CLEVELAND, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- More than 15,000 wannabes, a record number, showed up in Cleveland to audition for the upcoming season of "American Idol."
Hopefuls for the popular U.S. talent series from as far away as Hawaii, California and Minnesota lined up Tuesday outside the Cleveland Browns Stadium for the first round of auditions, which began Wednesday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
Police estimated between 15,000 and 20,000 people were at the stadium, more than the 13,000 who turned out last year for first round auditions in New York.
The first singers began showing up at 6 a.m. and by noon, with the temperature at 86 degrees, the line circled around the stadium, the Plain Dealer said.
Organizers, who passed out wristbands assigning each singer an audition number, opened the doors a few hours early to get the crowd out the sun.
Singers who made the cut at Wednesday's audition will advance to Hollywood, where they will perform for judges Simon Colwell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson in hopes of competing on the Fox series.
