KPTV - FOX 12Is the next American Idol from Portland?

The good. The bad. The really bad.

They were all at the Rose Garden for the first ever American Idol auditions held in Portland.

Close to 7,000 people performed for the reality show's producers Saturday.

Each person had around 30 seconds to impress producers. If they didn't, they were sent home. If they did, the person was invited to sing another song or two.

A couple hundred people, many of them Portlanders, moved on to the next round.

They will perform for the show's executive producers, including Nigel Lythgoe. The producers decide who auditions for the show's judges, Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and possibly Jennifer Lopez (at press time, she was still negotiating with Fox).

Rebecca Alexander-Pickrel, who runs a music studio in Portland with her husband, made it to the next round.

"I'm excited. I kind of went into the whole thing not really knowing what to expect. Not really knowing if I was going to make it," she said.  "Everybody's so talented that when you come into a place like this, it's like, what are the odds."

Alexander-Pickrel said she'll spend the next couple of months deciding the perfect song to sing for executive producers—and shopping for the perfect outfit for the audition.

"Words cannot describe how I feel right now," said Madalena Martin, 18, a Salem resident who is advancing. "I really wish I knew some words, but it just came out as [gibberish]."

While the northwest is known for it's vibrant music scene, American Idol has never held auditions in Portland. The closest the show has come was Seattle in 2006.

People trying to live up to the slogan "Keep Portland Weird," could be a producer's dream.

"I like to call it eclectic," said the show's host, Ryan Seacrest.  "Variety. That's good for us. We like that on TV."

Surveying the crowd, he said, "You can see a lot of personality in the crowd. I think the big question is, who has got a great voice to match this great character?"

While the majority of Idol hopefuls went home disappointed, many were pleased with the audition process.

"To be honest, I'm just so proud of myself for even coming. I've weenied out for so many years," said Kristyn McFarland, who lives in Damascus.  "And I know it sounds cheesy but I honestly feel like ‘nos' don't mean no, it's just not now."

"I'm feeling, actually, encouraged to just keep practicing, get more voice lessons, to come back and kill it," said Lex Levi, who flew to Portland from Tucson for the audition. "Or try other venues."

Not every rejected singer was as positive.

One woman broke a camera when an American Idol photographer tried to interview her after her audition, a moment that might end up on TV.

Other moments to watch for include the daughter of former Portland Trailblazer Jerome Kersey who belted out a version of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues"  before heading in to the auditions.  Kersey also brought a personalized Blazers jersey for Ryan Seacrest. 

It's a safe bet that you will hear contestants in many cities sing versions of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep," a popular song with the Portland crowd.

American Idol's next season starts in early 2012. The Portland episode will likely air in January.