I have to say I enjoyed the first show tonight. It was refreshing with the new judges. Honestly I don't miss Simon at all. I also liked how they showed more of the good auditions instead of so many joke auditions. So far there is some good talent. The only complaint I have is that they included Adam Lambert in the opening credits which I thought was supposed to be just for the winners.

I have enjoyed it as well. I do miss Simon and his snarky remarks but I will say that the judges didn't seem to bother me like I thought they would. I really do enjoy watching Steven Tyler cause he seems to be really into it. I do hope Jennifer Lopez is a bit more firm on letting ppl through during the next round cause she seems a bit to nice about letting everyone through.

Love Tyler. He is a hoot and a half. You can keep Lopez. Pretty, but another soft heart like Paula, which I find pretty boring.

Way too many young people going through. IMO, throwing those kids into this is just plain wrong. They should be focusing their lives on getting an education instead. Give me a seasoned musician any day of the week.....one who has worked his/her buns off trying to get his/her music heard. I say extend the age limit in the other direction, instead.


Jeannine

I too found it very inappropriate to include Adam Lambert in the opening credits. That montage should be for winners because isn't this what it's supposed to be about - winning American Idol! I didn't notice any other non-winners in there.

I kind of liked Steven Tyler, Lopez not so much as she hates to let down anyone, and it looks like Randy is sitting in Simon's old seat and has taken on the "leader" role which I feel he doesn't pull off at all. He got that role by default being the veteran. I do miss Simon but more so because I'm used to him and some of his comments were funny, certainly during the audition phase. I watched two audition shows (TiVo) and then I removed A.I. from the cue. It's the same old same old.


American Idol is looking for the next Justin Bieber that's why. I too hate the fact that they have these young kids on there. Look, if you are a good singer and talented why can't you wait until you at least finish High School. Talent doesn't go away. They should focus on school and finish at least High School before they let these kids compete. If I recall, Archuleta, who was a good student, never finished High School because of being on A.I. and then touring, etc.

Are these young kids equipped to handle the stress of the show and try to juggle school work? I wouldn't be able to. It's hard for kids to just keep up with school work, sports, extra activities in High School and maintain good grades with the intention of going on to college, etc. even in a normal situation.

I keep thinking about many of the child actors and what happened to most of them from being in show business too soon. The majority didn't manage their lives very well.

I agree with you...if you have the talent, you will still have the talent after high school. I realize that it is all about the bottom line. Bieber is hot right now (as to why, I'm still not sure) and they probably want to cash in on the young crowd of listeners.

I, too, was surprised to see AL up on the screen. I said to my husband..."I'll be damned! I bet that is going to raise a few eyebrows." If they do that, then there are other non winners who should be there as well. I have no problem with it, but it needs to extend to include any of them who has had success.


Jeannine

I'll agree on the age topic, I think instead of letting younger kids audition they should've made it 18+.

Besides AL, the other non-winners shown in the opening credits are Carly Smithson, Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson. I love Daughtry, but I think the opening credits should only include winners. Or if they are going to include non-winners, they should rotate other pictures in there every week. What about Clay and Archie or even Kellie Pickler? They have been more successful than some of the non-winners shown. What about all the other 2nd place finishers? Aren't they as deserving of a place in the credits as any other 2nd place finisher? What about Sanjaya? He's pretty memorable, lol. If they insist on putting non-winners in the credits, I think it's only fair to switch up the pictures every week.

I like your way of thinking. If they are going to open up that can of worms by placing non winners there, then let's make sure they are fair about it. Like you, I think they just should show he winners and not pick and choose others.



Jeannine

They emphasize about "winning" American Idol because that's what they ask: "Are you the next American Idol?" It's the winner that sings their single after the votes are announced and that should be the lineup and not non-winners. There would be too many people who would deserve being shown so how do you pick and choose.

It just really rubs me the wrong way.


I can't imagine the kind of stress all of these contestants are under for the entire run. They have them running about doing those commercials, taping pre-show bits, they have to choose a song, rehearse it, all in a very short period of time. It's enough to make an older person crumble under the stress let alone someone who is simply not mature enough to handle it and teens are generally not equipped to handle that kind of stress.

Bieber might be hot right now (though I too am baffled by that) but like a lot of young teens in the entertainment business don't survive and stay for the long haul. Next year they'll be another and tweens are so darn fickle they quickly move on. Talent is talent but you also need to be mature enough and ready to have your life so changed that you don't have any more privacy. I simply can't take a teen artist seriously at my age and A.I. might have a large tween viewership but they also have Moms & Grandmoms who watch the show and they might think that kid is as cute as a button and vote for them but it's unlikely they'll buy their album because it would be geared probably towards kids in their age group. I'm not about to buy a song about a crush or going steady.

A lot of music out there is about love, heartbreaks, relationships that an older viewer can relate to and connects with the artist so how can you take a kid seriously when they are just old enough to stay home alone without a babysitter. LOL.

I agree. If one of the younger ones do win, I highly doubt I'll be purchasing the CD.


Jeannine

I really liked the first show of the new season of Idol. I didn't see too much of Thursday's episode due to a hockey game.

Steven Tyler is pretty funny...especially when Achille (the girl from the Ivory Coast) sang. His face, when they panned to him, was one of the funniest things I have seen. I thought my Dad was going to fall on the floor, because he was laughing so hard. Tyler seem to get almost every emotion/expression in his face in 2.3 seconds. I don't know if anyone else knows what I'm talking about or saw it, but man it sure was hilarious.

I like Jennifer Lopez. Yea, she comes off as the nice one, but a lot of reality competitions seems to have a 'nice' one. I'm sure she'll toughen up. I think she, along with Tyler, are trying to feel things out and get their feet wet.

I was surprised that the first episode they put 51 through to Hollywood. I know thousands upon thousands try out and 51 doesn't seem like a lot, but when (in years past) they only put through 15, 29 or even 32, 51 is quite a bit. I'm sure there's going to be a whole bunch of cuts pretty quickly in Hollywood.

I do agree with everyone on here (or mostly everyone) about the age. I think 15 is a bit young. Yea, there are talented 15-year-olds and some are out making it, but I still think it's still too young. I saw a 15-year-old on Idol and he was good, but he didn't come off as he wants to be the next Idol. It could be his age, personality and experience, but looking at some of the past winners, they've paid their dues, sang in coffee shops or bars or wherever and deserve the title. I agree with Jeannine (zoo) about giving us a seasoned veteran. Change the age limit to 18, because hopefully by then you graduated high school and stop it at 30. For something like this, I think you need a cut off age, because otherwise the judges will be in the audition room forever.

It's going to be an interesting season and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

In years past, they would put maybe 130 or 140 people through to Hollywood. Then in the last year or two it was up to about 175. The report this year is that they sent a whopping 350(!) people through to Hollywood. And as you can see from these first few audition shows, they'll send just about anyone through, especially if they whine and cry enough.

350, that's a lot! I bet at least 1/2 of them are 15/16 year olds. They put a bunch of them through tonight. There were a couple of good ones tonight. That girl who was a big fan of Steven Tyler could be real good. There really isn't enough girls who can rock out there. That last guy tonight was alright, that story is a heartbreaker

So far from watching I'm getting the sense that Steven Tyler likes to sing... you'd think he was in a band or something . Maybe he should audition.

Tomorrow looks like it'll be good.

Are they padding the numbers to make sure they actually get some good talent this year?

Quite a few of them I wouldn't have sent through.

As for the last audition on the show last night, how dare they use that girl like that? That kid was talented enough to hold his weight on that show without the tear jerker story. I'm learning to hate this show more and more because of stuff like that.


Jeannine

I do love to watch the auditions but when they do a whole hour and about 95% of it is useless...really? I get that the bad ones are good for tv but c'mon now.

I actually have never enjoyed the auditions for any season. My interest starts once they hit Hollywood and I, maybe, get to see what they actually have to work with. There are so many getting to go, I'm sure there will be a slew heading for home before they knew what hit them.

As for that apology for Steven Tyler....give me a break. You hire an edgy rocker to be a judge and you get what you get. IMO, he is the only thing saving that show.


Jeannine

I couldn't believe how many people all made it to Hollywood. There were definitely some that should have not gone through. However, it seems they want to give them another shot. Maybe they want to give them the "experience" to see what Hollywood is like and (if the show is on next season) come back and probably can do better. They seem to have softer hearts, with J. Lo and Tyler added, because they know what it's like singing in front of people when they started out hoping to break into the business. Who knows, some of the contestants they sent through...maybe they'll surprise the judges and everyone and do well. Hollywood week always seems to be interesting. I didn't see it last week, but hope to catch it this week.

I do like the auditions, but I can't wait to see the live shows. That's when I can actually hear everyone and start to pick out who I like and don't care for. It has been an entertaining season so far (at least I think so). I loved all of Steven Tyler's faces during the audition rounds. Man oh man, some of those faces he made...absolutely hilarious.

Well, I gave up on the show and removed it from my TiVo to tape it. I may catch some shows later on if there is nothing better on TV. I did think Steven Tyler's faces were too funny though.

I enjoy the fact that I can record it and then just get to the music and pass by all of the other stuff which, at the moment, takes up most of the show. So, I can get through the show pretty quickly.

Someone in the last few days voiced the concern that if 15 year old Jaycee gets through, we may be stuck with him for quite a while because people will empathize with him and throw votes his way. I sure hope not, because, IMO, his singing is mediocre at best and, let's face it.....he is way too immature to set a foot in that business. If I were his parents, I would have been totally against him trying out for that show. For his sake, I hope he is out of the running and soon.

I think that guy with the string bass (not learning names at the moment.....too many of them) was pretty interesting last night. I always seem to vibe towards the people who can play as well as sing. I'm not getting very interested in any of it until they get sorted out and they actually have a top 24. Even then, I doubt I'll vote, although I said the same thing last year and ended up voting for Bowersox a little bit.


Jeannine

Yeah, the guy with the bass does have a good voice and his bass playing was pretty good. I've got a few guys that I seem to enjoy but a couple of them seem to be annoying/arrogant so I don't know yet. There is one girl who I like a lot (don't know her name yet) but she's from Georgia and I think she's 15.

The previews for this week looked different. It looked like there was duets going one????