Final UPDATE: An Idol publicist confirms that a little over 16K hopefuls turned out to audition today in Nashville.
Melinda Doolittle and Felicia Barton are on hand today at the Nashville auditions to address the auditioners. In this short vid, they talk about their own audition experiences, and give a little advice to would-be Idolers.
Idol peeps report there are upwards to 20K hopefuls filling the Bridgestone arena today.
Chris Sligh is on location, hoping to shoot some video of his own. There’s been a Haeley Vaughn sighting (she was on her way to a FOX interview) and Season 9 contestants Shelby Dressler and Chelsea Chandler, are auditioning again. Shelby is planning to relocate to Nashville.
Brian Mansfield is rocking an awesome live blog today. Read it at Idol Chatter.
Update: Via a tweet from Brian at 12:23 et, “Local production asst. estimates at least 40+ people have gone to the winners’ room so far. None have come outside yet. ”