"American Idol" Rejects Speak

Mallory Mayeux
Longbridge, Louisiana
Student at Louisiana State University
Brush with "American Idol": The "glasses girl" dramatically pulled off her specs in the middle of "I'm So Excited." Paula Abdul, the nice judge, was moved to observe, "It was so lackluster!" Cowell offered to apologize if Mayeux and host Ryan Seacrest could find ten bystanders at a nearby mall who liked her performance. No such luck.
Dream: To be a political lobbyist or a campaign manager.
Reaction: "A lot of my friends from high school are kind of freaked out - obviously I got insulted and rejected on national television. But I'm kind of laid-back about it. I was one of the few people who didn't cry. I just walked out of there and said, 'I'm going to the mall!'"

Stephen Rainwater
Tyler, Texas
Student at Stephen F. Austin State University
Brush with "American Idol": After Rainwater's nerdy but heartfelt performance of Tom Jones' "She's a Lady," Cowell upbraided him with "Houston, we have a problem." Asked Rainwater, "Is there anything I can improve upon?" "Yes," Cowell said. "Don't sing again."
Dream: "I want to be on TV," says the community-theater veteran.
Reaction: "When it came on TV, I was in a night class. My phone started vibrating the entire two hours, so I was like, 'Something happened.' I was shocked. I got stopped about twenty times the next day by random people. . . . It felt a little better when people said, 'Hey, you weren't that bad.'"

STEVE KNOPPER
(February 17, 2004)