The Good, The Bad, (The Meh,) and the Ugly- American Idol 11.1 Recap

The Good, The Bad, (The Meh,) and the Ugly

American Idol is back! Just to remind us that it’s the original singing competition, they name check all ten winners at the beginning. The cynic in me says that this is the only time that Idol will acknowledge some of them, but one can hope. Instead of going chronologically, I’m going to organize my thoughts into separate categories.

The Good:

I like the balance of good/bad auditions, I hope that remains a theme throughout the season. There was a nice mix of both men and women, and while it seemed the auditioners skewed young, maybe my age is starting to show.

I especially liked Gabi Carrub, who sang Sunday Morning without any pretension, Schyler Dixon (Colton’s little sister, in case you forgot,) Ashlee Altise, who was almost borderline funny audition, and Philip Phillips.

(Philip almost ended up in the meh category, but I liked his guitar playing, and there was just enough of a spark around him that I like him here.)

The Bad

Can we talk about the blue panels with the winner’s images to the side of the judge’s table? Good. I enjoy seeing the past winners, but I don’t like spending half the episode trying to figure out who is who. Bring back the background with the winners on it. An old complaint of mine is that Idol has a terrible habit of not acknowledging its past.

Randy Jackson, let’s have a talk. If I have to hear season one-one for the next five months, I may have to do something drastic. Love lots, me.

The Meh

I liked David Leathers, but I’m afraid his shtick is going to get old, very fast. Amy Brumfield had an interesting tone of voice, but I’m just not sure about her. Stephanie Renae: singing an Idol coronation song should automatically disqualify you. Seriously. Colton Dixon: while I appreciate your song choice, the whole bit felt manufactured, and you oversang it, dude. Lauren Mink was all backstory and no bite. WT Thompson felt like a weird mash-up of Michael Sarver and Michael Lynch and I see the 11^th/12^th place finish in his future. Brittany Kerr: your voice is pretty, but I’m waiting for it to go somewhere.

On another note the opening sequence: was it just me, or were Jordin and Taylor missing? Also, please stop trying to make Pia happen. She’s a nice girl with a pretty voice, but don’t make her a superstar yet. (Which begs me to ask, where were Adam, Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson in the nonwinners from last year’s opening sequence? Discuss.)

Jennifer Lopez seemed happy to be there, and did offer some genuine constructive criticism. Hopefully it sticks around.

The Ugly

Let’s not even get into the Steven Tyler bit. I don’t mind that you’re a flirt, but it’s a fine line between flirt and gross old man, so please stop now.

I hated that we got the ‘let’s subtitle a foreigner’ trope we get every year. I hate that he was treated with disdain and used for a few minutes entertainment.

Overall a solid episode, and I’m excited for Idol to start again.

(For those who care, I did watch the Voice and XFactor, and while they did bring some things to the table, one couldn’t hold my attention and the other made me emotionally numb.)