American Idol is back for it's 3rd season on ABC. Same judges return: Laty Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. Ryan Seacrest returns as the host. The premiere was a 2- hour show on Sunday night, Idol's normal time slot from now until mid-May.
The audition shows are some of my favorites. It's fun discovering new talent. To gear up for the new season I found Carrie Underwood's first audition back in 2008 when she won AI. Amazing to watch it now, Carrie as a naive country girl from Oklahoma, traveling to the big city of St. Louis for her audition. Then going to Hollywood was also a big deal, as she had never beem on a plane. Now she is a country music superstar, drawing massive crowds all over the world.
So, finding thenext Carrie Underwood is what makes Idol fun. But so are the losers, those either totally outragious because they seek attention and a shot to be on national television, or those who are just plain ol' lousy singers. For me, Idol doesn't show enough of the bad contestants during the early audition try-outs.
As usual, there was a good share of inspirational stories on last night's sow. my favorite was the Garabeman. The guy can sing. He has a little daughter. To pay the bills, he works on the trash truck. Guys like that I want to see do well.
At this stage of the competition names are fuzzy until we get to know the contenders better. The Garbage Man arrived at AI wearing old clothes with a baseball cap turned backwards. He had never sang in front of a crowd before, so, in a planned stunt, Seacrest took him out of the studio, across the street outside a restaurant in sunny Savannah, Georgia, where he sang for a gathering flock of people.
Missing last night was the inspirational tale of someone with a physical limitation, bucking the odds to sing for fame and money. There was a cute 16-year-old, fresh-faced girl ( as there always seems to be); a smug, arrogant young guy with riveting blue eyes, reminding one of a young Elvis, who got a talking to by Lionel; and a young guy originally from Nepal, now residing in Kansas.
A local guy made it to Hollywood. He lives outside of Philadelphia, way way of Great Britain. his family moved to the states when he was 11. Other than his boyish good looks, what gives this local contestant a chance is his British accent. He stands out in the competition because of the accent. He should go deep into the Idol competition.
I'm not a big fan of this current crop of judges. They are too nice. I miss Simon cowell and his honesty. The closest anyone came to Simon last night was Lionel, who bluntly informed the Elvis look-a-like that He didn't like the kids' voice or attitude. With these judges it's all about teaching.
Bryan still plays the country bumpkin at times. And Perry still tries too hard to be wacky and funny. Richie plays the "adult" in the room, the leader who tries to keep sanity and peace on Idol. There are still too many corny, sappy items, like the whole crew of judges praying together with a contestant, and a pre-arranged video hook-up with a the host of The Bachelor with a female contestant who is obsessed with the show.
Still, I'm looking forward to the new season of idol. Apparently voting by America will occur sooner this time around. So far, I haven't seen any contestant who knocked my socks off, a sure winner. I'm sure there will be the usual flair for the dramatic but also the unexpected and unpredictable twists and turns of any Idol season. Should be fun and I would blog on my comments the morning after each show...
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