Regional Auditions
Auditions were held in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, and Seattle in the spring of 2002, and around 10,000 attended the auditions.
| Episode Air Date | Audition City | Date | Audition Venues | Golden Tickets |
| June 11, 2002 | Los Angeles, California | April 20–22, 2002 | Westin Bonaventure Hotel | 31 |
| Seattle, Washington | April 23–25, 2002 | Hyatt Regency Hotel | 10 | |
| Chicago, Illinois | April 26–28, 2002 | Congress Plaza Hotel | 23 | |
| New York, New York | April 29-May 1, 2002 | Millenium Hilton Hotel | 25 | |
| Atlanta, Georgia | May 3–5, 2002 | AmericasMart/ Callanwolde Fine Arts Center |
15 | |
| Dallas, Texas | May 5–7, 2002 | Wyndham Anatole Hotel | 11 | |
| Miami, Florida | May 11, 2002 | Fontainebleau Hilton | 6 | |
| Total Tickets to Hollywood | 121 | |||
One of the more prominent auditioners this season was Tamika Bush who objected to the judges' critiques and their pronunciation of her name. She was later invited back to critique the contestants' semifinal performance. Kristin Holt who auditioned in Dallas was put through to the Hollywood rounds, but in her rush to embrace the judges, fell and slipped under the judges' table.
Kelly Clarkson was notable for being largely absent in the audition episode, and she remains the only winner whose audition was not aired in the original broadcast. The other top 10 finalists in Season 1 whose audition were not shown were Nikki McKibbin and EJ Day.
Read more about this topic: Alexis Stone Lopez
Famous quotes containing the word auditions:
“Addison DeWitt: Your next move, it seems to me, should be toward television.
Miss Caswell: Tell me this. Do they have auditions for television?
Addison DeWitt: That’s all television is, my dear. Nothing but auditions.”
—Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909–1993)