Copious Notes

The American Idol judges at Churchill Downs in September: Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell. Photos by Michael Becker | Fox.

So, American Idol came to Kentucky last summer and took back singers from Philadelphia; Blanchester, Ohio; Kalamazoo, Mich.; Memphis, Tenn.; Conway, Ark.; Virginia Beach, Va. (my hometown — shaka!); and a pair from Cincinnati.

It was kind of like watching a horse from out of state win the Derby.

Aaron Williamson of Louisville had a few fun moments with the judges, but ultimately, his energy got the best of him.

Right now, Kentucky, your American Idol hopes appear to lie with Shera Lawrence, a 23-year-old orthopedic office assistant from Bowling Green, the only Bluegrass State candidate we saw advance out of Louisville, and Deanna Brown of Louisville, who actually advanced to Hollywood out of the Phoenix audition that aired last week.

Prior to the start of the season, both AI judge Simon Cowell and producer Ken Warwick said Louisville was one of the standout audition cities this year. It’s hard to see that from last night’s episode, which tied together the July auditions at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds and the callbacks in front of Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul and Simon at Churchill Downs — Churchill was the only venue mentioned on air.

In all, the judges awarded 19 gold tickets to Hollywood out of the 11,000 hopefuls that started the contest in July.

Trainwrecks: As always, Kentucky gets a little nervous about how it’s portrayed in national media. Cue the banjos, Ryan Seacrest.

Probably the biggest victim of an attempt at stereotyping was Mark Mudd of Coxs Creek, who sang George Jones‘ White Lighting, and made us wonder if Simon’s ever heard of George Jones. First, Simon asked if Mudd’s UK cell phone holster was a gun. Then, after being dismissed, he said, “be careful,” and Simon and Paula acted like he threatened them. Did producers decide this was a guy to turn into a Deliverance caricature? “Be careful” isn’t a typical farewell, but Mudd’s phrasing was far from menacing.

The other rejection with significant screen time was Ross Plavsic of Crestview Hills, a physics major in a suit and tie who sang ’50s pop songs like they were opera — or someone’s concept of opera.

Rebecca Garcia of Nashville fell victim to Kara’s mean-spirited attempt at humor when the new judge suggested her version of Before He Cheats was a joke. Painful.

Winners: Alexis Grace of Memphis, who was featured in our Idol video in July, got her ticket with a belty, soulful rendition of Aretha Franklin’s Dr. Feelgood. And Leneshe Young of Cincinnati scored with an original tune and loads of cheer and self-confidence that belied her impoverished upbringing. If there are Louisville auditioners we will still be talking about in May, these two seem to be the most likely to succeed, though dueling pianist Matt Giraud of Kalamazoo and Brent Keith Smith of Blanchester — the recipient of Kara’s ecstatic “yes!” we’ve been seeing in commercials — could get it together and go.

Then again, there were 10 gold ticket winners we haven’t heard, so maybe there’s a Top 12 finalist in there. Maybe there’s even a Kentuckian.

Further reading: Make sure to catch former Idol contestant Phil Stacey’s blog for LexGo.

More on Mudd: Across the blogosphere, people seem to think the judges went way overboard in acting like Mark Mudd was threatening them with his “be careful” line:

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New 'American Idol' judge Kara DioGuardi will join Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson for the show's eighth season. Photo courtesy of Fox.

Don’t miss: Former American Idol contestant Phil Stacey is blogging for LexGo.com. Also, take a look back at our video and story from the Louisville auditions, and watch Sunday for our Idol preview in the Herald-Leader and at LexGo.com.

We’ll have to wait until May to find out who the new American Idol is, and hopefully just as long to find out if the winner is a Kentuckian from the Louisville auditions. Hey, we’re already the home state of several American Idols, including Rosemary Clooney, Loretta Lynn and the Judds — they just didn’t get the formal title.

But the question that will start being answered this week is how new judge Kara DioGuardi, 38, works into the Randy-Paula-Simon mix. The Duke University alum (pre-law) already has a distinguished resume as a songwriter for many chart toppers, including Idol winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood (she says she really wants to work with Daughtry). Thursday, fresh from a recording session with Colby Caillat, she got on the phone with the press for a conference call. We didn’t get to ask her about Louisville, but she did talk a bit about how she’s working into the show and her judging approach.

On what she brings to the show that wasn’t there before:

What’s really unique about me is that I’ve worked with a lot of the singers that are out there, that are great, from Christina (Aguilera) to Pink to Celine Dion. I’ve been in the studio with them when they’ve actually recorded songs that we’ve co-written and I’ve worked very closely with them in both listening to how they interpret the songs that we’ve written and given them guidance and support. I think that distinguishes me.

There are times that definitely Paula and I, you know — I guess everyone’s seen that bikini promo, where we kind of side against the guys. They’re maybe looking at the girls or whatever, and they want to put someone through and we’re just like, forget it. So there’s a little girl power going on. And also, it’s a change. With any kind of change, it brings out a different dynamic on the panel. In the beginning, it was a little unnerving because I didn’t know where I was going to sit, I didn’t know when I was going to speak . . .

I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes in the beginning, which is really not my personality. I usually just from the get go say what I feel and do what I want, not in an abusive way, but that’s just sort of the way I am. I’m opinionated. In the beginning I was just a little bit like, “Oh my God, there are all these cameras, all these people, what’s going on here?” And Paula turned to me and said, “Um, are you going to be you?” Kind of like that and I got the message. It was back to my old ways.

The American Idol judges at Louisville's Churchill Downs in September: Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell. Photo by Michael Becker | Fox.

Her description of the other judges:

Paula has a lot of heart. Simon pretty much tells it like it is. Sometimes he can be pretty harsh, but he’s usually right, and Randy’s just, he’s the diplomat.

. . . and herself:

I think I have a combination of all of them. I do like to say it like I see it. I don’t really mince words, but I do feel I have a heart, and when you’re dealing with creative people that have some talent, you want to make sure that you encourage them. But also, if they don’t have any talent, you want to discourage them, because you don’t want them to waste their time.

So, I may say things that are negative, but I always try to do it with some heart, and some understanding of what it’s like to be on the other side of the table.

. . . I was told I wasn’t a good songwriter; I wasn’t a good singer, for years. And it was my dream and I kept going and going and going. So, if you’ve got some talent nobody can tell you that you can’t develop that into something if you work hard enough. And I don’t want some kids to have at least something going on to feel crushed and not follow their dream if they have some ability.

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Louisville arts groups have announced a new program that will offer $10 rush tickets to more than 70 performances during the balance of the 2008-09 arts season, including propductions by Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Louisville Orchestra, Louisville Ballet and the Broadway series.

The program is part of an effort to battle the faltering economy that is putting a pinch on arts groups and patrons alike. Last month, Louisville arts groups saw their city funding cut by 50 percent.

“As an arts community, we are very grateful for the enormous support and positive feedback we receive each year,” Stephen Klein, President of The Kentucky Center, said in a news release. “This is a way for us to give back, something especially important in light of the current economic crisis. Patrons will now have the opportunity to see award-winning live performances for the price of a movie ticket.”

Discounted performances at the Kentucky Center will include the Mark Morris and Alvin Ailey dance groups. Other groups will be offering shows such as productions in the Humana Festival of New American Plays and Leonard Bernstein celebration by the Louisville Orchestra.

The Arts Rush tickets will be available in person at the box office two hours prior to the selected performances.