The ratings may be down, a lot, so far this season on American Idol, but the search for talent must go on. Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler do just that by heading to St. Louis, Missouri, the last stop on their audition city tour. Will the talent be worth their, and our, time?

Join me after the jump as I live blog tonight’s St. Louis auditions. And chat with other American Idol fans during the show in our Shoutbox.

NOTE: DJSlim will be doing a limited live blog on tonight’s American Idol auditions over at our sister site, IdolBlogLive.com. Check it out for another viewpoint of tonight’s show.

Tonight’s St. Louis auditions open with a video recap of Season 4′s winner, Carrie Underwood, finishing up her chores on her family’s farm and heading to St. Louis to tryout. Can American Idol find the same gold in this city all over again?

Ryan Seacrest said 10,000 people showed up to audition for American Idol in St. Louis this year. He tries, once again, to convince us that the Idol judges will have to sort through thousands of auditioners to find the few that have what it takes to make to the finals. Ugh.

First up tonight is Johnny Keeser, a 22-year-old who is rehashing his parents divorce when he was three years old. Johnny says his dad is more like his brother than like his dad. Ugh. Don’t get me started on that. Johnny is the guy we have seen in the commercials that led up to the start of Season 11. Steven Tyler asks if they should just vote now, even though Johnny isn’t done yet. Jennifer Lopez how old he is, but Randy gets him to keep singing. Jennifer interrupts him two more times, then both times tells him to keep on singing. And I have no problem with him continuing to sing. He’s that good. And three yeses later (like there was any chance they were going to vote no), and Johnny is on his way to Hollywood.

When we come back from commercial, we see a video montage of some of the really bad St. Louis auditioners, including William Hung. This leads to a video montage of new auditioners that are best seen, not heard. Which is why the entire video montage is done in the style of a silent movie. Thank goodness for small favors.

We just saw a small clip of a young girl saying her parents auditioned during Season 4. Young parents.

Rachelle Lamb is up next, and is another auditioner who says her soon-to-be ex-husband held her back and kept her from singing. There sure are a lot of bad husbands out there this season, aren’t there? Anyway, Rachelle is now chasing her dreams. And she brings her small daughter, Maddy, into the Judges’ Room to help her chase her dream. Before singing, she bashes her soon-to-be ex-husband. She is singing “Find Somebody New” by Faith Hill. Rachelle use to be a professional singer, and it shows. She has a great voice. She has a very polished sound, but she also connected very well to the song (probably dedicated to her soon-to-be ex-husband). Three yeses later, and we have another Hollywood bound auditioner.

So now that we’ve had a second good singer make it through to Hollywood, it’s time for some bad singers. Thankfully, it’s in a video montage form, so we don’t have to listen very long to any of them. And considering just how bad they are, that’s a good thing.

After the judges activate their wonder powers, Reis Kloeckener enter the room. He had a difficult life growing up, being bullied mercilessly because he went from a small, 152-person school to a big school. One day he was singing down the hall and was heard by the choir teacher, and the rest is history. Reis is singing “Lean on Me.” He has a very interesting voice. On the one hand, he seems to lack power. On the other hand, he has terrific control over his tone, sound, and pitch. No clue what will happen to him in Hollywood, but we will get to find out as he gets three enthusiastic yeses. And some Steven Tyler tears.

Next up is 22-year-old Ethan Jones. He had a bad cut just above his left eye before he came to audition, and in his nervousness picked at it until it opened back up. He was in a band with his dad, but his dad had to drop out because he had to get help for his drug and alcohol addiction. Steven says he relates to that story. Ethan has a very bluesy voice with a lot of soul mixed in. Randy says he looks nothing like the way he sang. Ethan sings in a country band, but Steven points out that he didn’t sing a country song. Ethan says because that is not where his soul lies. Three yeses later gives Ethan a chance to pursue his soul’s taste in music.

Mark Ingram is up next. He actually works as an auditor for the hotel that the judges are conducting their auditions in. Ryan has him gather some staff to be his support group as he auditions. Randy asks the support group, who went into the room with Mark, if they have heard Mark sing. They all say yes, and all say he is good. And they should all be fired. It’s not the worst audition we’ve ever heard. But it’s not good either. He couldn’t stay in tune. He had no control over his voice, singing only on one level. He refuses to accept the judges’ criticism and sings again……. and again. It doesn’t get any better. Three nos later, and Mark goes back to work at the hotel…. something his “support” staff may regret.

22-year-old Lauren Gray is the final auditioner of the night. She is in the family business, which is a one-stop wedding shop. She sings every weekend with her father in a wedding band. Somewhere out there, Simon Cowell is screaming at his TV. Lauren says it’s been a dream of both her and her father that she makes it to Hollywood. Will she live up to the hype? Especially since she is singing Adele’s “One and Only.” I expected a country sound from Lauren, but she actually gives us a big, booming bluesy voice. And that voice has just made me fall in love with her and has put tears in Jennifer Lopez’s eyes. Queen Angie says Lauren has a Joss Stone sound to her, and I agree. Three yeses later, and Lauren ends the day on the same high note that Johnny started the night on.

As the judges end Day 2 of auditions, they are still talking about Lauren Gray. Ryan says eight years ago, Carrie Underwood went all the way. And he wonders if any of the 46 hopefuls that made it through to Hollywood from St. Louis can do the same. If what we saw tonight was any indication, I would think it’s quite possible.

So what did you think of tonight’s show? Did you manage to make it through all the audition shows? Or did you bail out three or four shows ago? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

And don’t forget to join the genius, DJSlim, and me for the Idol Radio Show tonight at 11 PM ET / 10 PM CT as we talk about this week’s American Idol auditions, The Voice and The X Factor news, and anything else in the entertainment industry that needs to be discussed. Simply click the “Listen Live” banner in the right column when the show starts.