- The auditions were, obviously,
a very important part of the show.
Do you have any that stick out?
I do, but you go first.
Do you have any auditions that stick out
that were just funny?
- Where do we begin?
- It was the great ones and the funny ones.
What was the guy that was the lion?
He thought he was a lion or something.
- But that was real, reality.
Because no one had seen the show before.
So, we saw and heard some of the worst singers in America.
They just kept throwing them onto the show.
So, we're sitting there going,
"What the hell is going on?"
- What are we doing here? - Suppose to be a talent show.
- I will say this.
I went right after the girl that sang Lady Marmalade
in, like, opera form.
Like, she was like,
♪ Gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya ♪
And I literally was like, "Oh, I think I have this."
(laughing)
I was like...
I was like, okay.
Okay, if they didn't like that,
they might like what I'm doing.
I was like, "What the hell just happened?"
- That was good timing.
Well I think that's what we said
at the end of the audition shows.
What the hell just happened?
I swear to God, Kelly.
I thought this is gonna be such a disaster.
I didn't even know, I went back to England.
I didn't even know the show was on.
And I got this phone call from this producer
who was screaming down the phone saying, you know,
"You gotta hit."
And I said, "What?"
"The show aired last night."
I went, "Really?"
"And it's a hit."
I went, "What?"
I really thought it would last about two weeks
and we'd get-- - [Kelly] Me too.
- Yeah, I thought we'd get thrown off the air.
- Yeah, all of us.
None of us knew. - But we had the best,
fun time on the road. - [Paula] I knew, I knew.
- [Randy] You knew it was gonna work?
- It was such a cool show.
Do you have any criticism that you regret?
Or just things that happened and you're like,
"Maybe I didn't hear it right, or?"
- I wish we never used the word "blamang".
That was his idea with these crazy words.
- We use to give each other a word you had to say.
- No, it was called the name game.
And it was during a live show.
And Simon would, it's like he was so excited about it.
And I will say, it was damn funny.
- Wait, what's the name game?
- The name game, he did this.
- We would write down a piece of paper.
I say, "Whatever happens,
"you have to use this word in critique."
- But he did this.
- [Kelly] You have to work it in?
- During a live show.
And he said, he goes, "Randy, Paula, here's my black card.
"Ten minutes on Rodeo Drive if you incorporate
"these words into your critique."
- Yeah, blamang. - No, Randy yours was--
- Blamang is an English dessert.
- No, you gave Randy spotted dick.
Which is a British dessert. - Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.
- How did you work that in?
- Yes, he did. - Simon, hang on, hang on...
- Did you fit that in?
- No he didn't. - Yeah, he did.
- No, he wouldn't do it and you said to me,
"Double down, I'll give you 15 minutes with my credit card."
- Wait a minute.
Explain to Kelly what that is.
- Well, it is an old fashioned English dessert.
If you go on Google...
- Please google "spotted dick" - Spotted dick.
- Then delete your Google search history.
- It's a dessert.
- But it will tell you, it's a pudding.
And then when we did the live shows,
and we were under pressure, Paula would suddenly say to me,
"Uh, give me something to say, you know, when people leave."
So, I would make up these, like, Chinese proverbs,
which are nonsensical, by the way.
- So this is a show within a show that we all missed?
- None of you knew. - Yes, we had a blast.
- The moth that eats the melon - Simon, yes, he'd say--
- You had the moth that eats the melon.
- He goes, "Paula, you're so boring.
"You just have nothing to say interesting, you're so boring.
"Say, 'The moth that finds a melon ball
"inside of a won ton.'"
- Listen.
- What a bully!
- That lasted--
- I was trying to help her. - And all I hear is that.
And then Ryan goes, "Paula?"
And I'm crying laughing and I go, "He said the moth that
"finds a melon ball."
- And then you look crazy!
- Yeah, and then--
- And we would go, like, "What?"
- Simon goes like this to the camera.
(audience laughs)
- Oh my God, you teed her up.
- Yeah, we have to have fun.
We were having fun. - At my expense.
- I actually love this though because you had fun doing it.
Would y'all ever work together again?
- 100% - Of course, yes.
- Oh my gosh, let's do this.
Oh my gosh. (audience cheers)
All right, well American Idol launched huge superstars.
Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson.
Eight times platinum, Carrie Underwood.
Queen's lead singer, I have heard this dude in person,
he is so good.
Adam Lambert is amazing.
- So good. - He's a great guy, as well.
- So, who blew you away from day one?
I was sneaky.
I know everybody everybody didn't kind of
remember me for a minute.
Like, who blew you away from day one?
'Cause for me, I was blown away with, honestly,
Tamyra and Justin on my season.
- Tamyra and Justin. - Tamyra and Justin,
but then you came in and you were so raw and honest
with no pretense that I was like,
"Yo, she's fire right there."
- I remember thinking, "What just happened?"
- [Kelly] Really? - Oh yeah.
- [Paula] You were so clever. - Even if you're lying,
I'll take it.
- [Paula] No, no. - [Simon] No, I swear to God.
- You knew who you were as an artist,
you picked the right songs, and I'll never forget
the biggest treat, is I was riding in the elevator
at CBS with you, and you were vocalizing,
and you were singing opera.
And I was like, "Is there anything this girl can't do?"
- And you were such a natural.
You were just like, you had that whole soulful vibe.
You were just natural with it.
- Well, thank...
I actually agree with that, with like, the whole season.
Our first season, it was so new.
None of us knew, we weren't entitled,
'cause everybody was just trying to pay their electric bill,
people, like nobody...
We didn't think it was gonna go anywhere, and so,
you know, we were kids at camp.
And it was something so cool about that first season.
I will so though - [Simon] Underrated.
- After working that season, I will never do
something as hard.
They worked us so hard.
Like, we were doing so many things and everybody, like,
they're like, "Oh your schedule's so busy now."
And I'm like, "Whatever." - And the movie,
I've gotta tell you, that's a standing ovation.
- [Randy] Yes.
(audience applauds) (audience cheers)
- How that never got an Oscar...
- I don't know.
- Kelly, you gotta know something.
- Remake. - He knows.
He is totally messing with me, 'cause he knows
how much I hate that film.
- I would do a remake.
- I can't stand you - Simon wants you to be in it.
- I'll do it, if you'll be in it.
- Okay, deal. - Okay.
- Okay, shoot.
- Mine's a very small part.
- [Kelly] Whatever. - Oh my God.
- But every single one of you saw it, right?
- No you didn't. (audience cheers)
Liars!
- Oh, if you haven't, please, please, please treat yourself.
- I literally told my nanny she would be fired
if she showed my children.