I’ll admit, I’m a huge fan of singing and dancing competition shows of almost any kind. I watched the first couple of seasons of American Idol religiously. But then it became mundane. New shows like The Voice came out, and between the back and forth ‘do they hate each other or is this for ratings’ banter between Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell, the crazy drug-induced rants of Paula, Steven Tyler’s nonsense catch phrases and constantly trying to steal the limelight, and the whole diva circus showdown last season, I thought I was over it.
So here we are now. Season 13 just kicked off and the judges are J. Lo, Harry Connick Jr, and Keith Urban. J. Lo, who if you’ve been watching, is every Idol contestant’s dream to meet. The same people who are auditioning for the show are the ones who are watching. So there’s Step 1 to getting the show back on track. No offense to Randy Jackson as he was always the moderator between all the craziness, but it was time for him to go. Step 2 complete.
Getting Back To The Basics: Finally, the show has put the focus back on the singing. The judges are no longer taking center stage. They’ve also put the focus back on the real talent, and less on the jokesters and those just looking for their 15 Seconds of Fame. I would be lying if I didn’t say part of why I love watching Idol auditions is for the William Hung’s of the world, but they shouldn’t take up as much of the show as the real talent. The 2-day Season Premiere showcased the talent. Tons of Golden Tickets were given away and there was a lot less of the hysterics and 2nd and 3rd songs being performed from the crazies who don’t believe they’re not good enough.
The auditions are always my favorite part; the time when I get to hear raw talent stand up and belt out a tune a capella for that Golden Ticket. It’s before all the hype, before they let someone else start picking songs for them to sing, and before they take an already amazing song and change it up to “make it their own” which almost always ends in butchering the original version. So while I don’t know if they will be making more changes further on in the show to fix all of those annoying “you picked the wrong song” discussions, so far my DVR is set to record and I’m hoping to see American Idol make a comeback this season.
What are your thoughts? Have you abandoned American Idol or are you willing to give it another chance for Season 13?
Brought to you by Mills Properties