American Idol's Top 12 Girls Bring Glamor & Good Singing To The Show

Part Two of the Top 24 of the newly glamorized American Idol was as good as Part One.

I don't recollect previous seasons of American Idol having anywhere this level of talent.

Wednesday night was the girls turn to perform before a live audience in a taped show.

I don't remember there being a previous season of American Idol where all the girls are this good-looking.

Is it the Jennifer Lopez effect that has glammed up American Idol?

I like how, with Randy Jackson sitting in the Simon Cowell seat, he is, in the words of Carlotta Camano, "playing the bad cop this year." Only in a much kinder and gentler way than the abrasive Simon Cowell. I think I've already opined that I will find it very amusing when Cowell's new X-Factor show hits the air and bombs.

First up last night was TaTynisa Wilson singing "Only Girl (In the World)" in a performance that had Steven and Jennifer singing its praise with Randy Jackson chuckling and saying "I've got a feeling this is going to happen a lot this season." And then playing the aforementioned "bad cop," saying there were pitch issues.

The girl who cleans toilets, Naima Adedapo, sang "Summertime." Again the two newbies loved it, while Randy Jackson said Fantasia sang it much better. I saw this girl has a big tattoo on her back. The first tattoo I've noticed on anyone this year, unlike last year. The tattoo had me thinking if I scrubbed toilets for a living I really do not think I'd be wasting any money on a tattoo. This is a talented girl, though. She designed the dress she was wearing.

Kendra Chantelle sang "Impossible." She looked slick in tight black pants and high heels. All the judges liked her performance. It seemed like a slow boring ballad to me.

Rachel Zevita through off a cape as she sang "Criminal." This time the judges were in agreement again. Agreeing it was a mess.

Karen Rodriguez wowed the judges with "Hero," which had Jennifer Lopez saying "wow" multiple times.

Lauren Turner's "Seven Day Fool" had Randy Jackson singing her praises, saying, "That's how you do it. I loved the whole bluesy, soul flavor in you."

Have I mentioned another nice thing this season is finding out that Randy Jackson can be articulate and speak in complete sentences with a vocabulary that goes beyond, "Yo, dawg?"

Ashton Jones was a real cutey, singing a song I'd not heard before, "I've Got Love All Over Me." Jennifer told Ashton she had the makings of a diva. That is high praise, seeing as it was coming from a top notch diva.

Julie Zorrilla sang Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway." Julie is another cutey, but Jennifer Lopez told her she was not singing from her heart.

Haley Reinhart's "Fallin;" got the first "It was karaoke" of the night, courtesy of Randy Jackson. To which Steven Tyler wittily said, "If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong."

Is Steven Tyler going to be able to keep coming up with great original one-liners? Or will he start to repeat himself and grow stale, like Simon Cowell?

Thia Megia sang "Out Here On My Own." She did good. And looked good. After she was done Ryan Seacrest asked to see proof that she was really only 15.

Lauren Alaina sang the Reba McEntire hit, "Turn On the Radio." The judges, the audience, everyone loved it. Randy Jackson compared Lauren to a combo of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

Last up, in the spotlight spot, was Pia Toscano singing "I'll Stand By You," which had the judges in standing ovation mode for the only time of the night. Jennifer Lopez said, “I knew that you were a standout, but honestly, I feel like you were a little tricky because you were saving that for when it counted! It was out of this world.”

So, American Idol is off to a SUPER good start. Last season, at this point, it was so bad I was ready to bail. Did not like most of the singers, did not like the addition of Ellen DeGeneres. And never liked Kara DioGuardi.

I think I'll likely watch the entire results show tonight. Usually that is not the case.

American Idol Season 10 With Steven Tyler & Jennifer Lopez Off to a Good Start

I had been of the opinion that American Idol jumped the shark when Paula Abdul left, replaced by Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi. The departure of Simon Cowell seemed to me to be the final straw in the American Idol coffin.

But.

I think I was wrong. Wednesday night's first episode of the new season of American Idol really seemed like a new and improved version.

And getting rid of, what had started to seem to me, the repetitively, evermore less amusing, Simon Cowell, seems to have been a healthy change.

Sort of like getting rid of a tumor you did not realize was cancerous.

Last year, or was it the year before, American Idol hype said it would be a kinder, gentler American Idol, reflective of the tough economic times. But, I really did not notice much difference. A lot of the same making fun of unfortunate, clueless souls was still very much an element.

Last night there really was none of that old American Idol style meanness. The goofy, talentless auditioners who did appear were treated respectfully and pretty much gently. My favorite of those was the totally clueless Boy Scout.

Right from the very first audition there was a big difference, with Steven Tyler sort of singing along. It was like both he and Jennifer Lopez were more humanely, honestly connected to those trying out than Simon Cowell ever came close to being.

All in all, the new American Idol just has a way more positive feel to it. At least so far.

And I like the enhanced back stories. The daughter of a cancer survivor, a new American from Kosovo, a 16 year old kid who spent time in a homeless shelter. I think my favorite may have been the Singing Waitress.

Both Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez surprised me. Tyler due to how funny he is. Lopez due to how honestly nice she seemed. The poor lady was devastated the first time she knew she had to say no to someone. As auditions continued saying no did not get much easier, with Jennifer at one point saying, "Oh, my God, I hate this! Why did I sign up for this? I want to go home."

American Idol seemed to find some interesting singers in New Jersey. I've pretty much gone from figuring I'd be bailing on American Idol, to now I am solidly in for the duration.

A very pleasant surprise.

And one more thing. Randy Jackson appears to have lost a lot of weight and I thought he came across way better with his new judge partners.