Last night marked episode 6 of Season 9 of “American Idol” on Fox, and the auditions this time were held in Dallas, Texas. Of course, Ryan Seacrest kept saying they were returning to Dallas for the third time, the city where they had found so many previous hopefuls and talent. But all they did was show clips of Kelly Clarkson’s audition back in 2001 and a few other contestants nobody remembers. Seriously guys, that was a huge stretch, and there was no need to harp on it. So you found Kelly there, big freaking deal.

On to the auditions, and the guest judges this time were Neil Patrick Harris (NPH) and Joe Jonas. I’m yawning as I write this…give me more Katy Perry! Actually NPH was pretty funny, but Joe…I don’t think he said a word beyond “yeah” a few times. Way to go, kid.

Anyway, here is the best and worst from last night…

THE BEST

Lloyd Thomas, 29 (I’m not sure how he snuck in under the age limit), has two daughters and works on a dock, like that dude in the Bon Jovi song. Anyway, Lloyd sang Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” and I was overjoyed hearing it, for real. So was Simon, who called it his favorite audition to that point…..Kimberly Carver sang her own song, and while the song was awful, she had a big voice that sounded pretty decent. Randy said, “you can blow,” but Simon thought she wasn’t current enough. Didn’t matter, she had three votes…..Erica Rhodes, a 23 year old grad student who was a child actor on “Barney,” wanted to show she wasn’t a kid anymore, but took things to the extreme dressed like a dominatrix, whip and everything. She sang En Vogue’s “Free Your Mind,” and to me was pretty good but not great. Simon loves the hotties though, and she made it through. I don’t see Erica going far though….Dave Pittman, 27, has Turret’s syndrome, but amazingly, it doesn’t affect his singing. Dude sang “Bring it On Home To Me” by Sam Cook (man, that’s an awesome song) and really nailed it. I can really get behind a story like this, because Dave is talented, unlike Scott McIntyre from last season…..Todrick Hall, 24, sang a tasty original song, and we already knew he’d be able to sing since he has performed with Season 3 champ Fantasia in “The Color Purple”….20 year old Megan Rice came in with something like “take risks” painted on her shirt, and with her hilarious little brother. Anyway, Megan surprised the judges with her super cool vocals, but I personally wasn’t blown away….finally, 16 year old Christian Spears, who was diagnosed with leukemia at age 4, but weathered it and has been in remission for 8 years, sang Etta James’ “All I Can Do Is Cry,” and was damn good, especially for her age.

THE WORST

28 year old Julie went first, and they showed her audition from Season 1 when she was 20 years old. Julie sang “Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles and as NPH said, was “not good.” She sucked in Season 1 and she sucked in Season 9…..20 year old Dexter Ward sang “If I Ever Fall In Love Again” and I had no notes written other than a big “X” so I guess he sucked too…..finally, 22 year old Vanessa Johnson sang “At Last” and it was a certifiable train wreck. In fact, Simon used the word “nightmare.” Jonas actually uttered the word “no” this time.

So that’s it….they only showed (at length anyway) three bad auditions. In all, they gave out 31 golden tickets to Hollywood from Dallas. Now, if another winner comes from these auditions, then they can start saying it’s a trend.

Next week it’s on to Denver, and I believe that might be it for the initial auditions. Sweet!