'American Idol': Close to 10,000 come out to audition in Orlando
The hopefuls auditioning for "American Idol" this morning in Orlando surpassed the show's
expectations.
Close to 10,000 filled the Amway Arena parking lot.
"I really expected 5000 - 6,000 tops," supervising producer Patrick Lynn
said. "It's not like we're doing L.A. or New York. We're not sure what
we're going to get. We've only been here once before."
Lynn said the turnout this time was "way better" than last time in 2004 at
the Orange County Convention Center.
"It's a huge crowd. It's approaching 10,000," Lynn said. "I think more people
are just turning out because they see their chance. It took Kris Allen and Adam Lambert years to come and try out. People
are really just coming out. Everybody thinks and believes they have a shot."
Allen won last season, and Lambert was the runner-up on America's most
popular TV show.
"Idol" host Ryan Seacrest arrived to tape the opening as the
hopefuls shouted behind him. "The next American Idol better be from Orlando
because we're sweating," he joked to TV reporters. A makeup person kept wiping
sweat from Seacrest's face and reapplying makeup.
Seacrest raved over what the show means. "It lets somebody who has a dream
anywhere in the country actually go for it," he said. "There's no ceiling on
what you can accomplish if you get to be a part of this show."
He can speak from experience. "It's meant everything 
to my career," Seacrest
said of "Idol." "This has been a huge vehicle for me, a huge driver for all the
things I get to do."
He read intros for E! News at Amway Arena and did his radio show from Orlando
today.
Producer Lynn played head cheerleader for the group shot that will start the
Orlando show.
"It sort of establishes the city, the crowd, the enthusiasm," Lynn said.
"Getting them to cheer is usually the hardest part, and it hasn't been hard at
all with these guys."
Seacrest said the show, which starts its ninth season next year on Fox,
doesn't get old for him. "When you see everybody, you realize what they're
doing, it makes you realize it's a big deal for them and they've been waiting
their whole life for this," he said.
Then Seacrest started joking. "I'm not old yet. Now for Simon Cowell, old is different. Old has a different definition. Old is
everyday for him. So I'm sure he would answer differently."
Cowell will visit Orlando later for the third round in the audition process.
Lucy Clark
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