American Idol 9 - Atlanta Auditions - Recap

American Idol comes to Atlanta for the fifth time for auditions. Ryan Seacrest reminds us that Fantasia, Clay Aiken and Jennifer Hudson all auditioned in Atlanta, and it's also Ryan's birthplace.

There were a couple standouts for me, in particular:

Jermaine Sellers - A Gospel singer who was second-runner up in BET's Sunday's Best in 2007. Rickey.org is rooting for you Jermaine!

Mallorie Haley - I think she had a great voice -- and she might be one of the country girls who'll make it to the Top 24 this year.

Vanessa Wolfe - She's authentic!

You can view all the American Idol auditions so far here.

The night however belonged to General Larry Pratt who was the last audition of the day. He sang his original song Pants on the Ground -- which trended on Twitter and Google immediately after his appearance, and he is now a household name.

Brian Mansfield of USA Today has a great article about of Larry Pratt -- and he's not just anyone from the street looking for his 15 minutes of fame. He's a civil rights activist his entire life -- who was beaten during the Bloody Sunday march from Selma, Ala. to Montgomery. The Georgia General Assembly proclaimed Sept. 4, 2001 Larry Platt Day in Atlanta.


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