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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > August > 06
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
8/6: Audition numbers so far: are they down from last year?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sorry. It’s been a distracting day with all the upheaval here at the AJC. And I won’t know my fate in terms of what my job will be come August 31 until August 18. I hope I get to do what I do because I do love it. Anyway, upward and onward to “Idol” news!
-Audition numbers are often sketchy and sporadic since “Idol” flacks seldom provide anything but grandiose figures. (They’re stingy with vote totals so why not actual audition figures?) You can count the folks in line but that’s not the true number of people who actually audition. That includes friends and family waiting as well. I was able to sneak into the actual Georgia Dome last year just before the start of the auditions and estimated the number of folks waiting by counting seats. I calculated about 12,000 people inside. I guessed half the people had family or friends with them for support so maybe 8,000 to 9,000 actually auditioned. Even if only a quarter brought buds who didn’t audition, that means 10,000 people max.
MJ checked around and gets the impression “Idol” audition numbers are down across the board so far vs. last year. Factors she cited include a poor economy making it more expensive for folks to travel to auditions and waning popularity in the show period. Those are excellent and very rational reasons. I found a Salt Lake City publication say 6,000 tried out there. The San Jose Mercury News said 7,000 showed up for the San Francisco auditions. Again, I’m not sure if these numbers include friends and family or not. She has more numbers on her site here.. (MJ—you’re working far harder on this than I am!)
Every year, the show throws out “100,000 people tried out” but I doubt they’ll be anywhere near that number this time around (if they ever even were.)
I have not seen any “Idol” official deny the pitiful 300 number out of Puerto Rico. In the New York Times, producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz gave this comment:
Ms. Frot-Coutaz said the producers of “Idol” had expected a small turnout in Puerto Rico because it is an island, but that they went there “to give a different flavor to the show.”
-Entertainment Weekly wrote an interesting thought piece on Nigel Lythgoe’s departure. Since we were not there behind the scenes and the fact he had two other executive producers, it’s hard to say how much influence he had on the show. I suspect he did have a lot to say about the rules (ages, instrument use), themes and guest judges.
He also brought up some interesting ideas to improve “Idol” next year. For instance, how about a live announcement of the top 24? This would stunt the ability of folks to do spoilers the way they did big time this past season. Also, why not ensure the top 24 get a fair hearing by giving all of them some air time. Inevitably, the more interesting stories do deserve the air time, I understand, but it is a bit unfair for some that they have to fight extra hard to avoid elimination in the semifinal round simply because nobody knows who they are. And he thinks the show might improve if there was a bit more spontaneity to it.
-Constantine Maroulis, who was already doing theater before “Idol,” dips his fingers back in the game with an off-Broadway production of “Rock of Ages.” Broadway.com, crediting Variety, has the news here..
Since “Idol,” he has done parts in “The Wedding Singer” and “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.”
“Rock of Ages” centers on a 1980s Hollywood rock club threatened by developers that serves as the backdrop for a romance between a wannabe guitar hero and a small-town girl. The show incorporates music from that era, including songs by Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Styx, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake.
