Regional Auditions
Auditions were held in seven cities in the summer and fall of 2005. An audition was originally planned for Memphis, Tennessee but that was cancelled due to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort that was taking place in the city, and replaced by Las Vegas, Nevada and Greensboro, North Carolina.
| Episode Air Date | Audition City | Date | First Audition Venue | Callback Date | Callback Venue | Golden Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 17, 2006 | Chicago, Illinois | September 16, 2005 | Soldier Field | September 20, 2005 | W Hotel | 34 |
| January 18, 2006 | Denver, Colorado | September 11, 2005 | Invesco Field at Mile High | Colorado Convention Center | 37 | |
| January 24, 2006 | Greensboro, North Carolina | October 3, 2005 | Greensboro Coliseum | October 6, 2005 | Marriott Downtown | 33 |
| January 25, 2006 | San Francisco, California | August 18, 2005 | Cow Palace | Parc 55 Hotel | 18 | |
| January 31, 2006 | Las Vegas, Nevada | October 10–11, 2005 | Las Vegas Convention Center | October 12–13, 2005 | Renaissance Las Vegas | 11 |
| February 1, 2006 | Austin, Texasa | August 25–26, 2005 | Frank Erwin Center | September 28, 2005 | Parc 55 Hotel, San Francisco | 12 |
| February 7, 2006 | Boston, Massachusetts | August 31, 2005 | Gillette Stadium | October 27, 2005 | Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center | 28 |
| Total Tickets to Hollywood | 175 | |||||
- ^a Later stages of the Austin auditions were held in San Francisco due to Hurricane Katrina which caused large number of evacuees to be relocated in Texas. The show however made no mention of the venue switch and presented the Austin audition as having taken place entirely in Austin.
Unlike Season Four, no guest judges were involved during the auditions. The season used the same rules as season 4.
One notable auditioner this season was Paula Goodspeed, a fervent fan of Paula Abdul, who auditioned in Austin. In 2008, Goodspeed hit the headlines when she committed suicide outside Abdul's home. Abdul later claimed that she had objected beforehand to Goodspeed being at the audition because she knew Goodspeed and had been frightened by her past behavior, but the producers overrode her objection. The producers Ken Warwick and Nigel Lythgoe however denied being aware of her fears or that they would put her in danger.
In Las Vegas, an auditioner Tora Woloshin gained a golden ticket to Hollywood but was disqualified just before she was due to go to Hollywood for unspecified reason. She later appeared in the first season of X-Factor.
Read more about this topic: American Idol (season 5)
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)