If you follow this blog, you may have read the post I wrote after last year reviewing all of the things that were wrong with American Idol. Then a few months ago, when the promos and the rumors of all the changes that were going to be mad started to come out, it seemed like American Idol listened to the outcry of the loyal fans. Tonight's episode was the first true test to see if it was all true.
One thing that was a no-brainer was that the judging panel was going to be 100x better than last season's. That was just a given. It's no secret that I was beyond ecstatic when I found out Harry Connick, Jr. had officially joined the panel. I had high hopes for him and what he might bring to the table. But a lot of things go into what is actually shown in the episodes, so you never know what to expect. However, in Harry's case, he proved exactly what I thought about him, and I couldn't be happier. Here's what Harry brought to the table:
1) Humor
The guy is just flat-out a comedian, and the best kind, at that. He's so subtle sometimes--you have to really be listening to catch all of his quick one-liners. He's a lot like Keith in that respect. I just knew those two were going to be great together. He also isn't afraid to make fun of himself and the fact that no one seems to know who he was. I will never forget a couple of his tweets awhile back:
2) Realistic comments without being mean
Most people's complaints about Simon Cowell were that he was so mean. I liked that he didn't give people false hope, but yes, he could have done it in a nicer way. That's what Harry brings to the panel. Someone has to tell people when they aren't good. If you're afraid to give harsh criticism, then you shouldn't be a judge. That's what they are supposed to be there for...not to sugar coat everything.
3) A critical ear
More than once tonight, Harry disagreed with both J. Lo and Keith. He may have thought someone was good, but he was thinking ahead and comparing them to what he had already heard. Some singers just didn't match up and he made his opinion known. He may have lost the battle, but he put it out there that he didn't think they had what it takes to compete with some of the better singers they put through.
4) Not falling under the spell of the runs
THANK YOU HARRY! One of my biggest pet peeves is that as soon as someone does an incredible acrobatic run, the judges just swoon and think it's the best thing they've ever heard. It didn't matter what the rest of the song sounded like...it was great just because they did that run. Harry was not going to be fooled by that, and I love that! I hope he has the same opinion about screamers and people who sing loudly.
5) A hint of modesty
Who can forget Steven Tyler oogling over teens like 50 years younger than him? Harry actually said the lyrics that one of the girls sang gave him the creeps. J. Lo. was right when she said it was probably because he has a daughter that age. But how refreshing was it to hear someone from the music business give some great advice to that girl about singing something more age appropriate?! I also loved his joke about not letting his daughter get a tattoo.
I could go on and on about Harry, but I'll stop there.
Keith and J. Lo are not to be forgotten.
Since we've seen both of them on the panel before, we kind of knew what to expect from them. I love that Keith got to talk a little more now that he isn't silenced by the divas (Mariah and Nicki). He's now allowed to share his opinion. Just that simple fact alone, is one reason why this panel has the absolute best chemistry and combination opinions. They are each so different and unique, which means they will have different opinions, so we don't have to listen to the same thing 3 times in a row for each singer. But what makes it really great is that they all respect each other and just plain like each other...it's so refreshing. Without all the conflict, we can truly focus on the singers, which is as it should be. But let's face it...when the focus is on the judges, it's so much fun!
Another great thing about this panel, I think, is that they are all performers. They are each very talented, and I really trust their judgement. I think they will pick the right singers right out of the gate, which will give us some great singers to choose from in the later rounds. This was part of the problem in the last few years. They cut the really good singers for some reason. So, we all got excited after the audition rounds, only to be disappointed when the ones we really liked got cut, and we were left with just so-so singers. I think these judges will do a much better job of weeding out the so-so singers and leaving us with the best of the best. If they hope to compete with The Voice, they're going to have to do better than the last couple of seasons.
Judging by the 20+ singers we saw receive a golden ticket, I would say the talent pool is pretty deep. We saw some amazing auditions. But, as we all know, a great first audition doesn't always translate into a consistently good performer, so that number of great singers will go down at least a little. My bet is that Stephanie Petronelli (aka the girl with the hoarse voice) will be one of those...I just don't see her as being able to handle the rigorous schedule. She'll be lucky if she has any voice left.
My favorites of the night were:
Marialle
Sam
Ethan
Lindsey
Jillian
Keith
Savion
Justin
Ben
Malcolm
Munfarid
One final thought about tonight's episode. Did anyone do the math? We saw over 20 singers get a golden ticket. There were 4 singers who were good, but not quite good enough, and 3 who didn't stand a chance. The numbers were overwhelmingly more on the positive side than the negative. Even the 3 who were basically a joke--they weren't a complete joke and none of them were wearing a costume of any kind, so that was great. It looks like they are finally shying away from the completely ridiculous auditions. Granted, these 3 were pretty bad, but they didn't spend a lot of time on them, and the judges didn't feed into the frenzy to encourage their behavior. They were polite and just said "sorry, it wasn't good enough". Well done. These were the ones where you didn't feel bad for laughing. These people knew they were ridiculous. It wasn't one of those situations where the producers put someone through who really thinks they are good and then is devastated when they are told they're horrible and everyone is laughing at them.
I hope everyone enjoyed this first episode as much as I did. It was a great first night, can't wait for tomorrow!
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