American Idol

It’s that time of year again – time for American Idol madness. I have been a watcher of American Idol for years, though I tend to stop watching full episodes part way through the season, season 8 being the one exception. The Adam Lambert vs. Kris Allen debate was a common topic of conversation with my friends and family. After the amazingness of season 8, last season was a bummer, and I’m really hoping to see some great talent this season.

Based on the first round of auditions, I’m not sure about this season. They have shown some good singers, some strange personalities, and some typically bad attitudes. I am still depressingly unimpressed by most of the singers. Two singers that have stuck out to me from the quagmire though are Jerome Bell and Naima Adedapo, both from the Milwaukee auditions. Jerome Bell’s audition was amazing; he really payed attention to every musical aspect – utilizing dynamics, tone, and expression to their full extent. Though Naima Adedapo’s vocal wasn’t as technically impressive as Bell’s, there is still something in her voice that I liked.

The thing I hate about the audition episodes is that they seem to go on forever, but they don’t really tell us anything about the artists we’re going to be watching for the next several months. It’s easy to pick out the singers we think we’re going to like and to laugh the terrible singers out of the room, but we never really get to see what kind of music we can expect out of each contestant in the future. I’m already bored with the audition phase and ready to see the real music competition get under way, but it looks like we still have another two weeks of boredom left.

The new judges are adding an interesting new dynamic to the show. Much to my surprise, I think Jennifer Lopez may prove to be my favorite female judge ever on the show. She’s almost like a mix between the Kiara DioGuardi’s tough, musical judging style and Paula Abdul’s silly sweetness. She seems able to deliver a real critique to the contestants while maintaining a sense of composure and politeness, which I think is nice. The jury is still out on Steven Tyler for me though. He brings a fun element of comedy to the judging table and often delivers good critiques, but he also frequently creeps me out with the way he’s speaks to some of the younger girl’s in the competition and annoys me by randomly showing off his screeching vocals rather than talking.

All in all, I’d say it’s been an interesting and hopefully promising start to the season. (Please let it be a good season!) When this show has some real talent, I can’t help but love it, but when it’s overrun with nothing but mediocrity, I’m compelled to hate it. I suppose only time will tell; we’ll just have to watch, hope, and see what happens.