20

20 hicks from the 'Ham to the 'Wood.

Tonight was the night for the Birmingham auditions for American Idol. 20 people made it through to Hollywood for a chance to keep the streak alive. In case you live under a rock, Alabama is home to (and I quote Ryan Seacrest here) "more Idol superstars than any other state."

My fave of the night was the Justin Guarini/Jask Osborn/Jack Black kid with the jokes. He sings decent enough but will be entertaining to watch, if only for the dry humor that he brings with him. And (Lord help us) there is another "bumpkin" in the mix. The "blue-eyed bombshell" with the severely dysfunctional family made it through. Hopefully, she'll brush up on her pronunciations for "Salmon" and "Calamari" before "pulling a Pickler" while in Hollywood.

I will admit that the night's auditions did show a few of the "more interesting" hopefuls but I also happily add that some of those were from out of state. And the producers did make mention of how graciously the ones turned down accepted the news. It even amazed the judges that the folks down here understand that "I'm sorry but it's a No" doesn't mean that one should immediately break into an even worse song, plead with the judges to reconsider or even "pitch a hissy fit" and make fools of themselves.

I would also like to add that Mayfield's Turtle Tracks Ice Cream is proof that there really is a God.