Transformer Man made his transition from mere singer to a motorcycle in front of the entry gate and then powered his way into the audition on Thursday (Aug. 19, 2010) morning at AT&T Park

SAN FRANCISCO — It was just about dawn on Thursday.

AT&T Park was being stalked. Stalked by people wearing wings and in tutus, people painted silver and on stilts.

One guy even became a human Transformer and looking for all the world like a human motorcycle as he wheeled his way into the stadium prepared to sing “All My Lovin” by the Beatles. His song choice left a lot to be desired.

Don’t know that it matters but he is a bartender at John Wayne Airport in Orange County. And I don’t know if he passed or failed, but it’s almost a guarantee that you will see him on one of the opening shows this fall.

You see, THIS WAS THE AMERICAN IDOL AUDITIONS!

For Season 10, the most popular show on TV had skipped around the country from Nashville to Milwaukee to New Orleans to Jersey City to Austin and finally here with its auditions.

Some 9,200 showed up hoping to cash in and launch a career the way many others had over the past nine years.

And for starters, about 2,000 of that number stood attentively at the gate in Willie Mays Plaza at 7 a.m. and listened dutifully to AI producer Patrick Lynn.

Lynn was perched on an 8-foot ladder with a bullhorn in hand doing what he does best – producing.

“You, there with the camera in the front. Put it down or I’m having you taken out of here,” he said. “Now, we are going to bring in Ryan (Seacrest) and on the count of three I want all of you to make some noise. One, two, three.”
And his obedient throng responded with a loud cheer as the show’s host walked toward them. And they continued to cheer until Lynn waved them off.

“Now we are going to do one where we will have on the screen – Will the next American Idol come from Nashville, Austin, etc?. And you will all say, ‘No, San Francisco.’ Now on the count of three give me a ‘No, San Francisco!’”
So, Idol, through the genius of some very saavy tape splicers, will put all of this together under the illusion that it all happened on Thursday.

Some of it did, some of it didn’t. Mostly what didn’t was the judging by real, honest-to-goodness judges.

Those 9,200 hopefuls on Thursday were listened to by Idol execs and either given the go-ahead or the heave-ho.

The heave-ho ones exited on the side of the stadium facing McCovey Cove, some with tears, some with jeers for the judges, others with optimism for their singing future.

The go-ahead ones came out on the Willie Mays Plaza side after going through about an hour of paperwork. They have been invited to return to San Francisco (site undisclosed this time) on a date to be determined but not revealed to the general public. In fact, that paperwork basically locks them into the Idol family and the information vault slams shut.

Then when you watch the next season of Idol those deft tape splicers will make it look like it all happened on Thursday and we’ll be off and running for Season 10.

More from audition day coming in subsequent posts.