I have to say that for the last few seasons, I was on the American Idol bubble. Tuned in for the season opening train wrecks and then returned intermittently for for the vote-off episodes. Admittedly, it was getting old and predictable. Though Simon called it as he saw it and gave pragmatic and dry recommendations, his style became predictable. His leaving left a huge hole in the predictability of how well the show, American Idol, could go on. But going on, it has.
'American Idol' Judge Jennifer Lopez
When American Idol added Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, I wasn’t sure. But after watching the opening episodes that culled out the thousands of singers, choosing the top-24 singers, I’ve changed my mind about the show. The mix of experience between Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler sitting at the judges table brings a great new light to the series.
Randy gets to shine more this season than the previous 9 seasons now that he’s the veteran of the panel.
Jennifer Lopez brings a fresh bit of experience, as she shares her own perspectives about these auditioning processes. She’s also made me more of a fan of hers. She looks absolutely marvelous. If anything, I think her being on AI will definitely help build a fan base.
'American Idol' judge Steven Tyler
Then there’s Steven ‘bleep’ Tyler. He brings a completely fresh take on the show. He lights up when the pretty girls show up, the singers pander to him. He speaks his mind and we get a lot of those bleep covering American Idol logos. But he brings to the stage a real world experience like Ms. Lopez, giving the contestants his take. And unlike a comedienne who has no experience in the industry, (not taking away from Degeneres) when Mr. Tyler says something, it comes from a real perspective.
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This year’s contestants bring an incredible breadth of talent to the table. The judges have chosen the top-24, 12 women, 12 men to compete for the top title, but out of the last 60 to 100 contestants were mostly all talented beyond most. Well, except for a few, like how one valued the idea of getting married in Las Vegas in the same chapel Britney Spears did… over not staying in American Idol. But her now husband is her enabler, so everyone seems happy now. Then there were those few (Clint Jun Gamboa, Jordan Dorsey) who made it by doing everything they thought was necessary to make it to the final rounds, including being pretty cold to their fellow contestants, putting themselves above the others, as if they’re better. They did what they needed to, to get where they are now… but they lost me as their fan, that’s for sure.
James Durbin
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