Though much of the buzz (for better or worse) for the last few days has been for the emotionally charged audition of Chris Medina back in Milwaukee, after spending two days in Nashville -- only the second time the show has made it to Music City -- judge Steven Tyler proclaimed he thinks they may have found “the one.”

Quite a promising statement for such an early phase of the competition (there is still a few more rounds of auditions before Hollywood Week), despite it coming from one of rock’s elder statesmen, who’s undoubtedly seen his fair share of talented vocalists on the road.

The judges made one thing clear when they arrived to the famed Ryman Auditorium, former home of the Grand Ole Opry: They were hoping to find someone to fill Carrie Underwood’s multiplatinum heels. 

“Cause when you're 15 and somebody tells you they love you / You're gonna believe them / And when you're 15, don't forget to look before you fall / I've found time can heal most anything / And you just might find who you're supposed to be / I didn't know who I was supposed to be at 15” – Taylor Swift, “Fifteen”

There is something about youth that has the American Idol judges desperate to dole out golden tickets.

Call it the Justin Bieber effect, call it cuteness, you might even call it pity, but the judges' affinity for teens –- specifically 15-year-olds (the show's new lowered minimum age) -- reached a fever pitch when the show ventured to Milwaukee for a round of tryouts.

As host Ryan Seacrest pointed out, every single 15-year-old that auditioned in Milwaukee received that coveted golden pass to Hollywood.

With viewers being treated to a operatic tribute to Bieber’s hit, “Baby,” Seacrest acknowledged that the pint-sized star's lightning-quick rise was a main motivator for the show to lower the age limit from 16 to 15. This would undoubtedly usher in an influx of Beiber-like prodigies, and Seacrest said, “They've certainly delivered so far on the road."

But what exactly constitutes delivered?

Though Bieber has enjoyed unparalleled success in a strugglingmusic industry, he built up a hefty fan base with an abundance of popular YouTube videos, which gave him a foundation of fans to pull from when it came time for his debut. "Idol," however, provides little backstory for each contestant during the audition rounds, choosing to focus on tear-jerkers. 

Pop & Hiss lends an ear to the tunes that play out on "American Idol" this season.

Anyone with a keen ear to music knows it doesn’t take much to become enthralled by the breadth of musicianship that pours through New Orleans, where American Idol set up camp for last night's show. Whether it’s the sound of brass brands oozing from Congo Square or the gritty Southern rap cultivated in rough housing districts from Juvenile, Lil Wayne, Soulja Slim and Jay Electronica, the Big Easy provides ready-made inspiration for the crop of hopefuls trying to impress the judge’s panel.  

And that's to say nothing of the sounds of the more traditional jazz, folk, soul, funk and gospel that's ingrained in the city's identity, one where statesmen such as Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Aaron Neville and Harry Connick Jr. continue to be key fixtures. The music of the town even took the starring role in "The Wire" creator David Simon’s freshman series “Treme.”

Pop & Hiss lends an ear to the tunes that play out on "American Idol" this season.

Sandwiched between the tear-jerky backstories, song butchering and Jennifer Lopez gawking, there was still time for a few songs to be belted out (for better or worse) on the highly anticipated -– and hyped -- premiere of the 10th season of “American Idol.”

With the addition of a new panel of judges, including superstars Lopez and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, more business-like hurdles for the contestants and the lowering of the age limit from 16 to 15 -– surely the result of the Justin Bieber zeitgeist –- the lingering question of what would hopefuls sing in a bid to secure the coveted golden ticket to Hollywood yielded a variety of answers.

Teenagers took center stage of the first night of auditions, which occurred in a state responsible for making Snooki and The Situation household names, New Jersey. 

“Idol” has always attracted teens full of unbridled enthusiasm ready to belt out a tune often bigger than themselves. Ten seasons later, this hasn’t changed.

Despite a year rife with ubiquitous pop melodies and hooks that could make for a standout showing –- Rihanna’s bitter chorus of “Love the Way You Lie,” the instant stickiness of Cee Lo Green's “Forget You,” Katy Perry’s surprising “Teenage Dream” and the harmony of Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are” quickly come to mind –- the teens dug deeper into the American songbook than perhaps necessary. And many leaned on the Beatles for source material.