Will Chris Medina, Lauren Alaina and others make it past the grueling round starting Thursday night? By Gil Kaufman “American Idol” hopeful Chris Medina Photo: FOX It always feels like the “American Idol” audition rounds go on forever. But, miraculously, they’re already over, and Thursday night’s (February 10) show will give us our first glimpse of the dreaded Hollywood Week. We’ve already had some serious ups and downs so far this season, with the joy of new judge Steven Tyler’s unpredictable, wacky personality and winning charm, the seeming bumper crop of stellar talent in Austin and New Jersey, the washout in Los Angeles and a few 15-year-olds who seemed to suggest the lowering of the age limit was a good idea after all. We won’t know until Thursday night which singers were able to keep it together in Los Angeles, but there are a number of promising candidates who seem like they may sail through the next round. The first night in New Jersey introduced us to the hard-luck Bronx tale of Travis Orlando and Staten Island doo-wop girl Brielle Von Hugel. On the next night in New Orleans , we got jazzy Jordan Dorsey, J.Lo fanatic Jovany Barreto and lovable social outcast Brett Loewenstern . That show also gave us one of our first promising youngsters, 15-year-old Lafayette native Jaycee Badeaux, who killed it with an Otis Redding tune. Milwaukee served up its share of corkers as well, from 16-year-old country crooner Scotty McCreery to soul sister Naima Adedapo, bar mitzvah singer Jerome Bell and Thia Megia, another stellar 15-year-old. It also yielded one of the season’s most emotional stories in Chris Medina , who was trying out in honor of his fianc
