"American Idol" is back and Mr. Nasty, Simon Cowell, is along with it. But this time he's got a friend -- guest judge Mark McGrath joined the "Idol" judges Friday, to wade through the 21,000 aspiring "Idols" in the nation's capitol.

"Extra" went behind the scenes at the "Idol" tryouts where the Sugar Ray front man said the talent ran deep. "I told the panel that 99 percent of the people here can sing and perform so much better than I could hope to," McGrath admitted.

And apparently McGrath's comments carry a lot of weight. One contestant told us, "Mark McGrath told me I was the type of guy his mom would love to hear sing."

McGrath is just one of the audition guest judges. Gene Simmons of Kiss is also on tap -- but most contestants were still living in fear of one guy: Simon Cowell. "I'm worried about my outfit, I'm worried about what he's going to say about my voice and I'm worried about just overall," one contestant said.

But far from being harsh, there's word Simon might be getting chummy with the contestants. Rumors were flying that Simon might have asked a contestant for her phone number. Is it true? "No, I swear! my husband's right there," the aspiring idol insisted.

As for Simon's side of the story? "What does she look like?" he quipped. "We'll have to see what happens."

Settle down Simon. "Idol" auditions continue around the country until October 5th.