American Idol Returns

I know I'm insane, but I can't help it. I love American Idol. A new season starts tonight, and I am anxious to see how the new judge, Kara DioGuardi, works out. Having another woman on the panel is going to change the dynamic somewhat, which is something show desperately needs. I wouldn't have minded if Randy Jackson was gone anyway. Last year, I think his only comments were, "It was aight dawg. It wasn't my favorite, but it was aight." and "Man, that was off the CHAIN!" I wanted to see at least a little bit more from him than that, but he never really said anything interesting or helpful. My hope is that this new judge is fun and honest.

So tonight we won't start seeing the real competition. Tonight we start to see clips from the auditions. Now, for some people, this is the best part of the show. Sure, it's funny and definitely crazy to see the way people act and dress for the auditions. On the other hand, it's also annoying and often cruel the way they treat people. Out of thousands and thousands of people who audition, only a very small handful get inside the room with Paula, Randy, Simon (and now Kara). That basically means certain screeners are out there in the preliminary auditions encouraging people and letting them through, telling them they passed their audition and have a once in a lifetime chance to sing on television, raising their hopes to Mount Everest proportions. And we've all seen those "passing" auditions. Some are amazing. Others are just comical. And still others are very sad.

I enjoy the human interest stories and hearing about people from all over the country that are following their dreams and wanting to raise themselves up to new experiences and a new career. However, what I can't handle sometimes is the way the show exploits people who obviously really truly believe they are good (but aren't at all) and then get their dreams smashed by Simon saying, "I'm speechless" in his snooty British accent. And when the contestant looks to him with hope and says, "Is that good?" or "Thank you!" he responds, "I didn't mean it as a compliment. You are quite possibly the worst singer in the history of this show." And then the fat girl or whoever leaves the room in tears. Those auditions sometimes go way too far for my taste. I much prefer the show after these preliminary auditions are over and the real singing begins.

Of course, they'll probably have a full month of auditions first before we ever see the semi'finals. Ah, well... I just hope we see some talent on there this season that's as good as it was last season.