If our dad was a big Hollywood movie star, we’d probably sit around on a pile of money all day.

But some celebrities’ kids actually have ambition (imagine that): Jim Carrey’s daughter has auditioned for American Idol.

Jane Carrey, Jim’s recently divorced daughter from his first marriage, tried out for the reality show by singing Bonnie Raitt’s classic “Something to Talk About.” Impressed by her “pretty voice” — but telling her she needs to work on her performance skills — the judges put her through to the next round in Hollywood.

Jane, former frontwoman of the the indie band The Jane Carrey Band, described her celebrity upbringing as “fairly normal,” though she conceded there’s an extra pressure to perform when you have a famous parent.

“I can’t wait for the world to understand what she has,” said Jim via phone after his daughter made it through.

Hilariously, judge/former Fly Girl Jennifer Lopez — who worked with Jim on the sketch comedy show In Living Color back in the early ’90s, remembered Jane, now a 24-year-old mom, from when she was a kid.

“I like the sound of your voice. I think you’re good. I think you need to think more about performing, you close your eyes a lot and that’s all good for the feeling of it, but you still gotta connect with your audience. You gotta make us feel something when you’re singing…It’s not just about having a pretty voice, which you do have.”

She made it to Hollywood, but did she receive special treatment?

Almost immediately after the episode aired, Jane’s audition prompted a lot of raised eyebrows across the blogosphere.

KTLA’s Sam Rubin wrote on his Facebook page:

“Do we have our very first 2012 American Idol controversy; and does it beg the question about nepotism in showbusiness. Jane Carrey, perfectly serviceable singer, but not at all a stand-out, auditions for the Idol judges. Maybe I have a tin ear; but it was not a stand-out at all.”

The Los Angeles Times’ Amy Reither wrote that Jane:

“Proceeded to milk that connection [with her dad] for a ticket to Hollywood on Idol. Sure, she could sing well enough, but unless she’d stood on that aircraft carrier deck and croaked like a frog, the three judges would clearly have put her through.”

Rolling Stone chimed in with:

“You see, even though she is the daughter of an A-list celebrity, she just doesn’t have enough opportunities to make it as a singer. The judges all vote yes, because they really like her ‘potential,’ which in this context means ‘dad.’”

It’s just the latest controversy for A.I. The audience for American Idol dropped by some 18 percent to 21.6 million viewers when the TV singing contest returned for its 11th season last week.

The drop was even bigger — about 27 percent — among viewers 18 to 49-year-olds, the audience group most coveted by advertisers, according to Nielsen figures.

But despite the fall-off, which Fox television executives said they had expected, the two-hour “American Idol” season premiere was still the most-watched show by a huge margin on U.S. television Wednesday night.