'American Idol' Launches Its 7th Season in Philadelphia

29 Contenders Are Headed to Hollywood

American Idol launched its seventh season with auditions in the city of brotherly love Tuesday night. But if Philadelphia is any indication of the rest of the auditions, it's going to be a long road to Hollywood.

Don't get me wrong; there were some talented people in Philly. In fact, 29 got a golden ticket guaranteeing their trip to Hollywood.

My top picks for the night were, in no particular order:

Selma, OR native Kristy Lee Cook - This 23-year-old kickboxing, horse trainer belted out a beautiful rendition of "Amazing Grace."

Chicago native Angela Martin - I'm not sure which won me over - her rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" or her love for her little girl who suffers from Rett Syndrome.

Dover, DE native Chris Watson - This 20-year-old not only had a smooth voice, but according to Simon he looks like a star.

But finding the talent among the fluff and the commercials that comprised the two-hour premiere was excruciating.

In fact we had only seen one contestant when the first commercial aired a mere seven minutes into the show. And there were plenty more commercial breaks to follow including at least one other time when we only got to see one contestant between breaks.

Then there were the promos before the commercial breaks that gave away whether contestants made it before we ever heard them perform. No suspense here.

And let's not forget the fluff, or should I say junk, between the contestants. Did we really need a whole montage showing how many swear words (all bleeped out of course) rejected contestants in the city of brotherly love know? And how many times did we need to the same contestants rant about their rejection? My kids watch this show with me. I don't want them to think these examples are how one handles rejection. No one likes a sore loser.