THIS (!)... IS (the return of) AMERICAN IDOL! - The Cultute of Pop, DVD, Movie, TV, Pop Culture Review

THIS (!)... IS (the return of) AMERICAN IDOL!

Posted: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:00:23 PST

SEASON 10-EPISODE 1

“Are you from Jersey?! I'm from Jersey!”-Joe Piscopo, Saturday Night Live 

Okay, let's cut to the chase, no beating around the bush:

My verdict on American Idol (Season) 10.0 (so far)?

Three little words: I like it.

After months of speculation, hype, rumored format changes that ranged from long overdue (no more long, drawn out weeks leading up to the Top 12) to outrageous (music video competitions, thankfully vetoed), there was no need for the overblown, over the top “tell something we don't know” montage (Ellen Leaves! J-Lo coming?! Kara Who?/just kidding, Dioguradi) that opened the season premiere...no need for a hard sell...partially for me, at least.

First off, I have been a huge Aerosmith fan since Dream On entered my ear canals some 36 springs ago and Steven Tyler is, and has always been one of the great showmen of rock and roll filled with enough personality for four bands. So essentially, I knew he had great potential...and brother, he lived up to my expectations in no time: Sassy, upbeat, street smart, energizing, and surprisingly graceful.

Yeah, I know...Stevie T. might have been a little overtly kind to a couple of contestants I would have had second thoughts about, but overall he's brought beyond cool vibes to the festivities thus far, not to mention over 40 years of musical experience (how do you like 'dem apples, Simon Cowell?)

But my big question mark had always been Jenny From The Block or J-Lo or whatever they're calling her this week. Most likely due to overexposure in the tabloids, an ice queen image came to mind whenever I've seen Jennifer Lopez in passing along the years, along with increasingly cliched, bad movies. So I was pleasantly surprised to see a normal, ego-less, down to earth lady who's managed to shed her superstar image, striking a careful balance between being a fan of the show and a shrewd judge, but much more successful than Ellen DeGeneres who started out promisingly but became way too predictable in her critiques when the live voting shows started.

Although she found it hard to say no the first few times around, I don't think Jennifer's going to take long to come around and be a superb asset to the show.

...and good old Randy(Jackson)? He's like the Ringo Starr of American Idol; he's Randy...and God, I hope the big dawg never changes. Evidently, the producers didn't want to cut all the ties to the past via rebooting, which is a good thing; an all new panel would have been super risky. To me, Jackson's been the unsung hero as well as the soul of Idol: Not afraid to show a little tough love from time to time, but always the first to give enthusiastic, unconditional props seconds after a performance that thrills or “bomb(s)” him.

Good move, A.I. Powers that be.

New Jersey's hopefuls opened up another grand tour of auditions on Tuesday's premiere, with the biggest surprise being a slight lessening of freak show moments. You know, the water cooler moments like William Hung's infamous “She BANG She BANG!” or Simon getting drenched with water by a sore loser (a moment I don't think we'll see this season because even I wouldn't want to do something to piss Steven Tyler off; there's more fight in that 62 year old body than an unsuspecting troublemaker could ever know).

To be honest, I lived for such crazy, gut busting moments for the last 9 seasons, but did I miss the downplaying of bad auditions? Surprisingly, no...for the main goal of this show is to find real talent, not real comedians (or unintentional comedians or instant fame wanna-be's). So I think it was a good move to bundle the pitch challenged and publicity seekers in quickie montages in favor of nice human interest stories that Idol has done so well....

Standing out amongst all the golden ticket recipients to me were two male singers, both doing impressive covers of Beatles songs...

But first, I must confess: Ever since I was 3 years old, Beatle songs have been like sweet nursery rhymes from my childhood and gospel hymns to me. Mess them up and you're on my you-know-what list. Give them your own flair, style or at least a faithful rendition, and I am at your service for life...I'll do your dishes, vacuum your rugs, sweep your porches and work on your car...and I don't even know anything about cars...except gassin' 'em up and getting the oil changed every 3,000 miles..

But I can belt out Drive My Car without the aid of a karaoke monitor, so there.

Robbie Rose, 16, wowed me with a patiently performed, sweet voiced Yesterday, including some nice vocal tricks at the end; he made the song his very own which is a very tough thing to do for a tune that's been recorded by over 3,000 artists over the last 40 years.

Doubling my pleasure at the end of episode 1 was Travis Orlando (there's a marquee ready name for ya, kids), doing a terrific, soulful Eleanor Rigby; yet another tough song to recast in different clothes, but it's been done so in versions by Booker T. and The MG's, Ray Charles and Rick Springfield (I kid you not about the latter)....and I'm proud to say that young Travis joins that elite group. He's even got Buddy Holly-esque glasses, so I knew he had to go thru regardless of his chops.

Now for the hot mess of the night who actually got thru: Ashley Sullivan, the 25 year old Britney Spears groupie who did a 180 performing a song from the quaint Broadway musical of old, Thoroughly Modern Millie, which I think premiered in the 1800's, possibly? I kid...and it seemed as though the second she opened her mouth, her audition ended just as quickly. Whoosh! Even Tyler (the kind of performer who's seen it all) seemed shell shocked. J-Lo tried to play the “You're meant for Broadway” card, but Ashley turned all Fatal Attraction (minus the dead bunny, thankfully), getting down on her knees (!) asking for a chance to go through...and much to the joy of the producers and story editors (tsk, tsk), boy, do we have one to keep our eye on in weeks ahead...Ashley's either going to burn out quicker than a short sparkler on the 4^th of July or be a rough diamond able to be polished to a fine shine in the end.

No matter what, can you say potential meltdown TV? I knew that you could.

But coming close to stealing the show from all these contestants was the dead serious antics of a Michael Jackson loving Yoji Pop...Sounds like a great breakfast cereal to start off your day, doesn't it? End result? In retrospect and putting it shortly, his bizarre yet hilarious combination of singing and dancing came off as a strange hybrid of Bruce Lee and James Brown; two things that hmm, kinda' don't go good together (unlike peanut butter and chocolate).

Others Jersey locals to keep our ears and eyes on: Kenzie Palmer (youngest contestant to gain access to Hollywood via Idol's 15 year old rule change), Tiffany Rios and her...ahem...stars, Devyn Rush, and Brielle Von Hugel.

Next stop: N'awlins....or New Orleans to you non-Southern folk as my two part look at Idol 2011 premiere week continues.

J.R.

Jeffrey Rosado is a pop culture historian, writer, performer and all around nice guy...unless you dare to call him during Idol.

Follow Jeff on Twitter: marquee_man