Minneapolis survives ‘Idol’ exposure

Folks in Minnesota are pretty good-natured at their poor– make that embarrassing– showing on last night’s American Idol premiere.

In a story this morning, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune admits that “Tuesday’s two hours of Minneapolis footage were full of more cringe-worthy moments than this year’s Vikings season.”

But it insists that the Idol wannabes “should be proud: The show’s producers thought the Target Center auditions in September were bad enough to make up Tuesday’s season premiere.”

The paper gives “Thank yous” to several “standout” local performers:Jessica Rhode, 21, of Cottage Grove , who ate up the first few minutes of the show crying before the camera — first, when she heard Jewel was the guest judge, and then when she got turned down by her and the other judges.

Jason Anderson, 16, of Burnsville, who earned his 15 seconds of fame not by singing, but by juggling and cursing (the latter directed at Simon Cowell).

Tashawn Moore, 27, of Minneapolis, who couldn’t get out more than three consecutive words from Prince’s “Kiss” before forgetting the lyrics.

The paper suggests “The second half of the show went better”:

Michelle Steingas, 19, of Excelsior, was voted to the next round after singing Deana Carter’s country hit “If This Is Love.” Matt Sato, 16, of Maplewood, got to tearfully call his mom after singing (appropriately enough) “California Dreaming.” And Sarah Krueger, 19, of Eau Claire, Wis., struck gold with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

Two other winners had stories as impressive as their singing.

Rachel Jenkins, 21, of Minnetonka, is an Army Reservist with a husband serving in Iraq.

Denise Jackson, 16, of Madison, Wis., ate up the camera with her version of the “Dreamgirls” standout “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” as much as her story about being born to a crack-addict mother. That certainly beats Clay Aiken’s geek-to-riches story…

We’ll see if the folks in Seattle, which the Idol team has flagged as the worst ever, have as good a sense of humour.

–Tabloid Baby