American Idol started out in 2002 and has since become a legendary show and a great way for ordinary but talented people to break into the entertainment industry. If you’ve been a fan of the show from the start you’ll remember that when American Idol aired on Fox they used to show lots of funny auditions of people with whimsical talents. For many the hilarious failed auditions were the best part of the show, people tuned in for a good laugh, and many viewers didn’t really care much about the actual fate of the serious contestants. However, once American Idol moved to ABC, the funny auditions were no longer part of the show. The reason for that is quite simple and relatively understandable, the network felt that it was wrong to make fun of people who were borderline unstable. On the other hand, not everyone who showed up for the auditions and failed was unstable, many of those contestants knew that they wouldn’t make it through, they just wanted their 5 minutes of fame and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, despite the fact that these funny auditions are no longer part of the show – the internet remembers. Here are some of our favorite and, in our humble opinion, the funniest American Idol auditions.
1.Derek Stillings
Derek showed up for an audition on the first season of the show and proclaimed that he believes that he can do a lot for his country and that he loves singing and performing. However, after mere 20 seconds of his singing and dancing the judges could no longer contain their laughter and Simon Cowell said he was the worst singer in America.
2.William Hung
William decided to light up the stage with his rendition of She Bangs by Ricky Martin. Let’s just say his career in showbiz wasn’t meant to be, but his confidence and positivity definitely made everyone smile.
3.Nicholas Zitzman
Nicholas was urged to audition for American Idol by his coworkers. They haven’t heard him sing, but they heard his instrumental demos and thought he should audition. He attempted to wow the judges by singing Unchained Melody.
4.James Lewis
James dressed to impress and attempted to sing Go Down Moses. But from the first note, actually no, from the first sound you could tell that James in fact can’t sing and is actually completely tone-deaf.
5.Mary Roach
Mary thought she really had a unique voice that’s a mix of “pop-rock meets broadway meets jazz and R&B”, turns out it was just a really weird voice. However, when the judges told her she can’t sing she got really angry and couldn’t believe they were serious. She even went on a long rant afterward. All in all, this was one of the strangest and angriest auditions ever.
6.Ian Bernardo
Ian definitely has a big personality but unfortunately not a lot of talent. He’s a self-proclaimed superstar, singer, and dancer, you can ask his parents, his friends, and one of his therapists. It’s entertaining to watch him talk, but American Idol is all about singing. Ian has tried out for So You Think You Can Dance before and as you can imagine that didn’t go any better than this.
7.Renaldo Lapuz
Ronaldo showed up to the audition saying he was here because it was a chance to perform for the whole world. He definitely dressed up for the occasion. He showed up all in white, with Simon’s name on his hat. When asked why he has Simon’s name on his hat Renaldo said it’s because as long as there’s media there will be Simon and people will speak his name. He then went on to sing an original song about how we’re all brothers, but the lyrics suggested he’s singing to Simon that he’s his brother and that they’re best friends forever.
8.Jacqueline Roman
Jacqueline auditioned on season 3 of American Idol and she believed she could do better than the finalists of season 2. She said she’s unique because she can sing any song. She then went on to sing the most bizarre version of Route 66. Simon called it musical murder, but watch for yourself.