Panic ensued among hundreds of people waiting to audition for the show on Saturday outside the Park Central New York hotel in Manhattan, resulting in three arrests and six injuries.

The messy scene - which can be viewed on YouTube - caused such a commotion that the street outside the hotel became littered with shoes and clothing.

Police blamed the melee on pushing and shoving that began when the line of hopefuls swelled to a throng of several thousand.

Organisers hadn't expected a crowd that size and were overwhelmed by it. -- AP