Just behind the limo came a black Chevy Suburban. Out popped Ryan Seacrest. No fey limo for him; what’s more, he opened his own door. He didn’t miss a beat. He smiled. He waved. He shouted greetings to anyone in the vicinity. The camera started rolling and he strolled in as he played emcee to his own arrival. “It’s great to be in Dallas,” he said as he moved toward the stairs that would whisk up into second-floor secrecy.

Tom Maurstad

She and her husband drove in from Palestine to support Krista, who herself had driven down from Tulsa, where she lives with her husband and three children.

“She’s been singing her whole life, mostly church music. But she’s singing a song by Faith Hill today – I don’t think church music would go over so well for this.”

Tom Maurstad

“They’re all in costume. I mean, not exactly costumes, but you can tell what they’re going to be singing by what they’re wearing. You’ve got the LeAnn Rimes girls and the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony guys. My favorite was this girl dressed as a witch, painted green from head to toe. One of the guys at the hotel said she was singing a song from the Wizard of Oz.”

Tom Maurstad

Tom Maurstad

“Fox is renting the space from us,” says Kristin Walker, marketing manager of the Dallas W Hotel, referring to the second-story spread of meeting and banquet rooms. “So it’s not like we’re a sponsor or anything. We’re assisting with security and coordination, but it’s their show. They’ve been here most of the week and I’d say most guests haven’t even noticed.”

Riding up the elevator Saturday morning with a mother and her adolescent daughter who wear the telltale wristbands, I ask how they’re doing. The daughter just looks down. The mother looks excited and worried. “Don’t ask,” the mother says, “just wish us luck.”

Tom Maurstad

Simon Cowell
(Scold)
Bar: Let him seethe awhile at the Rattlesnake Bar at Fearing’s.
Restaurant: Only the best will do — Dallas’ newest five-star, Abacus.
Event: The Dallas Symphony performs Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 at the Meyerson. Even sour Simon will appreciate the superb acoustics of the hall and performers who are, you know, musicians.

Where should 'Idol' judges visit while they're in town?

-the earliest I had gotten up in over a year
-the longest I've ever been stuck in traffic
-the most I've ever walked in one contained area
-the most worn out my lower body has ever been

and yet it was also...
-the most exciting thing I've ever covered

Plus, I wasn't the one singing my heart out to have my pipe dreams crushed. And truly, there are few greater joys in life than watching a raisin interview crazy auditioners. Brilliant! But if you'll excuse me, I've got apply some lotion to my sunburned face.

While you're at it, tell us some more stuff about you here.

It was hot and miserable. My feet hurt. I'm sunburned. I'm dehydrated.

And I actually got to come back downtown for a couple hours to work on the video diary of Josh's adventure. I was at the newspaper, with nice air conditioning and a comfortable chair, and I am still exhausted.

I didn't sing or anything. But I did a fair share of yelling at people who were getting in my shot. It was crazy, to say the least.

I also should note that, after standing at Gate 6 for about 45 minutes, I realized that there were a lot of dreams broken today.

It doesn't mean the end of the dream, according to one woman.

"There's always Nebraska," she told a friend.

But it turns out there's shade at Gate 6. (Supply your own psychological theories about letting the "winners" exit in the spotlight of a blazing Texas summer sun.)

Although, the gate of shame wasn't full of cryers as you might expect. Kip says there were a bawlers, but "most people have accepted they're horrible and have moved on."