If the scene outside the Cow Palace in San Francisco Thursday morning was any indication, Season 8 of American Idol should offer a wealth of talent. We arrived at midnight for a shift that would last 12 hours… and include 38 live shots for Fox affiliates across the country.

By the time it was over, I could barely stand…but during the shift, I had a lot of fun interviewing some of the 7,000 would-be crooners who showed up to audition. Many were young teenagers, driven to the audition by their parents. Many contestants were more than happy to sing for me on camera, including 27-year old woman who said this was her 4th season of trying out to be on the show. Some told me they had quit their jobs to take a shot at stardom. We found contestants who’d traveled from as far away as Alaska, Connecticut, and Florida, knowing if they didn’t make it through this first cattle call, they could try out again. Seven other cities are holding auditions in the next few weeks.

One young man may need to try out again. During a live shot with me, he began singing strong, but quickly forgot the words. True, it was early in the morning and very cold outside, but I gently chided him, and reminded him he only had 30 seconds to convince the judges he should make it to the next round.

The first few thousand people to arrive basically camped out all night in the parking lot. They huddled in blankets and sleeping bags, trying to keep warm and protect their vocal chords from the chilly air. It was a long night for everyone, and a grueling work pace for us, as I reported for a different affiliate every 5 minutes– it was a lot of anchor names and cities to remember, and my producers Mike Waco and Michael Lundin were incredibly helpful, dealing with the stations and making me little post-it notes with the anchor names and cities for each of my reports. My cameraman Tom Whitaker was wonderful, panning his camera and working to keep up with me as I referenced various people behind me.

A highlight was the arrival, at around 6 am, of Season One Idol runner-up Justin Guarini, who was doing a bit of audition reporting himself, working for TV Guide’s cable channel. He jumped into half a dozen of my live reports, much to the enjoyment of viewers in Orlando, LA, and other cities, and was kind enough to pose for a picture with yours truly, one of Idol’s biggest fans. I was glad to hear he’s been keeping busy and just released a set of new songs. As he moved down the line with his own camera crew, he motivated the would-be Idols, and took time to sign autographs. Nice, nice guy.

As everyone was allowed into the Cow Palace, they left an unusual sight behind: Because the would-be Idols couldn’t take them inside, hundreds of blankets and sleeping bags were left draped over the police barricades, many looking pretty ratty and torn. It’s hard to know how many were eventually retrieved, but clearly, many owners felt these items were among the many sacrifices they’d have to make on the road to stardom.