''American Idol'': Tales, You Win

Too many auditioners seem to be spending more time working on their backstory than on their singing, and the judges are letting them get away with it

'We're returning to a city that in previous seasons' auditions yielded a cruise-ship singer who earned Oscar gold, a geeky special-education teacher who went multiplatinum, and an illiterate single mother who conquered Broadway...''

''Welcome to Atlanta. THIS [dramatic pause] is Backstory Idol.''

Okay, so maybe that's not exactly how Ryan Seacrest kicked off season 7's latest audition episode. But for those of you who got caught up with the nation's other big contest and spent the night watching Super Tuesday results roll in (instead of the popular singing competition that precedes House), you missed an hour that rivaled an airport arrivals area for its pileup of baggage.

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