Arts & Entertainment
'American Idol' Hopefuls Get Second Chance to Make An Impression
FOX 2 KTVI sponsored a scaled down version of Idol auditions at Chesterfield Mall, offering one lucky vocalist the chance to fly to Houston for the last official casting opportunity for the 11th season of the popular television show.
When an estimated 10,000 hopeful vocalists lined up at the Scottrade Center in June for the first casting call of the 11th season of American Idol, they didn't know they would get a second chance to impress the judges.
Wednesday morning, FOX 2 KTVI gave local singers another shot at trying out for the televised talent show. Each performed 30 seconds of a song in front of three judges.
Y98 radio personality Taylor J, St. Louis singer-songwriter Erin Bode and FOX 2 morning news anchor Randi Naughton listened carefully and took notes as fewer than 100 performers took their turns on a small stage on the ground floor of Chesterfield Mall.
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The turnout was much lighter than during the spring tryout for American Idol creator Simon Cowell's new musical talent program, X-Factor.
Suzi Mahe, Fox's Vice President for Creative Services, said that the sparse crowd could probably be attributed to the novelty of the X-Factor's debut season, American Idol's narrower age limit range and that the national tryouts had taken place in downtown St. Louis only about a month earlier.