Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe promised the American Idol faithful that this season, there would be some real talent to be found, and it wouldn’t just be behind the newly revamped judges table. So did he deliver?
The first episode of the new season of Idol certainly featured a lot fewer wacky auditioners than years past. The show seems to be determined to prove that, like Lythgoe’s other talent show, So You Think You Can Dance, Idol really is all about the talent, not about how wacky and crazy you can make people who are brave enough to audition for the show look on national T.V.. Reviewers actually seem to feel encouraged by their first glimpses of this years supposedly vast talent pool, though it would be hard for this year’s contestants to do worse than last year’s.
The real question about this season, however, has never been the contestants. The real question has always been, can the show survive without Simon Cowell? The celebrity additions to the judging panel, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, seem to have made a good first impression. Tyler was by turns wacky, inappropriate and charmingly enthusiastic and J. Lo, though she’s struggling to stay the “nice” judge on the panel, proves once again that she’s something more than a pretty face. The smart, savvy grown up pop-star and actress had great chemistry with the other judges, and just enough snappy sarcasm to make her fun. Parents may feel a tad concerned at the number of “bleeps” that come out of Tyler’s mouth, but his network sanitized language doesn’t actually feel like a worse influence on watching kids than Cowell’s vicious critiques or mean spirited attacks on contestants.
Verdict? Too soon to tell, but things seem to be looking up for the venerable reality show.
