'American Idol' auditions: Pants on the ground Full Video

Larry Platt capped off the night with his hilarious original song
The Journal Gazette

Idols Taylor Hicks and Fantasia auditioned for "American Idol" in Atlanta. Is the next winner one of the 25 people sent to Hollywood in Wednesday's episode?

Here are our thoughts:

Favorite advancing contestant

* Jermaine Sellers. - I loved his rendition of Joan Osbourne's "God Was One Of Us". It's a song you don't here people audition with and he stands out with it. He's adorable. --Angie
* "I'm like the Dollar Store. At the Dollar Store, you can have everything you want in one package and it don't cost you more than a dollar. ... Once you feel me, I feel you." SKII BOW SKI; American Idol Twenty-Ten!!!!!! --Ryan
* Vanessa Wolfe, the country girl from Vonore, Tenn., was my favorite. The judges kept using the word "authentic" as they described her, and I agree. Simon put it best when he said she stands out from the crowd. --Anthony

Anyone who should have advanced, but didn't?

* 62-year-old General Larry Platt. -- Angie
* Lamar Royal, who has about as much rage for judge Kara DioGuardi as I do. Had he moved on, he may have killed her with his bare hands, which would have only helped the show. --Ryan
* Not really. But I would have sent Carmen Turner back home with her BFF Lauren Sanders. --Anthony

Highlight of the night

* Randy Jackson called church singer Jermaine Sellers the "real deal." I agreed. If he can dance, he could be the next Usher. --Anthony
* Four words: Pants on the ground. --Ryan
* 4 words: Pants. On. The. Ground. --Angie

Lowlight of the night

* The 411 show girl. The 411 Show probably sucks and so does that Taco Bell "Good To Go" commercial hand roll thing. And she was terrible. Just terrible. --Angie
* How in the hell did hillbilly Vanessa Wolfe from Vonore, Tenn., win a chance to get on an "Air-o-plane" and go to Hollywood? Bad hair, bad teeth, bad accent, bad singing and she still moved on. I mean, she was so bad even Kellie Pickler looks at her and calls her a dumb blonde hillbilly . If she doesn't get paired up with the dopey guitar girl in the group competition in Hollywood it will be a crying shame. --Ryan
* I started feeling guilty watching the judges laugh at all the horrible contestants. At least the second-last contestant of the night got to tell them what he really thought. --Anthony

Random thoughts

* Mary J. Blige was great. Watching her laugh hysterically at the bad-toothed hillbilly dude try to sing Garth Brooks was priceless. -- Do the producers think we are so dense we won't notice their sly editing. Simon was nowhere to be found on the second day in Atlanta, but when the final contestant (so they said) auditioned with his "Pants on the Ground" song, boom, there was Simon in his chair and there were all the judges with the same outfits on they had on during Day 1. This show is getting so fake and bad. -- I was really sad to see Lauren didn't join her BFF Carmen in Hollywood. Woulda been fun to watch the friendship slowly crumble over the weeks as they competed. I loved both of them, though, they reminded me of some of the brilliant young ladies I tried to pick up at the mall on weekends back in my high school days. Ahhh, good times. Good times. --Ryan
* Skiibo Ski. Definition: train wreck. But even though he was a disaster, I was strangely fascinated. I doubt he will make it very far in Hollywood, though. --Anthony
* Oh Atlanta. You remind me of summer. Sweet, sweet summer, how I miss thee.