Simon Cowell
MICHAEL WILLIAMS/LFI
The two-hour season premiere of the fourth season of the FOX talent show averaged 33.5 million viewers. Those numbers are more than double the ones for the show's nearest rival, CBS's NCIS (14.6 million viewers) and Amazing Race (10.4 million), according to the Associated Press.
A year ago, when the third season of Idol debuted on a Monday in a one-hour slot, it drew 29 million viewers.
As for what viewers saw, the quality of the voices at the audition – set in Washington, D.C. – may repeatedly have come into question, but the fun quotient was fairly high. The favorite target, likened to last season’s oddity William Hung, was one Mary Roach, 18, from Manassas, Va., whose song was barely recognizable. It was Carole King's "I Feel the Earth Move."
When Roach finally finished her audition, judges Randy Johnson, Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and guest Mark McGrath reacted in silence.
"What made you audition for this competition?" Cowell snootily inquired.
"All my friends told me that I was an awesome singer," she replied, offering her services further by saying she'd sing again. "I have a ton of different voices."
"What are they saying right now?" wondered McGrath.
Cowell finally told poor Mary she had the worst voice he'd ever heard on American Idol.
More auditions will be seen on Wednesday night's Idol.
