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Idol Thoughts
'American Idol': Suddenly optimistic about Season 10
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FOX and "American Idol" announced Wednesday (Sept. 22) that Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler would be joining the judges panel in the wake of Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi leaving the show. Since Lopez and Tyler had been the rumored replacements for months now, we weren't surprised. But what did surprise us was how much seeing them in person raised our spirits about Season 10.
First of all, thank God they are back to a three-judge format. Nothing against Kara, because we happened to think she had a lot of good things to say to the contestants, but having four judges was too much. They were constantly repeating themselves, running out of things to say and taking too much time away from what the focus should be and that is the contestants. Three judges will be much more manageable, so that's a step in the right direction right there.
Secondly, there is no longer a prickly British judge. Oh noes! Except ... this might prove interesting. There doesn't have to be a Simon and while 90% of the time we loved what Cowell had to say, sometimes he could be too harsh. We also think this opens the door for Randy to stretch his critiquing muscles. Jackson has always been a good sport in poking fun at his "dawgs" and "for me, for you, for mes," but Randy Jackson's not an idiot and he knows his way around the music world. Perhaps this turns into his time to shine.
And finally, the new judges and format changes. Before Wednesday's announcement, we had J-Lo pegged as the new Paula. But she's not. She seemed genuinely excited to be a part of the "Idol" process and she comes across as quite smart and articulate. (She also made eye contact and smiled at us, so -- squee.) But Jennifer Lopez, for all the jokes that are made about her dance music and forays into movies like "Gigli," is a talented lady. Remember what made her famous? "Selena," which she was excellent in. We actually think J-Lo might surprise some people.
As for the new Paula, that title now falls on Steven Tyler. Let's not forget that he's been around the music business for over 40 years -- and 40 hard years at that. We predict that the amount of word salad that he spews forth will simultaneously be hilarious and profound (or profound-sounding) and we cannot wait to see it.
Then you have Jimmy Lovine as the new in-house mentor and the news that the Idols will no longer be forced to jump around in different genres week to week. HALLELUJAH! There is nothing more painful than an R&B cool cat being made to sing Broadway, or a country cutie being forced into rock week (remember Kelli Pickler's "Bohemian Rhapsody"?). This is excellent news and it should make the Top 12 very entertaining.
If the above picture and their behavior together on Wednesday is any indication, the new judges panel is at the very least going to be fun, while the changes to the show's format should help with the talent pool and performances. Is this going to be "Idol's" swan song? Maybe. But even if it is, we now feel 100% better about Season 10.
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Photo credit: FOX
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I don't really care one way or the other about the judges. They could have brought in three monkeys for all I care. The contestants last year were AWFUL and the best ones were niche artists. They need to find singers with big, powerful voices like Kelly and Jennifer and Carrie or I'll tune out after the audition rounds.
I highly doubt that anything profound will come out of ST's mouth. I foresee many hilariously unintentional gaffes. And, as for Randy, I call bullsh1t on you. He hasn't show once in all of these seasons why he's on that judging panel so I don't see that changing this year. Even if he possesses a wealth of industry knowledge, he's too darn inarticulate to share it in a way that might benefit these kids.
Now that we've settled on these numbskull judges, can we please find some talent?
Get rid of that annoying self-centered prick named Ryan Seacrest and I will be on board...Until than...now that Simon is gone..its not even worth watching anymore...
I will watch the next season 10 with more pleasure than the previous ones. Now that Simon Cowell has gone the show will be much better (I couldn't stand that awful british accent!). And I love Jennifer, and equally Tyler.
Seeing this PITIFUL new cast being passed off as American Idol raised your spirits?!! And you think Simon's absence is an IMPROVEMENT? Wow, you don't get this show, do you. It's not just going to be the swan song, it's going to be the death knell. They are SO desperate to compensate for Simon's departure, which instantly killed the show, that they are steering it straight into an iceberg.
This will be due or die for this show...if the ratings continue to fall, they're done but it can't be any worse than last year's crapfest of judges and talent.
10 years seems like a fair amount of seasons to cancel the show now. I'm tuning out.
I agree...Seacrest...out!
Everyone I know had decided to take it off their DVR list even before this announcement - JLO - Seriously? Give me a break! And keeping Ryan 'I'm so full of me I can't even close the show in time' Seacrest - madness. He's an even bigger diva then she is. I am so gone.
So if they are not going to have to sing genre songs, what are they going to do? If they are Country, we will listen to 10 weeks of country, 10 weeks of rock, etc. I don't know how it could sound more boring? So there may never be another Adam singing A change is Gona come. How sad. Slash had some not kind words about AI, that seems to be echoed elsewhere. Do love Tyler, and his tongue, when loose,can make you take notice.
Everyone that says they are not going to watch anymore because of the judges, the contestants or any other reason will be watching AI or else they wouldn't make a comment on here. I for one am looking forward to watching AI. If you don't like don't watch it and keep off this web site and find something else to watch. You are nothing but crabs and live a miserable life. Go away and shut up.