'IDOL' WATCH: Los Angeles Auditions

The fifth stop on the audition tour of "American Idol" landed in "Idol's" own backyard, Los Angeles. Joining Simon, Randy, and Kara were two young pop stars themselves, Avril Lavigne on the first day and Katy Perry on the second day. Lavigne was rarely seen on screen and did not seem to add much to the judging panel; Perry, however, was one of the few guest judges to truly understand the competition. Instead of joining Kara as the "feel-good-judge" and sending people to Hollywood if they came in with a good story, Perry only voted "Yes" to singers who she felt would actually have the chance to win the competition. A welcome change to the judging panel, Katy was more reminiscent of Simon and made her decision based purely on talent.

And Hollywood featured some excellent talent. 23-year-old Andrew Garcia performed Sunday Morning by Maroon 5 and blew the judges away. After making his way out of a tough childhood that involved gang activity, Garcia called "Idol" "the biggest thing I've ever done in my life." Garcia showed his range and was impressively light on the high notes, hitting them effortlessly. Simon called Garcia "a genuinely good, good singer" and Perry told him, "You gave me chills." Garcia was quickly passed to Hollywood; expect to see a lot of him on "Idol" in the upcoming weeks.

Several other talented singers made their way to the LA auditions and were passed through to the next round. Jim Ranger's "authentic" performance of a self-written song entitled Drive was heartfelt and unique and, although Lavigne disagreed, he made it through. Randy and Kara gave big "Yes's" to Chris Golightly following his rendition of Stand By Me by John Lennon and, although apprehensive, Perry and Simon agreed and gave him his golden ticket. By-night-minister Tasha Layton was the best female singer of the day, and was able to smoothly transition from chest to head voice in her performance of Baby, Baby, Baby by Joss Stone. Clearly understanding the song, Layton received four "Yes's" and made it to the next round.

As always, Hollywood featured many poor performances that spiced up the audition room. The oddest audition of the day came from Jason Greene, who gave a rather uncomfortable performance of Divinyls' I Touch Myself. After beginning his interview by rubbing his own chest, it was clear that Greene was going to be an interesting character. In front of the judges, Greene came off as rather creepy and, following a back-and-forth with Simon that was full of innuendo, Perry told him, "I feel dirty." Needless to say, Greene did not make it to Hollywood.

Neil Goldstein, touting an IQ of 168 (as he told the camera himself), was the most optimistic contestant of the day. When Ryan asked him to express himself in one word, he said "hope" and was seen drawing a heart on a mirror in lipstick. Goldstein sang Rock and Roll Dreams Come True by Meatloaf and, ironically, as Simon pointed out, forgot the lyrics following "Remember everything that I told you." His performance didn't improve much from there. Goldstein truly believed he was a good singer, prompting Simon to tell him he needed a "reality check" and sent him on his way.

LA featured several typical elements of the "Idol" auditions, including the ever-present montage. As always, the episode featured a slew of terrible singers, including Jesse Chang, who seemed as though he could have been the brother of William Hung, who was seen all the way back on season three of "Idol." The episode saw the standard crying montage with dashed hopes and many eclectic outfits in line for the auditions.

22 contestants received passes from the judges, bringing the number of golden tickets to 122. The next episode of "American Idol" airs Wednesday, January 26th, at 8PM EST on Fox, and follows the Dallas auditions with guest judges Joe Jonas and stage and screen star Neil Patrick Harris.

"American Idol" is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted June 11, 2002 on the Fox network and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television. It is currently the #1 TV show in the Nielsen Ratings and is one of only three that has been #1 for five consecutive seasons. The cast of "Idol" includes judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardio, and Ellen Degeneres, and host Ryan Seacrest.

The program aims to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nation-wide auditions, and subsequent viewer voting. Through telephone voting, America has chosen past winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, and Kris Allen.

Several "Idol" contestants have been seen on the Broadway stage, including Barrino (The Color Purple), Hicks (Grease), Clay Aiken (Spamalot), Diana DeGarmo(Hairspray), Josh Strickland (Tarzan), Tamyra Gray (Rent, Bombay Dreams), and Constantine Maroulis (The Wedding Singer, Rock of Ages).

"American Idol" airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights on Fox at 8PM EST.

Photo Credit: Andrew Garcia, American Power Blog

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