SUNSET HILLS • He may have just gotten the golden ticket to Hollywood on Thursday night's "American Idol" St. Louis auditions, but Ethan Jones has already made it here.

The 22-year-old from Pontoon Beach stood in a roped off section of Mile 277 on Watson Road Friday night, taking pictures with new fans who fell for the blond with the big smile and the sad backstory during his four minutes on national television. Nearby stood a security guard and his manager Johnny Holzum, leader of local band Well Hungarians. Jones also is a singer in the band, which had a gig at the nightclub Friday night.

"To see it all is very rewarding," said Holzum, who has known Jones since he was 3.

Jones was prohibited from speaking to reporters due to confidentiality rules with American Idol. Holzum said Idol officials want to make sure questions don't give anything away as to the current status of the show, since many episodes already taped have yet to air.

Calls poured into Mile 277 through the day from people asking if Jones was performing with the band, General Manager Rusty Eubank said Friday night. The bar was filled to capacity, with people waiting hours for a table.

"There's been a lot of buzz," he said.

On American Idol Thursday night,  Jones told the judges he dropped out of school to pursue music full time. He also talked about his father's struggles with addiction and how it's affected their relationship.

"When you're out all the time and you're around alcohol and you're around drugs, it's tough," Jones said on the show. "It's been hard to talk to him. I'm not mad at him for everything that's happened in the past. I just wanna move forward and I want that positive synergy to bring us closer together."