Having been professionally trained on how to audition, and then spending years of my life actually doing it, Idol often makes me cringe.

Don't get me wrong, I still love watching it. It does remind me of a certain phase that most entertainers go through.

I guess where a lot of these people are stuck is in what I call the "Little Theater Phase". Where they are good enough to perform in front of friends and family who love them and think that whatever they do is fantastic.

But, they aren't professionals.

But, they think they are.

Then, when REAL professionals tell them that they aren't, it turns their world upside down.

One might thing that's a bad thing, but if these people didn't go on the show, and tried to go pro, the business is filled with people with far less compassion that Simon Cowell.

In an audition, professionals are trained to walk into the room. Make brief eye contact with each person in the room. Say hello, and where you are from (usually which talent Agency). Listed carefully to any instructions. Then, read, sing, do whatever the instructions are. When it's over, you say thank you, and quickly leave.

Anything extra is considered a waste of time. Having been on the other side, and auditioned performers, you see all the grandstanding the performer talking about how great they are as unprofessional behavior. You worry that if you give this person the job, that they are going to be a pain in the ass on the set. Unless the person has something you really need badly, say they are missing an arm, and you are looking for one armed men, you pass and take the person who did the audition by the numbers.

Anyway, it is interesting to watch given my own personal experiences. Also, considering I have been out of the entertaiment business for about ten years. But, I doubt the process has changed much since Thespis stepped out of the chorus.