’s undiluted. It’s straight from me to the fans. It’s my point of view. It’s Southern rock, pure and simple. That’s what the fans wanted. To be honest, I compromised my spirit more on ‘The Real Thing’ than I ever did on “Idol.”

Q: Are you expecting big radio play from any of the songs?

Bice: Oh, no. I’m not in denial over that. This is not a pop album. And I’ve stopped trying to measure success by CD sales or radio airplay. I’m on an indie label. Things are going to be a lot better for me.

Q: Why did you hook up with Wal-Mart?

Bice: It was StratArt [his management company Strategic Artist Management.] I shop at Wal-Mart. I felt comfortable with it.

To listen to clips of the new CD, check his site out..