Hope For a Local American Idol Finalist is Dwindling

Kristy Lee Cook may be the closest we get to a local hand in the American Idol pot this year. Which basically means Blake Lewis might get to keep his crown. (Did he get a crown for coming in second?)

Last night, we tuned into the San Diego auditions show, even though this whole AI audition process gets old after the first night. We did appreciate the guy in Dallas who sang that "We Are Brothers Forever" song, and it's a really nice tune to belt out in the shower. (In case you missed it, we'll give you the video at the end of this post.)

Anyway, that guy was from Reno, which leaves us hanging. And Kristy Lee was from Selma, Oregon, even if she was born in Seattle. Last night was the only time that the Idol troupe was holding auditions on the West Coast and, as far as we can tell, not one single Seattleite even made it into the rejects pile, much less through to Hollywood. We say "as far as we can tell," because 30 people made it from San Diego to Hollywood, and only about five of them were included in last night's episode.

So, we guess there's technically still hope. Who knows, maybe some local bloke or lass trucked it to South Carolina to try out. That remains to be seen tonight when the try-outs hit Charleston. But, for now, we're placing all our dreams of sharing the light of local artistry with the American Idol fan base on our new girlfriend Kristy Lee.

Now, here's our favorite reject so far: The Pinoy Powerhouse, Renaldo Lapuz. Check the part where Paula starts in with the sign language: