The ninth season of "American Idol" premiered with a Boston audition show that featured bad hair, sob-worthy back stories and -- shocker! -- some pretty impressive singing.
Tuesday's two-hour show included the three standard "Idol" judges (Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, Randy Jackson) plus guest judge Victoria Beckham.
The most memorable rejected singer: grouchy Andrew Fenlon, whose arrogance spurred a debate that (slightly) rivaled last year's Bikini Girl fiasco. When Simon asked him what brought him to auditions, he answered, "It should be fairly obvious at this point."
In the end, Fenlon's rendition of "House of the Rising Sun" wasn't good enough to match the skills he boasted.
But Tuesday's show seemed to focus more on the advancing contestants than the rejected ones. Of the singers who auditioned in Boston, 32 made it to Hollywood. We saw 15 of those, including:
*Leah Laurenti, whose childhood centered on a religious background that gave her little exposure to music and singing. She was the last contestant of the night, and arguably the best.
*Bosa Mora
*Justin Williams, who survived cancer
*Katie Stevens, a teenager with a strong bond to her grandma, who has Alzheimer's
*Joshua Blaylock
*Mike Davis, a beefy actor on a speedboat called Codzilla
*Ashley Rodriguez
*Tyler Grady, a hippie-like drummer who aspires to be a frontman
*Luke Shaffer
*Benjamin Bright
*Amadeo Diricco
*Maddy Curtis, a teen who cares for her brothers with Down syndrome
*Jennifer Hirsh
*Claire Fuller
*Jess Wolfe
Learn more about the advancing contestants, and get a full recap of the show, by visiting our "American Idol" blog.
Weigh in: Who was your favorite singer on Tuesday's show? Do any of these contestants have a shot at the title? And did Posh Spice add anything to the judges' table?
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Sonya's American Idol blog
