Editor's note: Beginning Friday, "American Idol" finalist and Utahn Carmen Rasmusen will write a weekly column about this season's show.

Imagine this: Standing in line at your favorite restaurant in Salt Lake City and getting a number.

"How long will the wait be?" you ask as you casually look down at the number the hostess gave you.

"About eight hours."

Eight hours? Appalled, you look down at the number once more: 13,171. You think to yourself, "Am I crazy? Can this really be worth the wait?"

Strange as it may sound, five years ago I was in a somewhat similar situation — but not at a restaurant or even Salt Lake City.

Location: Pasadena, Calif. Purpose: To be on Fox's No. 1 show.

Is it worth the eight-hour wait?

Absolutely. After all, this is no restaurant. This is "American Idol."

Season 7 kicked off last week with a record number of people auditioning for the famous Simon, Paula and Randy in Philadelphia. As I watched the hopefuls belt out their best one after another, I couldn't help but think: How in the world did I ever make it?

Waiting in line for eight hours under the hot California sun was actually the easy part. Auditioning in front of the harshest critic in America? Yeah, I would say that was tough. Little did I know that I would have to survive several rounds of auditions in front of the show's producers beforehand. (FYI — those horrible singers you see on TV have already been through these "producer auditions" and have been given free passes to appear in front of judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson for entertainment value only. Imagine that!)

When auditioning for the producers for the first time, I went in a group of five. We stood in a line and took a step forward when our number was called. We sang only a line or two. I was the only one in my group asked to stay, so I realized then how important it was to make a good impression. After all, when you're up against thousands of people, you gotta do whatever it takes to think outside the box.

Way outside the box.

"So, Carmen. Tell us something unique about yourself." Wracking my brains, I quickly blurted the first thing that came to mind.

"I can talk with my mouth closed!"

And that, coupled with a version of LeAnn Rimes' "Blue," sent me over the top.

This season, there have been several people who took their weird talents — or habits — to the extreme. One guy actually brought in a collection of his old fingernails in a Ziploc baggie. Why? Because albeit extremely odd, it set him apart. We remember him. (But sadly, he will forever be known as the "Fingernail Dude.")