"American Idol" Rejects Speak

Simon Cowell was his usual self after Spc. Martha Krabill, a nineteen-year-old in a U.S. Army uniform and a red 82nd Airborne Division beret, finished singing "Dancing in the Street." "A bit of advice, Martha," the British judge told Krabill, before 29 million viewers who caught the Season Three American Idol premiere in late January: "I wouldn't sing to the person who packs your parachute."

In fact, the Port Townsend, Washington, talent-show veteran has sung in the 82nd Airborne Division's All American Band since 2001. Her lieutenant colonel, an Idol fan, had granted her leave for the audition.

"The commander of the battalion said he'd give me ten days: 'Get up to New York, do what you have to do,'" recalls Krabill by phone from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. "Usually, a commanding officer would not talk to someone of my rank." To Cowell, however, Krabill was just another first-round Idol loser. "You're awful at everything you do," he told her.

Humiliation, of course, is a big part of the fun of American Idol. We get to laugh as Cowell and fellow judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul dress down the mediocre singers and exhibitionists as they endlessly butcher "A Whole New World." Rolling Stone tracked down five of this season's first-round losers -- clowns and golden voices alike -- to talk to them about their Idol experience. Krabill sounds the most cheerful note. "I'm the loser!" she says, laughing. "I didn't even think I would make it that far. There had been 11,000 contestants in New York, and only 100 go in front of Simon. I was freaking out completely."