'American Idol' stages New York auditions

NEW YORK, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- When New York played home to auditions for the sixth season of "American Idol," the show's judges were surprised to find the contestants weren't New Yorkers.

"There were people from all over: Texas, Florida, Georgia," said Randy Jackson, "One contestant from New Jersey even said something about the tri-state area. But where are the New Yorkers?"

Jackson, Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, didn't have any real problems during the auditions, though there were some songs that they could have done without hearing multiple times, the New York Post reported Thursday.

"Alicia Keys' 'Falling,' 'Crazy' (by) Patsy Cline, just about anything by Celine Dion," said Cowell about the songs he could do without hearing by another contestant.

He was ready to list off more when Jackson cut in with "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston.

"We've seen some good, and we've seen some bad, but we haven't yet seen great," said guest judge and Broadway songwriter Carole Bayer Sager.

Season 6 of "American Idol" will air this January.