Megan Lopez, a fifth-grade teacher from Tucson, cheers outside Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, where she came to audition for the TV talent show "American Idol." Lopez ended up not making it to the next round, but said she considered Friday's audition process "an awesome experience."

Photos by Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star

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GLENDALE — The line for "American Idol" auditions at Jobing.com Arena began taking shape long before the sun peeked over the horizon Friday morning.

Would-be pop stars from Phoenix, Flagstaff and Tucson began setting up at Gate 1 hours before they were allowed inside.

It was the first time the television talent show held auditions in Arizona, and thousands turned out for a chance at stardom.

For several Tucsonans, the long wait to show their talents would prove worthwhile as they were told after performing to return for another round of auditions in a couple of months.

Considering how many "Idol" hopefuls weren't asked back, passing the first-round test was sweet for Tucsonan Brook Sample, a 21-year-old server for Rusty's Family Restaurant & Sports Grille on Tucson's West Side.

Sample beamed ear to ear as she emerged from the winner's exit on the south side of the venue.

"I've always wanted to try out for 'Idol,' but I didn't think I was vocally or mentally prepared for it at the time," she said. "When I found out about Phoenix, I decided to just go for it. Thank God I did."

Longtime friends Genny Gaus and Nicholas Gallardo also advanced to the second round. They will have to travel back to the Phoenix area to audition all over again, this time for "Idol" judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.

Gaus, 21, said Friday's judges weren't hip to her interpretation of "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," from the musical "Show Boat," but they warmed up to her during her rendition of Jewel's "Foolish Games."

Gallardo, self-assured with his fringed navy-blue scarf and Buddy Holly-style glasses, didn't have to go beyond his take on Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son" to get his pass.

The 58 Degrees & Holding Co. server said he had auditioned for Season Seven in San Diego and Miami, so he knew what the judges were looking for.

"I'm not big on being a pop star," Gallardo said. "But an opportunity is an opportunity, so I gave it a shot."

Tucsonan Marc Sandin was taking advantage of the popular Fox talent search's decision to hold auditions for the first time in Arizona, a state that has already given the show several finalists, including Season Seven's David Hernandez and Brooke White, and Season Six winner Jordin Sparks.

"We are all here, ready to try out," said Sandin, a confident 25-year-old process server, attempting to talk over a nearby trio harmonizing the Temptations' version of "Get Ready." "We are just waiting for the word."

It wasn't known if Sandin moved to the next round.

By dawn's first light, the number of eager participants was in the thousands. They strummed guitars, chatted on cell phones or worked their vocal cords while waiting in a procession that stretched more than halfway around the arena.

Among the Old Pueblo residents who would eventually be herded like cattle into the venue was Rainie Moreno, a data- entry clerk who made the trip to Glendale with her boyfriend.

No stranger to "Idol" auditions, Moreno, 24, drove to San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium last July for Season Seven, only to be cut. She struck out again at the Philadelphia tryouts less than a month later.

"I was bummed in San Diego because that was my first time and I didn't expect it to be that way," said Moreno. "I didn't cry in front of them. I waited until I got into the car."

It wasn't known whether Moreno passed out of the first round.

While Moreno had chosen the Beatles' "Oh! Darling," an homage to her dad, for Friday's auditions, Rincon High School student Clarissa Moran was shooting for the more contemporary "I Turn to You" by pop diva Christina Aguilera.

Moran turned 17 on Thursday, and the audition was a birthday gift of sorts.

Dressed in a spaghetti-strapped blue top that matched her eye shadow, she said the most nerve-racking thing about the whole experience was the bright-purple wristbands contestants had to wear. She got hers on Wednesday, during early registration, and "couldn't get it wet, so I couldn't go swimming for my birthday" on Thursday, she said.

Moran was cut in the first few hours of "Idol" auditions Friday morning, a fate suffered by scores of hopefuls as the fallen flowed steadily from arena exits throughout the day.

On StarNet: See a slide show and video of the "American Idol" tryouts online at azstarnet.com/accent.