American Idol 2012 for Hollywood Week Season 11: Spoilers and Frontrunners

American Idol hits Hollywood on Wednesday where the auditions will continue in earnest. This is a tense time for many of the hopefuls, so much so that arbiter Randy Jackson has let loose on the unexpected reactions of more than a few talents who landed in tinseltown to grab the golden ring that is waiting at the end of the run of this TV talent show.

"We had people fainting and passing out," Jackson said of the beginning of the Hollywood auditions. "It was crazy..more than ever… It just shows the intensity of what's going on."

The only original judge left on the American Idol panel continued, stating to TV Guide that Hollywood Week has been "the toughest" week he thinks the show has ever experienced when it came to how "the kids" reacted.

Nigel Lythgoe agrees.

The AI executive producer said at an informational conference on Tuesday, “I’m shocked these kids don’t realize how tough Hollywood week is. We had lots of people dropping like flies from dehydration, and we had a bit of a bug going around."

He talked about how many have to battle sleep deprivation, and then Nigel told the tale that's been seen on recent American Idol clips that have aired on entertainment TV shows: One girl contestant actually fell off the stage.

Lythgoe continued, "What I found interesting was the groups who went to bed at 11:30 did well and those who stayed up all night performed poorly."

Then the talk turned to whether or not there would be a special "save" at any point in the competition. You know, a "save" much like there was last year when Casey Abrams was given a do-over after he garnened too few votes to move on. Upon being given notice that he would be able to sing again, this inventive artist almost passed out at the shock of this happy news in a move that had never been practiced on American Idol.

As for this year and that "save," Lythgoe wasn't ready to give up any information on if there will be another one, or even more than one. He said that hasn't been decided yet.

As for who may just manage to get out in front of the pack for American Idol for season 11, that may be difficult to differentiate at this point since literally dozens of hopefuls were given golden tickets to Hollywood to keep on singing. In fact, for the Portland, Oregon auditions alone, 45 golden tickets were given out to singers who impressed the judges.

One crooner who handily earned his AI pass to Tinseltown was hard to miss. Trying his big chance from the Pacific Northwest, Jermaine Jones walked his 6 foot, 8 1/2 inch frame into the audition room, immediately commanding Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler to look up and listen.

Then Jones' voice did even more to improve his cause as the New Jersey native delivered a cover to the Luther Vandross anthem called Superstar. This Renaissance Man not only won a few tears but he also earned respect, especially given he is ready, willing and able to deliver from among all musical genres, from jazz, folk and opera to R&B, gospel and hip hop.
 
Another rising star to give hope to the Idol judges is a singer called Lauren Gray who auditioned in St. Louis. Taking a chance with the familiar Adele tune One and Only, Gray provided a powerful sound that seemed to mesmerize the entire panel.

Another female who impressed was 25-year-old New Yorker Jessica Phillips who covered Faith Evan's popular Again.

And Reed Grimm--who, up until this AI opportunity, has been a nanny in Wisconsin--was one of the guys who was noticed in a big way for his scatting and other unusual sounds that made for some interesting listening if you're into jazz.

So, as Jermaine, Lauren, Jessica, Reed, and the others go on the stage in Hollywood for the first part of this part of the competition on Wednesday at 8 pm ET, followed by the second part of this American Idol process on Thursday, same time different night, these hour-long American Idol auditions will tell the tale. Or at least the tale thus far as AI gets even more revved up during season 11.

That said, any idea of who will win the whole deal? That was rhetorical because, really, it is just way too early to tell.

Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.