Jan 24, 2008 — Tens of thousands of aspiring singers - including a handful of York hopefuls - trekked to Philadelphia for “American Idol” auditions way back on Aug. 27.

Fast forward to the show's seventh season premiere on Jan. 15, and America saw the day of drama and fashion disasters cut and edited into two made-for-primetime hours.

I never paid that much attention to “Idol,” but after hearing seven York contestants with some pretty powerful pipes, I wanted to see who beat them to Hollywood.

From the “40-Year-Old Virgin” moment when a hairy crooner waxed his chest for Paula Abdul to the sappy montages of contestants' life back home, I wasn't impressed. No doubt, several talented singers were lost in the shuffle.

The premiere made it seem like all 25,000 people in the crowd got a chance to sing in front of Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell over two days. In reality, that wasn't the case.

According to Alexandra Gillespie from Fox and York contestants, large groups sang for producers who dismissed almost everyone without the right look or sound. A few were told to return at a later date to sing for the three judges.

Jackieraye Hoffman of Lewisberry, who

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auditioned in Philadelphia, said the season seven premiere was entertaining, but she was irritated by the way the show was edited.

“I just felt this was dishonest, but it's probably more a case of TV magic,” she said. She added that she didn't know if she was going to watch the show anymore because she's skeptical that the voting system may be the result of “TV magic” as well.

Robby Leslie of Red Lion also went to the Philadelphia auditions and tuned into the “Idol” premiere.

“It was annoying to see all the people who couldn't sing,” he said. He added that some of the chosen singers deserved golden tickets to Hollywood.

Leslie said even though the show didn't mirror what actually happened back in August, he'll probably continue to watch.

Even Chris Daughtry, season four cast-off whose band made the top-selling record of 2007, recently questioned the show's credibility in a Rolling Stone interview.

He said he was misquoted, but when I interviewed Daughtry in September before his York Fair performance, he was less that thrilled to discuss the reality show.

“('Idol') was just a platform to get my face out there,” he said. I don't think Daughtry is the only “Idol” contestant with those motives. The show's created a predictable pattern.

Anyone in the pre-selected bunch who was cute and could carry a tune was sent to tinsel town. The rest just wanted to be on TV.

After seven years, “Idol” is no longer a novelty and viewers seem to be bored. The audience for this year's premiere dropped 11 percent from 2006, according to Nielsen Media Research And this is even with the Writers Guild of America strike. Maybe if the show ditched the wacky antics and unfair selection, and focused on finding talent, I would tune in again, especially since there is so little to choose from these days.

To reach writer Erin McCracken, call 771-2051 or e-mail emccracken@ydr.com.