This!

Is a boring show!

You know how I love American Idol but this season has been, for the most part, quite dull. I would find myself browsing websites, if not tweeting “What a dull show” while the performances play in the background. Sad to say, the show is not what it was once before. So let’s break it down:

• I guess it’s really the law of diminishing marginal utility in play here. Nine seasons later, the excitement from watching the show has waned. The season premiered on January 12 but I only finally started to watch the auditions weeks later. I put it off week after week after week because I knew how the pre-Hollywood auditions would bore me and, sure enough, they did. The “excruciating” auditions were fun to watch in the early seasons; now it’s all passé. Plus, the auditions kind of lost their charm when viewers found out about what *truly* happens in the selection process.
  
  
  
  
• Hollywood week is my favorite time of the show. This season, I thought the episodes were fine but I kept waiting for “some of the best Hollywood performances in Idol history,” as Seacrest proudly announced in the coming-up voice-overs. I unfortunately didn’t catch any earth-shattering performances but that’s not to say it was a boring Hollywood round. I did love Katie Steven’s For Once in My Life, Andrew Garcia’s Straight Up, Tim Urban’s Come Back to Me, Didi Benami’s Terrified, and Crystal Bowersox’s If It Makes You Happy.
  
  

• Okay, on Ellen as the new judge: love her, but the show doesn’t need her. Well, not Ellen per se but a fourth judge on the panel. I know American Idol needs constant changes in its regular cast, hence Kara DioGuardi’s introduction to the show last year. But we’ve all seen how an extra judge extends the program that the critiques of the last performance are fast-tracked to avoid potential overtime. Plus, it just feels like there are too many cooks in the kitchen. Well, less so last year when Paula’s sole role as judge was to compliment the contestant’s get-up (“you look great”). This year, we have four opinionated judges and at times it feels repetitive (“I agree with Randy, I agree with Simon”). Ellen seemed a bit off her game during the Top 12 Guys/Girls performances but I thought she gave more insightful critiques this week. And it must be said: I love Kara’s insights but not so much her swagger.

• I’m glad we’re back to the 12 guys/girls format again this year. I like an equal representation of the sexes. Besides, some of the good performers slip through the cracks with the mixed semifinal format like last year’s. At times not even the wildcard round can save a potentially good contestant.
  
  

• The first semifinal round dragged on and on and on. I’m always partial to the ladies but that was such a dull first night. I distinctly remember how strong the Top 12 girls’ performance night was in Season 5 (hello Mandisa, Paris, Lisa, Ayla, Kellie, Katharine). Later seasons were not as strong but there were at least a couple of ladies who delivered a truly memorable performance (Jordin, Melinda, LaKisha, and Sabrina in Season 6; Asia’h, Alexandréa, Syesha, and Ramiele in Season 7). This year, there really wasn’t a performance that stood out but my favorites were: Paige, Katelyn (I sense a Carrie Underwood vibe), Michelle, Didi, Katie, and CRYSTAL. Let me just say, anyone who sings an Alanis Morissette song on Idol has my vote. And while Crystal chose one of my most favorite Alanis songs ever (thank god she didn’t do You Oughta Know, which I kindof don’t like), Hand in My Pocket isn’t really one that showcases your mad skillz as a performer. But her playing the guitar and the harmonica is commendable.

• Like the ladies, the fellas had a rough night but I appreciated the performances from: Joe (love this song — I think this is the one song where Jason Mraz is really in his element) and Lee. My sister (along with many others) loves Andrew Garcia but he left a lot to be desired. John Park’s and Tim Urban’s performances were painful to the ear.
  
  

• This week was miles better than last for both the boys and the girls. I liked: Michael, Alex (my favorite of the week, love this song), Aaron, Tim (what a turnaround from last week), Lee, Crystal, Lacey (really like this girl but she needs to step it up), Katie (though I am tired of hearing this song on this show), Didi (I didn’t think it was that bad), and Siobhan.

• It’s interesting to note that, unlike in Season 3 and Season 6, there are virtually no divas in this batch of ladies. Most of the girls have that contemporary/indie pop vibe about them and I’m not complaining because I’ve always stood behind contestants of this ilk in the past (Brooke White, Jesse Langseth, Megan Joy, to name a few). Admittedly, the showstopping performances are usually delivered by the divas but we’ll see how this group of singer-songwriter ladies fares this year.

So yeah, so far the show hasn’t really done anything to excite a fan like me. One of my Idol “theories” is that a brilliant season (1, 3, 5, 7) is followed by a mediocre one (2, 4, 6). I’d pegged last year’s Season 8 to be so-so, what with the superb cast of Season 7… but in the end I thought last year’s group was pretty strong too even if I sorely disagreed with the winner. The thing about this show is, it’s become such a fixture in the first half of my year that I’d probably never give up on it. No matter how dull it gets.