American Idol's Ratings Plummet As Caleb Johnson Beats Jena Irene For The Win

The days of American Idol being the top rated show on American TV are over. The former regularly #1 show is now regularly in the Top 20. Usually the lower tier of the Top 20.

I, among many viewers, bailed on watching American Idol last season by the time the contestants were whittled down to the Final Five, or Six.

I did not watch last year's American Idol finale. I know a girl won, I don't know her name, I don't think she has had a hit song.

With this year's American Idol I also did not watch the finale. For me the only one among this year's singers who made it to the live shows who had any chance at pop idol type success was Alex Preston, due to the fact that he is definitely a one of a kind original.

That is this year's American Idol winner, Caleb Johnson, above, sitting on a couch with Alex Preston.

Caleb Johnson  seemed  nice enough personality-wise. But pop idol-wise? His singing seemed to me to be totally imitative of rockers from the 80s. Nothing original about him. I think Simon Cowell would have not been impressed with Caleb Johnson, with Simon's negative critiques likely leading to Caleb's boot well prior to the finale.

As for Caleb's co-finalist, Jena Irene. Well, if you want people to pronounce your named with a long E, then spell it with a G and two E's. The letter J never sounds like Gee, not that I've ever heard.

As for Jena's pop idol-ness, I was not a fan of her singing, at times it was like she went so quiet and soft I could not make out the words she was singing. Performance-wise and entertainment-wise she was sort of dull.

And then there are the judges. I liked Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban. They all seem like very nice people. But, over the course of seeing a lot of hours of the three there were some elements I got a bit tired of.

Harry Connick Jr. at times seemed to be trying too hard to be "entertaining." Throwing beignets into the audience comes to mind. His critiques, at times, seemed sort of a bit overwrought and overthought.

Jennifer Lopez I  really like. And not just because she is very pleasing to look at. But, both she and Keith Urban did something that really annoyed me.

As in more than once Keith Urban and Ms. Lopez would stand while Caleb Johnson was rocking and dance along with the music like a couple of teenagers in cool kid head bobbing mode. It just seemed wrong to me that those two would do this. Harry would have none of it, even with Jennifer trying to get him to stand and join them.

Another thing with Keith Urban, and again I must say he is a very likable guy, who seems to give good advice, at times. But, he could maybe try and expand his vocabulary a bit. He used the word "killer" way too many times. As in verbiage such as "That was killer." Or "That performance was killer." Or "Man, that was killer."

American Idol is no longer a "killer" show. I doubt American Idol will ever find another Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert, Phillip Phillips or any of the others who have gone from their American Idol exposure to a show business, or political office career.

Apparently FOX realizes American Idol's best days are behind it, and so will be cutting the number of hours American Idol airs in its next season of searching for America's next pop star....

Simon Cowell is Trying to Create X Factor Beatlemania with a Bad Boy Band Called Emblem 3

I am sort of fascinating by the train wreck known as The X Factor. It is so so bad, so over produced, so badly hosted, so lame with its back stories, so lacking in talent.

When Simon Cowell brought this talent show to American TV he crowed it'd be a HUGE hit, that he'd be very shocked and disappointed if the show was not a #1 Hit.

Well, season one of The X Factor was a dud, ratings-wise, with season two being an even worse dud.

Not Number One, not in the Top Ten, not in the Top Twenty. I have no idea how far down in the Nielsen Ratings The X Factor has fallen, but I do know the show does not have many viewers.

One of the elements that makes The X Factor lame is each of the 4 judges supposedly mentor acts in 4 different categories. The judges act as if they are competitive with each other, desperate that their acts win. It's all so contrived.

Simon Cowell mentors the groups. One of the groups is a boy band which does not think it is a boy band, because they can play guitars, which calls itself Emblem 3.

A few weeks ago, after Emblem 3 performed, Simon Cowell informed the few viewing that they were witnessing history, that viewers were witness to the birth of superstars.

I am not making this up.

The 3 boys who make up this Emblem 3 boy band seem like nice enough kids. But, the way they are being puffed up seems borderline cruel.

Anyone remember last year's $5 million winner? Heard her hit record lately? Heard last year's American Idol winner, Phillip Phillip's, hit Home song lately? Home is all over the place, was used in the London Olympics, was used in last week's Glee. I think the last we saw last year's The X Factor winner was in a Super Bowl commercial, almost a year ago.

I watched last week's performance show mostly on fast forward. After one of the few fellow viewers mentioned to me how extremely odd the Emblem 3 segment was I went back and watched it in its entirety.

It has been almost a week since last week's X Factor debacle and I've read no mention made of how bizarre the Emblem 3 segment was last week.

Before the boys sang we saw them go shopping in a Los Angeles area shopping zone. Of course a camera is along to record this shopping expedition. Eventually someone supposedly recognizes them and asks for an autograph. Soon this turns into a mob scene with a herd of screaming girls chasing the boys.

This seemed totally staged and totally unbelievable to me.

The X Factor has so few viewers how could such a critical mass of fan girls be at this location to engage in such a hysterical scene? It was ridiculous.

Last week Simon Cowell had Emblem 3 once more in the pimp spot. Pimp spot means you are the last act to perform. This is the prime spot. As the boys sang the Monkees "I'm a Believer" Simon Cowell sat there with the oddest smug look on his face, as of he was sitting there thinking he was actually going to be able to turn these boys, on this non-hit show, into actual superstar celebrities.

It's embarrassing.

The choice of a Monkees song seemed telling. The Monkees were a manufactured band on an American TV show back in the 1960s. Sort of American TV's answer to the Beatles. The mall hysteria that erupted around Emblem 3 was very Beatlemania/Monkee-esque.

Except for the fact that Beatlemania was real, was not manufactured. The Monkees, though manufactured for a TV show, became a legit pop band with a lot of hits.

I think Simon Cowell is harboring the delusion that he can manufacture some Monkees' like fandom with his Emblem 3 boys.

That might work.

If The X Factor were not a HUGE fail on American TV.

First X Factor Live Show a Noisy Train Wreck along with Khloe Kardashian's Nipple Exposure

I did not notice it, but, apparently many other viewers did, that being the element of Wednesday night's first live show of this year's X Factor, getting the most buzz was host Khloe Kardashian's semi-exposed nipple, barely hidden under a sheer purple blouse, under which Khloe opted to wear no underwear in the form of a bra.

Methinks FOX needs to pull the plug on The X Factor. It ain't working. It's embarrassingly bad, yet sort of entertaining in a watching a train wreck sort of way.

The ridiculously over the top, over done productions that explode around and overwhelms the singers is so incredibly tacky and eye aching.

Willie Jones looked sort of shell shocked at the explosion of flash and dance surrounding him.

In the picture above that is Paige Thomas standing between Khloe and Mario Lopez. What she is wearing is a perfect example of how far off the good taste track The X Factor is.

Taking a tour of the Internet this morning I see the reaction to The X Factor trainwreck is almost universal. Below are some examples of what viewers are saying....

Despite all the flash Simon takes pride in showering on this show, every acts is coming off very amateurish and the result is more like a bad syndicated variety show than a talent competition with a $5 million contract as a prize.

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Gawd this show is terrible. Anything that makes American Idol look amazingly riveting in comparison needs to die. I know the show has to distinguish itself, but I still really hate the Over  The Top production for every performance. Most of them can barely sing anyway so the wacky costumes, backup dancers, strobe lights, etc just exaggerate how awful and embarrassing they are. It all just seems so manufactured and fake, and the show feels manufactured and fake enough without all of that noise.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

What a craptastic first show. Britney has horrible comments. Demi's bangs are distracting. Simon's plastic surgery and weight gain are disappointing. LA Reid is almost as bad as Randy Jackson.

Okay that gives you a small inkling of what some viewers were thinking about Wednesday first live X Factor show.

One thing about this supposed live show that I noticed is it does not seem like a live show. There are a lot of pre-produced segments. And the over the top visually noisy productions that dwarf the singing also do not seem live, even though, apparently, they are.

I was surprised that I did not find Khloe Kardashian to be a bad host. She was a bit of a trouble stirrer at times. She was sort of the best part of the show.

The weirdest part last night, to me, was Simon Cowell's comment after the performance by one of the groups he mentors, the boy band called EMBLEM 3, who got the pimp spot as last act of the night.

Of EMBLEM 3 Simon said, "Remember this night. You are seeing a future superstar here."

Apparently Simon Cowell is losing his mind, which would also explain his bad mistake of bringing this badly produced train wreck to American TV screens.

And paying the "winner" 5 million dollars.

I Am Sort Of Liking The New Britney Spears Version of The X Factor

I must have set my DVR to record The X Factor season one, though I don't remember this, because my DVR recorded this week's premiere episodes of season two of The X Factor.

Maybe The X Factor has special powers and forces itself on to DVRs.

I had all sorts of problems with liking last year's The X Factor. It was like a real noisy, flashy version of American Idol, was one thing I did not like. I also did not like the host, Steve Jones. Paula Abdul's predictable routines with Simon Cowell got old years ago. I had other issues, that have faded from memory with the passage of time.

So, with not much else to watch, I watched the Wednesday and Thursday episodes of The X Factor.

So far I am finding season two much more entertaining than season one. Steve Jones is gone. So far no one seems to be replacing him. Paula Abdul is gone, along with that Nichole person whose last name I don't know how to spell.

I never would have thought that I would like Britney Spears as a judge. My longest exposure to Britney Spears was on her awful Reality TV Show with her equally awful, now ex-husband, Kevin Federline.

I'd heard the name of the other new judge, Demi Lovato, but know nothing about her, except that she sings songs. She plays the really sweet nice girl judge, in contrast to Britney Spear's brutally truthful, some think mean, judge.

The behind the scenes parts of The X Factor seem to be filmed in some sort of super saturated hyper realistic mode.

There are a lot of what appear to be obviously staged bits. Like, we were supposed to believe that a son is driving his mom to the audition, talking about it, with one camera filming mom from the passenger's side of the car, with another camera filming the driving son from the other side. And then we see the son sing and, of course, he does well.

Anyway, I don't know why, but I'm finding the new version of The X Factor much more entertaining than last years.

But, unfortunately, apparently a lot of viewers prefer and NBC singing competition show I've not watched, The Voice, which airs when The X Factor airs. The X Factor's premiere had only 8.5 million viewers, down 3.5 million from last year's premiere. The Voice had 3 million more viewers than The X Factor.

Methinks there are way too many singing competition shows on TV. The suffering original, American Idol seems to be having trouble finding replacement judges. I'd volunteer, but I'm tone deaf.

X Factor's Rachel Crow Signs Nickelodeon TV Series & Columbia Record Deals

Rachel Crow After Learning She'd Been
 Eliminated From The X Factor

I was real pleased this morning to learn I have yet one more thing I don't need to worry about anymore.

That being The X Factor's Rachel Crow's lack of having her own personal restroom facility.

When Rachel was surprisingly booted from the FOX singing competition Simon Cowell said something like this would not be the last we heard from Rachel Crow.

Rachel got herself a recording deal with Simon Cowell's Syco enterprise. Syco is part of Columbia Records.

Rachel has also signed a TV series deal with the Nickelodeon Channel.

I did not know 14 year old kids could sign contracts.

Rachel will have a role on a new show on Nickelodeon called "Fred: The Show."

Plus, Nickelodeon will be developing a comedy series for Rachel.

I have seen no info as to how much Rachel is being paid via her contracts with Columbia Records and Nickelodeon. I suspect it is not in the $5 million range.

American Idol Back at #1 While Simon Cowell Tries to Fix His X Factor Fail by Replacing Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger and Steve Jones

The week that American Idol ended its audition rounds in the city where they found Carrie Underwood, St. Louis, The X Factor x-ed out Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger and Steve Jones.

Watching American Idol and seeing it once more at the top of the Nielsen Ratings from the start of Season 11, which is the second season without Simon Cowell, well, it seems rather clear now that that snarky, sort of mean-spirited Brit was not what made American Idol the success that it is.

American Idol viewers did not miss Simon Cowell. And they did not tune in to The X Factor to get to listen to any of that Cowell snark.

American Idol has a lot of things going for it that The X Factor did not. Like an affable, likable, funny host in Ryan Seacrest. The X Factor's Steve Jones seemed to be a humorless drone. And way too earnest

When the American Idol auditions come to a town you know you are in that town, be it St. Louis, Portland, Aspen, Galveston, Savannah, San Diego or Pittsburgh. Usually the town's most iconic image is visible through the window behind Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson.

On The X Factor auditions you saw a glimpse of whatever town they were in and then, for the most part, spent the rest of the show inside of an enclosed space looking at a stage.

American Idol uses a lot of pre-recorded bits, like the background bios of various auditioners. These are quite well done and often have a sort of charm to them. During the audition part, The X Factor did none of that type background, and when they did do so, when it got to the performance shows, the canned bios seemed really cheesy and sort of smarmy.

Speaking of the performance shows, that is where The X Factor really went awry. Way too over the top production numbers. Every bit of electronic flash being way too overused to the point it often seemed like a bad Vegas show run amok.

The X Factor seemed to rush to its conclusion, where American Idol does a slow build to finally picking a winner.

The fact that the winner of The X Factor was Melanie Amaro was just one more added factor of what was wrong.

Not that Melanie Amaro was not a perfectly fine singer. What was wrong was the contrived thing where Simon Cowell booted her and then went on and on about having made the worst mistake of his life. With the mistake being rectified by flying to Melanie's home, where cameras were ready. to tell Melanie he'd made a mistake, and that she was back on the show.

Which she then proceeded to win, in what seemed a few weeks later.

Getting rid of Paula, Nicole and Steve does not seem to fix, to me, what was wrong with The X Factor. I like Paula Abdul. I did not like L.A. Reid. L.A. Reid is not a good TV personality.

Anyway, back to American Idol. I am tone deaf, mostly, but to me, this year, American Idol, via its audition process, seems to have found a lot of potential Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson level talent.

Methinks it is time American Idol produces a male winner who goes on to an Underwood/Clarkson ;level of success.

And FOX needs to just cancel The X Factor.

A Very Bruised X Factor Limps Toward The End

One does not have to do much info searching to learn that I am not alone in finding Simon Cowell's US version of The X Factor to be a major disappointment and an over all big DUD.

I'm glad to learn I am not the only one appalled by how badly produced this overly slick train wreck is. And that the host, Steve Jones, just is really not American TV worthy or ready. Send him back to his home island.

An article in Reuters pretty much says all that needs to be said about the failure of The X Factor to have the necessary X Factor to be a hit on American TV....

Bruised "X Factor" limps toward finals

(Reuters) - American viewers have chosen the three singers who will compete in the finals of "The X Factor" after a first season that underwhelmed critics and raised questions about audience fatigue ahead of returning TV contests "American Idol" and "The Voice."

Power ballad singer Melanie Amaro, 19, bluesy Josh Krajcik, 30, and troubled rapper Chris Rene, 28, will sing for a $5 million recording contract in next week's two-part finale of the Fox show.

But after major hype from creator and judge Simon Cowell -- who had initially predicted "X Factor" would replace "American Idol" as the most-watched show on U.S. television -- the program's bickering mentor-judges, big production numbers and flashing lights has left many critics scratching their heads.

"As a viewer, it is agonizing to watch and just so fake that none of it is compelling, " said Annie Barrett, who covers "X Factor" for Entertainment Weekly.

"Everything is a gimmick. It is a glossy, shiny version of a reality show that might give you a seizure because of all the lasers and lights," Barrett told Reuters.

Thursday's semi-final, in which 20-year-old hopeful Marcus Canty was eliminated, drew 9.6 million viewers -- below the audience for a repeat of CBS comedy "The Big Bang Theory" and less than half the regular audience for "American Idol" earlier this year.

Fox executives say they are happy with the viewer numbers, especially among teens, and the show has helped the network reverse its historically patchy fall ratings in the 18-49 viewer group most coveted by advertisers.

Fox has already ordered a second season for the fall of 2012, calling "X Factor" a "monumental success."

CRYING FOR CROW

Andy Dehnart, editor of realityblurred.com, said that for all the new tweaks in the singing contest formula, few were for the better.

"There is no real national buzz about it. I don't think 'X Factor' has broken through the zeitgeist in the same way as 'American Idol'," said Dehnart.

Indeed, it seems the first season's most memorable moment came a week ago when bubbly 13-year-old Rachel Crow collapsed in tears on being sent home, sparking viewer outrage against judge Nicole Scherzinger.

Whoever wins after public votes are announced next Thursday, Cowell's hopes of discovering a new global singing star -- who will be signed to his Sony Music-owned record label SyCo -- may be dashed.

None of the instantly downloadable songs from this week's semi-final were in the Top 50 iTunes singles charts on Friday.

"I don't see anyone here who is going to be the next Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood, which is what the show claimed it was going to do," said Dehnart.

Barrett said that four months of "X Factor" twice a week had made her appreciate "American Idol".

But with NBC's surprise hit "The Voice" returning in February and "Idol's" 11th season beginning in mid-January on Fox, Americans may soon lose their appetite for lengthy singing contests.

"I do think there will be some fatigue going into next season with both 'American Idol' and 'The Voice.' Two nights a week is a huge commitment," Barrett said.

But Dehnart was more optimistic. "If we are going to see any kind of fatigue with this kind of show, it is going to show up now. But I wouldn't be surprised if they all work on their own level."

Is The X Factor An Epic Fail For Simon Cowell?

In last week's Nielsen Ratings The X Factor was not in the Top 20. In this week's The X Factor the Wednesday performance show managed to tie for the 20th spot in the Top 20 with Rules of Engagement.

The Thursday X Factor results show did not make the Top 20.

In the latest Nielsen's The X Factor drew 11.8 million viewers to the Wednesday performance show. That is a drop from the season average of 13.2 million.

Simon Cowell has been quoted in the press saying he expected The X Factor to attract over 20 million viewers and would be very disappointed if it did not.

I'm guessing Simon Cowell is feeling a bit disappointed, then, at what appears to be an epic fail.

I think there may be several reasons The X Factor has not caught on with the American TV viewing public.

One reason is that there have been way too many of these singing competition type shows. And other similar type Reality TV competition type shows. Some sing, some dance, some perform any type of oddball act. All perform in front of a panel of judges who judge them. At some point the viewers vote.

Another reason The X Factor may have turned American viewers off is the host, Steve Jones. He is from the UK, not the US. He seems a nice enough guy, but lacks the Ryan Seacrest charm/amusement factor.

Another reason American viewers may have not liked The X Factor is it is way too slickly produced. And not in a good way. Way too many canned pieces. Even on the live shows.

The X Factor is filmed in the same studio as American Idol. American Idol makes much more subtle, sophisticated use of it staging pyrotechnics. The X Factor seems to constantly be launching every flashing light in the building. Way too visually noisy.

The competition between the judges seems phony and forced.

The first The X Factor results show was a train wreck level of bad. Way too many canned un-live bits for a live show. The group number was horrendous, poorly staged, badly choreographed and again with the over the top pyrotechnics.

Because The X Factor is not a hit, unlike American Idol or Dancing with the Stars, The X Factor, apparently, was unable to book someone  currently popular, like Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber, to sing on the first results show. Instead The X Factor had a group I've never heard of and who's name I do not remember.sing a song I did not like.

And then there were the results. Steve Jones says something like "We will now reveal the first person who is moving on to next week's live performance show," pause pause pause pause pause, "after the break."

Then after the break, still no results, more boring stuff, and then back to the it is time to reveal the first person bit, and again with the very very very long pause til finally a name is revealed. This process was repeated over and over and over again with the long long long long long pauses and then either a name or another commercial break.

This made for very very very very bad TV.

And then we get to 2 remaining. They have to sing again. It is two of Paula Abdul's boring groups. They sing. The judges then vote who to send home. If it is a tie, the group who gets the lowest public votes goes home. Simon votes for the group of a couple 100 kids called Intensity. The other 3 judges vote for Stereo Hogz, with L.A Reid being slow to vote, with Steve Jones telling Reid to hurry up, time is running out.

Which had me thinking, where was valuing time as precious when we had all those long long long long pauses waiting for Jones to name a name?

Unless the ratings pick up I don't see why FOX would bring back The X Factor for a second season. The show just does not have the X factor.

The X Factor Appears To Be A Big Copy Cat Fail So Far

With the help of my DVR's fast forward button I have made it through the first 4 episodes of The X Factor.

I somehow thought Simon Cowell was bringing an original new singing competition Reality TV Show to American TV. I did not realize The X Factor was a British import. Like America's Got Talent, which came from Britain's Got Talent.

Speaking of America's Got Talent, so far, The X Factor seems to be the same show as America's Got Talent. Same format for the auditions anyway.

Maybe The X Factor starts being unique when it gets to the "Boot Camp" part, and then the live shows.

The first hour of The X Factor seemed to have 4 Susan Boyle moments. By the 4th Susan Boyle moment the moments started seeming manufactured to me.

I remember no names, but in the first hour, which were the Los Angeles auditions, we started off with a cute little girl who had the crowd on their feet. Then an abused 42 year old lady with two kids who had the crowd on their feet. Then an Usher like kid who had the crowd on their feet. And finally a guy 70 days out of re-hab who had the crowd in their feet.

By the 2nd hour, in Seattle, 3rd hour in Miami and 4th hour in Dallas, I'd gotten used to the formula.

The initial ratings for The X Factor have not been good.

I think a lot of viewers were likely thinking there was nothing new, different, original or relevant about this latest singing competition show.

Except for it having the biggest prize in Reality Show history, at $5 million.

I must mention the Seattle auditions. Opening with a guy exposing himself, with Paula Abdul recoiling in horror and running from Key Arena was just bizarre. Was The X Factor so unsure of itself that it had to use such a tacky gimmick?

Methinks Simon Cowell may have a big fail on his hands. Me also thinks there are a lot of TV viewers who may derive some reality pleasure from Simon Cowell suffering a big fail, due to The X Factor being un-original and irrelevant.

That is what is known as irony.

American Idol's Final 12 Men's Excellent Start to the "Live" Shows

In the picture are 11 of the final 12 men/boys on American Idol. I believe Casey Abrams is missing from the photo due to being ill.

Casey Abrams may have been ill prior to last night's show, but he'd obviously recovered by the time he performed last, last night. Last, and best of the night.

I'd forgotten American Idol was on last night. Turned on my TV expecting to watch Glee.

I did not realize til this morning that what I was watching was not a live American Idol show. It was pre-taped in front of a live audience.

Every aspect of American Idol, to me, seems slicked up and made more glitzy. Hollywood Week had much more elaborate stages and sets than previous American Idol seasons.

And then, last night, we got our first look at the new American Idol stage. This may be the most glitzy TV stage in the world.

If I am understanding correctly voters eliminate 7 of the 12. Then the judges pick one of the rejectees. I think that is how it works.

Of the 12 I liked Casey Abrams best.

The judges swooned over Jacob Lusk. I didn't.

 Paul McDonald I like, except for the beard and the blinding white smile.

Scotty McCreery seemed years older than his 17. He did very well.

Robbie Rosen seems like a nice kid.

James Durbin, the kid with the tail and the tales of woe, he really knocked out a rocking version of Judas Priest's "You Got Another Thing Coming." I like him. But he needs to lose the tail.

Brett Loewenstern sang the Jim Morrison classic "Light My Fire." It did not like mine. Don't care for this kid and his overly mannered style. And that bush of copper curls really needs to go.

Tim Halperin, I think, got the most negativity from the judges. He didn't seem all that bad to me.

Jordan Dorsey also got a lot of judge negativity for his Usher "OMG" choice. I liked that song and I like this guy's way of singing it.

Jovany Barreto  has a cool name. Other than the name nothing much impressed me.

The first up of the night was the little Harry Potter lookalike with the odd name of Clint Jun Gamboa. He sang Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." I have heard that song way too many times. The judges thought his rendition was brilliant.

I don't remember ever watching American Idol at this stage when the fast forward button did not get heavy use. Last night I made no use of the fast forward button.

Methinks American Idol has actually found some really good talent this year. And is well rid of Simon Cowell.

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.

American Idol Season 10 Lowers Audition Age

American Idol's Season 10 auditions start July 17. I don't think Simon Cowell has been replaced yet.

If there were a place to place a bet, I'd place a bet that this is the year when American Idol falls from its #1 top-rated TV show position.

Yesterday it was announced that American Idol is lowering the audition age by one year, so now singer wannabes who are between 15 and 28 are eligible.

15 years old? This does not seem like a good idea to me.

Now, I would have some hope for the survival of American Idol, after Season 9's total lacklusterness, if yesterday it was announced that Harry Connick Jr. was replacing Simon Cowell, that Paula Abdul was returning, and that Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres had been booted.

If you are between 15 and 28 and think you can warble like Carrie Underwood and Lee DeWyze go to the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Saturday, July 17, Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 21, an undisclosed location in New Orleans on Monday, July 26, IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Tuesday, August 3, Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas on Wednesday, August 11 and AT & T Park in San Francisco on Thursday, August 19.

I think I'll audition for American Idol this year. Austin is a short drive from my current location. I'm sure I can pass for 28. Do they ask to see I.D.? What I.D. would a 15 year old have?

American Idol: A Lot of People Really Don't Like Kara DioGuardi

A couple days ago I blogged that I thought American Idol had Jumped the Shark. I opined that adding Kara DioGuardi to American Idol was the main Shark Jumper.

Reading through various Internet TV Forums there seems to be fairly universal revulsion at Ms. DioGuardi and her various behaviors.

As in her manner of speaking, the inane things she says, the bizarre flirting with Simon Cowell and a lot more.

So, for amusement's sake I thought I'd copy and paste a collection of TV Forum comments.....
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According to the behind the scenes recap at Entertainment Weekly, the Mike save was pretty much at Kara's absolute insistence. Figures.
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Yeah, her jumping up and down after the save, slapping high fives into the air (and with whomever she could hit) and generally acting like she'd single-handedly just cured cancer was beyond disgusting. The ego has been particularly unchecked since Casey was forced to refer to her as a "superstar" a few weeks back, but now the bitch has apparently convinced herself she invented fire.
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I don't hate her, but her antics are so Over The Top that it has become somewhat of a joke when I watch. I DID get pissed at her for telling Tim Urban not to smile, and I got even more pissed when Andrew sang a song about dancing while sitting down and she didn't call him out on it, but when he sang a song about war without a gun or tank she made a huge deal about it.
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She is to consumed with being fabulous and a legend in her own mind to speak coherently or in a way that is direct and not talking down to them.
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The sad thing is that she thinks that she's more talented, and a better singer, than everyone else. I bet she sits there thinking that she would have easily won American Idol if she was a contestant.
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She's as rabid mad as Paula, but without the drugs, which makes her more pathetic.
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I blame the crash and burn of Idol these past two seasons on Kara personally. You had AI7 which was awesome and then Kara comes in and AI8 was pretty crappy and then Paula leaves and Kara remains and it becomes borderline unbearable.
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Who knew a drunk like Paula was such a godsend.
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Get ready for some music history from Kara on the artistry of the Beatles and how to interpret/emote their songs.
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Without Kara, we wouldn't know who is being true to themselves as an artist.
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She was climbing Simon like a damn tree again last night! The director even tries to tighten up the shot to keep her out of Simon's frame...but those bony appendages always come creeping in. So DISTRACTING.
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Seriously, what's her obsession with groping Simon? Why don't they have her sit next to Randy or make her grope Ellen.
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I noticed that. She also peers at him with such intensity, barely two inches from his face, that it sets him aback for a second or two while he's commenting. Those are the actions of a crazy person, a for real crazy person. Maybe that's the answer. Kara has a secret battle with mania that is only partially controlled.
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I don't think Kara has been as bad this season, but I would have given her a shove or a slap by now if she was into my personal space all the time like she is with Simon. I seriously hate that.
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The sole saving grace of Teflon Tim is his total dismissal of Kara's opinion and the obvious frustration it's causing her.
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Kara informs one and all that the song is about the Vietnam War and Andrew should understand that. Kara gets it wrong --again. "Gimme Shelter" had nothing to do with the Vietnam War. The "war, children" that was just a shot away was a race war some folks were anticipating. At that time American cities were burning (burn, baby, burn) in giant race riots. The Vietnam War was not just a shot away. It was already an ongoing shooting war. Kara shows off her vast musical history knowledge and again comes up empty.
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What great advice for Tim. You're not allowed to "grab" at the audience until you've sold hundreds of millions of albums and become "established?" Makes total sense. She's amazing.
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I can't stand this pretentious hag. Every word she says she takes those pauses just so she and everyone around her knows how important the syllables are. She makes Oprah seem down to earth.
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Seems like she has one of four responses this year: 1. I know what kind of record you will make. 2. I can hear that on the radio. 3. You need to feel the meaning of the lyrics. 4. You need to know what kind of artist you will be.
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Kara hate is universal. As if this show was tough enough to get through with these terrible contestants, then she opens her big fat worthless trap.
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Stop hatin y'all! Kara is such a glorious trainwreck. Even worse than Paula because Kara is trying SO HARD, and she doesn't have the excuse of being on tranquilizers. American Idol will be just fine without Simon, just as long as Kara is so hilariously desperate.

American Idol has Jumped the Shark with Didgeridoos & Bagpipes & Dippy Kara

Dancing With The Stars was #1 in the latest Nielsen Ratings, coming out on top of American Idol for the first time.

I'm thinking this marks the end of American Idol's rating's dominance, after a slow decline, a decline which began with what I believe was American Idol's Jump the Shark moment, that being the hiring of the extremely annoying and extremely un-entertaining, Kara DioGuardi, as a 4th judge.

Jumping the Shark is a term that is used to mark the moment a previously successful TV show begins to decline, where the show starts to tinker with its formula in attempts to slow up it's decline. In regular series this may be ridiculous plot changes, like when the Conner family became rich due to winning the lottery. Roseanne did not last long after that. Often when producers note a decline, things like cast changes are made, i.e. Kara DioGuardi.

The Jump the Shark phrase came from a Happy Days episode where tough guy, Fonzie, in swimming suit and leather jacket, puts on water skis and proceeds to jump over a shark, turning the already cartoonish Fonzie into a ridiculous joke, marking the decline of Happy Days, which continued another 7 years after Fonzie did his shark jumping.

I suspect the decline of American Idol will come much quicker.

The Kara addition last year was followed by this year's expulsion of Paula Abdul, with Abdul replaced by Ellen DeGeneres. Initially, many viewers thought the Ellen addition would be a good thing, but judging from what I read on TV Forums, a lot of the viewers have reacted the same as I have, in that, Ellen's sense of humor grows stale. She adds little.

This year American Idol has tweaked its production. Take last night for example. We see backstage scenes, intro clips, an additional after the judging moment of camera time, followed by being greeted by the other singers.

Somehow there is way way way more time for judges' comments. We start with Randy, end with Simon, and sometimes go back and forth with further comments. Then Ryan asks some more followup questions. Even the contestant gets into it with questions and comments.

Last year, with 4 judges yapping, I remember one instance where time was so short there was no time for Simon to say anything, so he just stood and gave Adam Lambert a standing ovation.

Were the shows only an hour long at this point last year? Is that why there is so much bloat, this year? Filling up 2 hours? I could not watch this without the DVR invention.

Ironically, with the production values seeming to be amped up, with a lot more camera time spent on the contestants, this is widely believed to be the lamest final group the show has ever found.

Another Jump the Shark thing is people seem to be laughing at the judges in a way they didn't before. As in they seem to have made jokes of themselves. Last week Tim Urban was widely seen to have owned the judges, flipping it back on them in a good-humored way. This week, as if the judges realized how bad they'd been, flipped the other direction and heaped positive on the boy. He did not seem to know quite what to make of it.

It now seems obvious, to many, that losing Paula Abdul greatly altered the chemistry of American Idol, in a very bad way. Kara's odd interacting with Simon has really put people off. It has none of the loopy charm Paula brought to her Simon interactions.

The final nail in the American Idol coffin will be Simon Cowell leaving. Simon has seemed a bit detached at times, like his heart isn't in it. And really, why would it be?

Were the didgeridoo and bagpipes last night more minor shark jumping? With way too much time focused on both?

Tim Urban for the win. That'd be an awesome Jump the Shark moment for American Idol.

UPDATE: Wednesday's Results Show reminded me I forgot one other American Idol Jump the Shark element, that being the Judge's Save that was added a season or two ago.

American Idol's Contrary Cranky Bad Judges Picking On Tiny Tim Urban

Yes, I know I said I was done with American Idol. And then I went and watched it last night, well, fast forwarded through it, and was freshly annoyed.

Tim Urban will be my example of what annoys me. That is he in the picture. He is only 20. Just a kid.

So, last week the so-called Judges, who are more accurately called Contrary Cranks, made a big deal about how the singers were now on a Big Stage, the Kodak Theater, and that they needed to amp it up to fill the stage. Or something like that.

Miley Cyrus, who is younger than just about all but one, was the guest mentor. That in itself is just odd. Miley seemed to like Tim okay and encouraged him. He does not get a lot of encouragement from anyone associated with this show. Or so it seems.

Tim sang Queen's The Thing About Love, or some title like that. Catchy tune you've heard countless times. Tim does his singing, slides across the stage, works the crowd, has the little girls all thrilled, as he does the rock star act of touching hands with the screamers.

Tim finishes. Randy Jackson says something unflattering. I don't remember what. Oh, part of it was that standard useful criticism, "very karaoke, dude."

Then the increasingly useless Ellen DeGeneres opined that it was like watching High School Musical with Tim being Zac Ephron. I may be getting the name wrong. Ellen also mentioned that Tim had a lot of fans who likely loved what he'd just done, but she was not one of them.

The wretchedly annoying Kara DioGuardi then told Tim he had not sold millions of albums, that he had no business acting like an established artist by working the crowd like he did, this, after Ellen had just opined Tim had a lot of adoring fans. And after the Contrary Cranks had told the singers to work harder at filling the stage.

Then Simon Cowell delivered the final Bitch Slap. Telling Tim he had absolutely no chance of winning this competition, that what he'd done on stage was utter corny rubbish.

I forget which of these idiots told Tim he needed to get some vocal training. Why was this not noticed before Tim was in the Final 11? If indeed it is true.

So, if Tim is so bad, how is it that he is in the Top 11? That he was in the Top 24? That he made it to Hollywood? Oh, that's right, it's the Idiot Contrary Cranks who put Tim on the show so they could have themselves a real fine time seeing how badly they could crush the kid's self esteem.

Anyway, American Idol has really Jumped the Shark for me. All 4 of those Contrary Crank so-called Judges need a severe Bitch Slapping.

For Me American Idol Has Jumped The Shark

That is Crystal Bowersox. She got sick last week and so the boys sang on the girl's regular song night, while the girl's sang on the boy's regular song night, with Crystal leading off the night's singing, recovered from her mysterious ailment.

Last week I blogged about the boy's show. I was so bored by it and so annoyed at how inane the American Idol judges have become, when the girl's seemed even worse to me, I didn't have the stomach or desire to blog about it.

I sort of decided I was done with American Idol. For me it has jumped the shark. I think the jump started with the addition of Kara DioGuardi, accelerated with the dropping of Paula Abdul and went into full jump mode with the addition of Ellen DeGeneres.

I thought Ellen DeGeneres was going to be fun. But we are only a few weeks in and she has grown tiresome. And sort of repetitive.

After what has it been, 8 years, or is it 9, of American Idol, Simon Cowell needs some new cliches. "That was very karaoke." "I've heard a performance like that a million times on a cruise ship." "That was something I could have heard at a theme park." "That was like some dreadful wedding singer." He's become a very tiresome old man.

And then, the comments seem even more mean-spirited than previous years, if that's possible. Cowell comments about Casey James' voice, saying something like his gritty tone seems forced, more like sand. To which Kara adds it sounds like dirt. How are these remarks helpful?

And then, one of the 4 who got sent home, this week, was 16 year old Haley Vaughn. The judges told her she just was not ready for this, she needs more training. Huh? Out of the thousands who tried out these idiots put her in the Top 24. And then decided she was not ready.

I also was not getting the pimping of the Bowersox girl. She seems nice enough, but nothing that I look forward to hearing again. I don't remember another season of American Idol where I can find so little entertainment. Of the girls I like the blonde who played the piano, but I don't remember her name, which is telling. I also like Casey James. At least he has a personality and seems like a normal guy.

I've got 24 DVRed, ready to watch tonight, did not have time to watch 24 last night. I may, maybe, give American Idol one more chance, maybe.

Tyler Grady & 3 Others I Don't Remember Sent Home on American Idol

Of the 4 who got sent home, last night, on American Idol's result show, which I did not watch, the only one who's name I recognized and remembered is Tyler Grady.

He was the Jim Morrison wannabe with unfortunate hair and odd body movements. He seemed like a nice guy with a sense of humor.

The other guy to get the boot was Joe Munoz.

The 2 girls going home were Ashley Rodriguez and Janell Wheeler.

I have no mental image of Joe, Ashley or Janell.

American Idol is not working for me this year. The entertainment factor seems to have taken a plummet. I am fairly certain the plummet is not entirely due to the absence of Paula Abdul.

But, Paula Abdul did provide a good measure of amusing banter and sparring with Simon Cowell.

Kara DioGuardi wears on my nerves. I really don't know why. Something about her seems unnatural and forced. A criticism she levels at the singers at times. I don't think it's her faux pas which tire me, things like saying 1901 when she means 2001. If it continues into next week, the swooning over Casey James is going to really cross way over into this is stupid land.

This year Randy Jackson seems different. Like he is talking in complete articulate sentences with a bare minimum of cheesy slang. Maybe he wised up to the fact that it is not a good look for a man closer to retirement age than teen age to be using teenage type hipster slang lingo.

And then there is Ellen DeGeneres. I've always liked her in any venue I've seen her. Til now. Again, I don't quite know why. She really is not being all that funny. At least to me. I heard Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi on the radio, Live with Ryan Seacrest, cracking up over Ellen's ripen like a banana remark she made on Wednesday to one of the boy singers. I don't think Randy and Kara have what might be called a highly evolved sense of humor.

As for Ryan Seacrest. Did he take How To Act Overly Earnest lessons since last season? He does not seem to be cracking wise as often as I used to enjoy.

And then there are the singers this year. This year the only one, so far, who has somewhat stood out to me, is the aforementioned, Casey James. I did find the taking off his shirt thing a bit embarrassing, but not for him, embarrassing for Kara D to have asked him to do so, and thus begin her chronic swooning.

I am not all that great a judge of who is swoonworthy. Casey James seems like a real nice guy, and even to my tone-deaf ears he seems to sing well, but I don't get the swooning or the Jessica Simpson hairstyle.

On more than one occasion, this year, we've heard at least one of the judges remark that this is the best group they've ever found. I take this as double-speak to actually mean this is the worst group they have ever found.

Because, that's how it seems to me. I may keep watching.

America Idol Starts Tonight From Boston For Simon Cowell's Final Season

That's a rare photo of American Idol's Simon Cowell without his toupee.

Season 9 of American Idol kicks off tonight with auditions in Boston. Simon Cowell announced today, or was it yesterday, that Season 9 will be his last season of American Idol.

Supposedly Cowell is moving on to concentrate on the American version of his X Factor talent hunt show. The Brit version of X Factor is a bit hit in the UK.

I guess the U.S. can handle yet one more talent show.

Meanwhile the American Idol juggernaut starts up tonight. I do not believe Ellen DeGeneres shows up as a judge til after the audition episodes. So, it'll be just Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi doing the judging in Boston.

Tomorrow night the auditions continue in Atlanta.

I really don't think American Idol is going to be as entertaining without Paula Abdul and her loopy antics and odd bickering with Simon Cowell.

If Simon Cowell really leaves this cash cow after this season, I'm thinking that might signal the fast decline of American Idol.