TVSquad

American Idol went to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, to find the best of the best in The Bluegrass State. Let's see if I've got the pronunciation correct: Loo-a-vulle. Is that it? You Southerners chime in here.

Let's see who stood in front of the judges tonight:

Tiffany Shedd, 18. This girl strolls in with all the confidence in the world, which is a dead tip-off that she's going to suck. And she doesn't disappoint. She sucks bad. And with her platinum blonde hair and weird powder-blue eyeshadow, she looks like a tranny. I'm still wondering, actually. Anyway, she tries singing Mariah Carey's "Hero," and Simon says she's like a donkey in a crowd of 22 horses. Needless to say, she doesn't get a golden ticket. She leaves, muttering, "They're not looking for talent. They're looking for nerds and freaks."

Joanna Pacitti, 23. Kara recognizes Joanna, because she had a record deal with A&M Records. But it didn't work out for whatever reason. A little bit country, a little bit rock-and-roll, Joanna sings Pat Benatar's "We Belong." Paula immediately proclaims her "worthy." Joanna bursts into tears as she grabs that golden ticket to Hollywood.

The eighth season of American Idol will begin auditions on Thursday July 17th in San Francisco. Other cities that will be holding try-outs for the hit singing competition show are Louisville, Kentucky; Phoenix, Arizona; Salt Lake City, Utah; Kansas City, Missouri; Jacksonville, Florida; East Rutherford, New Jersey; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Any TV Squad readers going to sing for Paula, Randy and Simon? If I were to audition (and I won't), I think I'd sing something by Stevie Wonder (cause no one ever sings anything by him), or Mariah Carey (cause her songs are super easy), or maybe I'd just do my own composition and dedicate it to Simon (he likes that stuff).

More audition information is after the jump.