"For these 10,000 hopefuls, the journey starts right now," said Ryan Seacrest to the TV cameras in downtown St. Louis on Tuesday morning.
The scene was the first audition stop of the upcoming season of Fox television's "American Idol," and host Seacrest was busily taping and retaping promotional intros at the front of the massive audition line at Market and 14th streets, near Scottrade Center.
"Can St. Louis deliver? Let's go!" Seacrest said during another take as he opened the gate for the first batch of aspiring singers to walk into Scottrade.
"American Idol," which debuted in 2002, holds the record for being No. 1 for seven consecutive seasons, including Season 10, which ended in May. The show has made stars of Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Daughtry and Fantasia Barrino.
Thousands of hopefuls came out well before dawn Tuesday to show off their best vocals. The crowd featured hometown singers from East St. Louis, Chesterfield, Belleville, St. Charles and University City, and out-of-towners from Florida, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Nebraska, Arkansas and Indiana. Other audition cities for Season 11 are Portland, Ore., San Diego, Pittsburgh, Charleston, S.C., Denver and Houston.
Fans were prompted to scream the cheer "Show me that golden ticket" for the cameras and were also instructed not to crowd or photograph Seacrest when he ventured out for additional filming.
Asked what the singing contest was looking for in St. Louis, Seacrest said, "Let's not put a ceiling on what we're trying to find."
He added, jokingly, "We're not looking for people who suck."
Previewing the next season, Seacrest promised, "We might see Randy (Jackson), we might see Steven (Tyler) and we might see Jennifer (Lopez)."
However, unlike Jackson and Tyler, Lopez has not yet signed on for next season. Monday night, a news release from Lopez's publicist announced that the singer would be filming "What to Expect When You're Expecting" during midsummer with Cameron Diaz. The release did not mention "American Idol," and reporters at Tuesday's auditions were told not to ask Seacrest about the judging lineup.
By 9 a.m., singers wearing blue wristbands began performing for judges — in this case, show producers. Tyler, Jackson and possibly Lopez will come to St. Louis to see the successful singers later this summer during another round.
Seacrest offered the following advice to auditioning singers: Don't hold anything back; don't feel bad about being nervous, because everyone is; and if you mess up, it's OK to start over.
Nerves, mixed with excitement, affected many of the singers leading up to their auditions.
Aubrey Vanhoose, 25, of St. Louis, said, "I'm excited they came to my city. It could be anybody."
Aerica Stembaugh and Allia Southern, both 15, from Indiana, were just glad the "Idol" age requirement — 15 to 28 — was lowered, and believed the popularity of Justin Bieber led to that change.
"This is the only time we will thank Justin Bieber," Aerica said.
But later in the morning, in an underground tunnel at Scottrade, "nonwinners," as they are officially called, filed out in droves. One nonwinner was TyRain, 27, of St. Louis.
TyRain's audition song was Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," but he said his dismissal won't change his dreams. "This is something I wanted to do my whole life. I'm not discouraged, because this is what I'm supposed to be doing."
Sutton Crabtree, 15, of Pleasantville, Mo., said, "I think I did good," though the judges thought otherwise.
Alexander Daugherty failed to impress, though he was told he was likable. "It's all a game," he said. "Each producer is looking for something different."
The standard line for most of those rejected, according to those interviewed, was, "You're not what we're looking for."
Tuesday's visit was the show's first to St. Louis since 2004, when St. Louis singer Nikko Smith emerged as a Top 10 finalist and Aloha Mi'Sho landed in the Top 20.
Fox television would not reveal how many of the singers in St. Louis made it through to the next round of auditions, but one lucky winner was Jaqui Rogers, 22, of St. Louis. "I'm open to this great journey, this step forward in my dream," she said.
Sami Teel, 19, of St. Charles, said she was initially told to stand with some singers who weren't going through but was then asked to step forward. "I'm still feeling shocked," Teel said. She sang "I Put a Spell on You," and judges asked her to go with more current song choices during her next round.
Shannon Slattery, 20, of Chesterfield, decided to audition with a "why not" attitude, and it paid off. "I was more excited than nervous ... but I'm glad it went so well."
A singer going only by the name E.K., 27, of St. Louis, was told he needs to work on his eye contact but still made it through.
"I'm on top of the world," he said.
Andie Hutner of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
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