//American Idol Mini Recap – Phoenix Auditions//

The eighth season of American Idol premiered last night, and we were all too excited to plop down in front of our TVs and take it all in.

There are changes in store for this season, but none of them (besides the addition of a all-new permanent judge Kara DioGuardi, who we love!), was made apparent in the two-hour season premiere.

The four-some of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and DioGuardi traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to scour the blazing hot city for undiscovered gems. And I mean “blazing hot” literally. Was it just me or did anyone else notice the glaze that appeared over most of the auditioners’ faces? Sweat-o-rama!

27 people got golden tickets in Phoenix, but no one really stood out for us as true contenders for the Idol crown. There were no David Archuletas, Fantasias, or Carrie Underwoods, but we did find a few that we liked.

Here are a few of our early favs/standouts:

Emily Wynne-Hughes – So, we don’t actually love her. She’s the one we hope doesn’t take out contestants with way more talent later in the season (Kristy Lee Cook, anyone?). She showed skill as a rock singer, but her disloyalty to her band Go Betty Go, rubbed us all the wrong way. No thanks!

Randy Madden – He didn’t make the cut, but the sensitive rocker who cried every two seconds was so hot with that tear streaming down his face that he became a favorite of ours right away. These judges don’t know talent! Turns out Randy does–he’s a huge Elvis fan according to his Myspace page.

J.B. Ahfua- If we’re going by age, the 16-year-old would be the next David Archuleta, but he’s definitely not as cute (he looks exactly like Burt from Sesame Street, folks.) and doesn’t have the voice–he does have a great voice though. We don’t expect him to go far, though. He seems like one of those kids who impress us during the auditions then fall apart with the same old Stevie Wonder song and dance in Hollywood.

Aundre Caraway- Another that didn’t make the cut. But his hawt ass dance moves and weird medical-problem-like facial quirks while singing won us over. And boo yeah! He’s on Myspace. Let the stalker love begin!

Arianna Afsar- True love! The 16-year-old annoyingly sweet singer is the first we really have super warm feelings for. Her voice is full of range–she has a slight Demi Lovato quality to her voice and you know we love Demi! Plus, she loved old people! She adopts a grand-friend as a hobby. Winner!

Stevie Wright- Another we fell for hard. We were distracted for awhile trying to figure out who she resembles–we ended up with a mix of Jessica Biel, Scarlett Johannson, and (don’t kill us) Barbaro. She was named after Stevie Nicks and did the name proud. She kick ass singing “At Last” by Etta James.

Scott Macintyre- How can you not love Scott? He’s overcome some serious challenges, like his blindess, and pushes on with the most optimistic outlook. He also has a killer voice. Story that will pull on America’s heartstrings + actual talent = welcome to Hollywood! We’re excited to see where he goes from here.