Idol was Looking to get back on track after some horrendous auditions in Chicago. Wednesday night’s AI one-hour show with auditions from sunny and warm Orlando, FL was filled with many rough auditions, but unlike like what we heard and witnessed in Chicago, at least there was considerably more talent. 10,000 hopefuls showed up, and a total of 31 contestants got tickets punched to Hollywood, tying Boston for the most tickets with the auditions completed to date.

Kristen Chenoweth was the guest judge, and brings her petite stature, sexiness and bubbly personality to the set, but only stays one day, what??.....so I felt a little ripped off…I mean, after all, we’ll have to put up with Ellen D soon! UGH! (Kim: Now Eddie, don't be hatin' on Ellen!)

Of the 31 moving on, and let me AGAIN say that I don’t think the producers at FOX do the show justice by hurrying through a handful of ticketed contestants….but here’s my thoughts from sunny FL…..

· Seth Rollins- 28 year old who has a son with Autism. Sings ‘’Someone to Watch Over Me’’ by Frank Sinatra and does pretty good, impresses the judges and gets 4 YES’s. Don’t think he carries himself well enough to make it through Hollywood though.

· Jermaine Purifoy-24 year old from Cleveland, TN. Season 7 contestant who’s back for a 2nd try, said he didn’t take it seriously enough last time. He's singing Tony Bennett's version of ‘‘Smile’’ and he does a really nice job with it. It's a perfect song choice, as he has the type of personality that will give him a shot at going deep in the competition. Randy actually says he's the best that he's heard all audition season, so naturally, he gets a unanimous ‘yes’. Definitely ‘Top 24’ material here!

· Shelby Dressel-Final contestant of day #1. Pretty 18 year old gal who’s 7th intracranial nerve wasn't developed, so she can't completely use the right side of her face. It's a source of insecurity for her, and she was quite nervous in affront of the judges. She sang ‘’Turn Me On’’ by Norah Jones, loved the song choice and the artist, and although she’s not the greatest, she's pretty good considering her disability. Unfortunately, she totally forgets the words toward the end of her performance, but she does it in such a cute way, it actually makes the judges like her more. She gets four ‘yes’ votes, and has a chance to do well in Hollywood if she can overcome the disability she has. Dark Horse for Top 24.

· Jay Stone- 25 year old from Miami, Fl. Up first on day 2 and he's singing ‘’Come Together’’ by the Beatles. He’s a beat-boxer, just like Blake Lewis from Season 7, and he's actually very talented. Simon doesn’t care for him, but Kara enjoys it and says ‘yes’. Then he starts singing ‘‘Ain't No Sunshine’’, & Randy’s impressed and thinks he's really good, so 2 out of 3 ‘Yes’ votes sends him to Hollywood. Take my word for it, he’ll be gone well before the Top 24 is announced.

· Janell Wheeler- 24 year old from Tampa, FL sings ‘’House of the Rising Sun’’ by The Animals, and is surprisingly good. Good looks and bubbly too, has the package to possibly sneak into the ‘Top 24’.

· Brittany Star James- 23 year old Entertainer from FL….she sings like a cruise ship performer, but is ticketed to Hollywood anyway. She won’t make it far at all.

· Kasi Beford- 19 year old from FL with a raspy voice who sings ‘’Something to Talk About’’ and is also ticketed to Hollywood, but I thought she was a poor singer. No future here for her in my eyes or ears!

· Cornelius Edwards- 24 years old from Boynton, Fl. Sings Tina Turner’s ‘’Proud Mary’’, drops down and does a split so violently that his pants get a rip down a foot or so along his leg! The whole thing is hilarious to the judges, who give him all YES votes, not because he's that great, but because they're so shocked at the performance. This guy has little chance of going much farther at all.

· Bernadette Desimone and Amanda Desimone- Pair of sisters from Cherry Hill, NJ. Bernadette goes first, and she's actually pretty good. She's got a sexy, bluesy thing going on, and she sings, ‘’Hit the Road, Jack’’. Amanda isn't as good, but is still OK. Simon does NOT want to see them both go through to Hollywood. They don't get a unanimous decision, but they're both going to Hollywood, and Kara thinks they'll be pretty entertaining….I think they’ll get on peoples nerves really quick, esp. in a ‘group song session’. (Kim: TRUFAX on that Eddie!!) They’ll be taking a red-eye back east sooner than later!

· Matt Lawrence- 25 year old guy from Stark, FL who’s only hope is for ‘redemption’. Matt robbed a bank with a BB gun when he was 15 and spent four birthdays behind bars. Seriously?!! (Kim: Yeah, I was LMAO @ his story, sorry) Appropriately Matt chooses to sing ‘‘Trouble’’ and he's got pretty great tone with good range. Simon says he’s “brilliant" and says it was so believable that Matt almost could have written the song. Say what??? (Kim: I with you on that one, whatever Simon's smoking, I want some!) Kara completely agrees with Simon…oh puleeeeez! (Kim: Suck-up!) Anyway, it's off to Hollywood for Matt, who Kara predicts will make the Top 12. Doubtful…..though this kid does remind me of Michael Sarver, the oil rig guy from last year who made it into the Top 10…so who knows, I guess it could happen.

The bottom line….The talent was much better in Orlando, but the % of folks with talent that we actually see or hear continues to go down. Only 10 of the 31 folks ticketed to Hollywood from Orlando received some FOX air time, that’s only 1/3 of the best that Orlando had to offer.

Less freaks and more talent, that’s what I say! (Kim: More FREAKS, less Talent!)

Fast Facts: Think Idol isn’t popular? General Larry Platt’s ‘‘Pants on the Ground’’ video has reached 5 Million hits on YouTube and 1 million on Facebook! WOW!!

Idol Chatter: Season 8’s Top 2 finalists are continuing to perform well with music sales. Kris Allen’s single, “Live Like We’re Dying,” has sold approximately 500,000 downloads, charting at #27 on the singles charts. Adam Lambert’s debut single, “For Your Entertainment,” has sold just over 200,000 downloads. Kris Allen’s album has sold about 240,000 copies, and Adam’s has sold about 460,000.

I have Adam’s CD (thanks Kimmy!) and overall I think it’s a solid debut, but don’t think he’s found his true identity just yet. (Kim: I have to agree there Eddie. I liked some of the songs, but some were too Broadway for me)

Thanks Eddie! Kimmy never misses a chance to post a Glambert Pic!!

OK…..so next week we’re off to the ‘BIG D’ in Dallas and then to the ‘City of Angels’ in LA…..Guest judges will be Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne. More ‘Eddie Idol’ chatter to come after those auditions, but until then….Eddie Idol is….OUT!