Yippee ! Well, here it goes again - the new season of "Idol" is off and running. The official Wikipedia site is *here* ... probably more useful later when it updates weekly as the crowd dwindles and contestants get, or don't get, votes. These discussions have gotten fun and/or interesting in the past since everyone who watches has a very different perspective on the proceedings as they unfold. Maybe it'll be "interesting" again this time (then again, maybe not ). I, personally, have minimal interest in this stage of the contest, these auditions, city-by-city. More often than not it seems to me nothing more than an excuse for slightly eccentric (or perhaps entirely delusional/psychotic) folk to get on camera and look ridiculous. Often wearing feathers or clown attire as they do it (*blech*). But, occasionally, two or three per audition really stand out as talents. There've been a couple I've noticed (whose names evade me) so far who look good (but the numbers of people are simply too staggering right now to think very far ahead). I can say, already, that that nicely dressed fellow, clean-cut and sincere (way too much for his own good, if you ask me) singing "Let My People Go" was *um* more tragically sad than I could describe. And (how does this happen?) he actually thought he was "pretty good" ~ and plans to try again next year singing something "less traditional"??? Ye Gods .

Anyway, just wanted to open this up. To see if anyone will be watching "American Idol" this time....

I'll be watching for sure! Like you said, it's really too early to have any sort of favorites, but there are a few who have stood out (both bad and good).
I've heard a couple of interviews from the judges, and the main thing each of them said was that the audience will be amazed this year at the talent in the final 24 (which, of course, have already been chosen). Supposedly there is a wide variety of styles this year, also. So, we'll see!

I first watched it last year and felt really negative. I am now completely hooked and will be watching every one. The initial rounds are awful I agree, but as you say there are already some promising ones. I loved the really handsome lad with lots of braids.

I'm honestly surprised you felt negative about the last season, Ren, I found all the finalists delightful!
So far we've watched the 1st, 5th and 6th seasons, have not yet got around to getting recordings for the others. Enjoyed all of them.
Watching this one for sure, we like to heckle:)

I worded that really badly! I should have said that by about the 5th show last season I was totally hooked! The early stages put me off , but I kept watching(addicted?).I now watch avidly.

I am currently watching the show but I haven't been really into it since Chris Daughtry lost that year. I voted for him every week! Was sadden to see him lose that competition. But look at him now!

Is it just me or do the judges seem strangely flexible/almost civilized this year? They're letting some (let's just say) 'unusual' acts through this time. Or at least it seems to me. That Latin guy last night was a good example. Good voice (no question) but I'd be shocked to see him get anywhere beyond one appearance in Hollywood (even though he probably deserves to). And that other guy on Tuesday night. He certainly looked the part of a supposed "Idol" - but he couldn't get beyond one line of his song for the first umpteen tries ! Forgetting lyrics is akin to mass murder on that crazy show! Yikes. Thing is ... had I been a judge (with absolutely NO qualifications to be one, I hasten to say), I'd have advanced them both, too. The Latin guy represents a facet of "American" and sang better than just above average. Back to the old (irksome) question, though: can he possibly do a listenable George Jones or Bee Gee tune ? Dunno. As for the dude who couldn't get over his nerves and kept stalling on the lyrics? Just my opinion on him, of course, but once he got going that man could sing! Hearing those pipes (once we finally got the opportunity) gave me a goose bump or two.

And what about those two plus-sized girls last night ? I was so ready for some sort of sideshow routine, based on just the way they were acting - but *yay!* they were awesome! I loved their song choices. And, of course, I'm all about throwing in some retro jazz sounds in the contest, too. cinnamOn's observation about a wide variety of styles happening looks to be entirely spot on. I'm thinking this is going to be a pretty cool season as it gets going ....

I definitely agree, Dave. Those two big girls were excellent, each in a very unique way!
Same opinion on the other two guys you mentioned, too - I probably would have put them through, but really don't know how they'll progress. I especially liked the guy who kept forgetting the lyrics, but people who have been way cooler under pressure then him have forgotten lyrics in the Hollywood rounds, so I can't see him standing up to it.
You never know, though - maybe we'll be surprised!

I liked the little Phillipina, hope she gets on well. There was a gorgeous guy with braids last week, and I liked the little lad from the farm in Iowa. The two plus size girls were just super...I agree.

Oh ... indeed! That little Philippines girl was amazing . That huge voice coming out of that tiny frame was a total (lovely) surprise! I can't remember the guy with the braids (I must have missed him somehow or other - hopefully I'll pay attention better once they start the California shows...).

My thoughts on why they put through some of the people they do--I think it comes down to expediency and dollars. And making it less grueling for the judges. They don't want to put through 100 people who could possibly make the top 12. They want it to be easy to weed people out at the earlier stages. How much work would it be for the judges to have to pick between 30 or 40 Kelly Clarksons rather than 3 or 4? And the judges only see the tip of the iceberg by the time the auditioners get to them--the hopefuls have already been through more than one audition to get that far, there are a lot of excellent singers already gone by that point.

The same applies to the complaint many people have of wanting to see more of the 'good' singers that pass the audition rather than the 'weird' and 'bad' ones during the auditions shows. We're going to see those good people again later on in the show, but the silly stuff is a one-shot deal (well, except for those goofy montage things ). The bad auditions have proven very popular and the producers are going to get their money's worth, so they're going to show more of that stuff until they only have somewhat legitimate singers left (we'll just ignore the oddity that was Sanjaya for the moment ).
All that of course based on my somewhat limited knowledge having worked a bit in the industry--I'm certainly no expert--so much goes on behind the scenes that most people don't get a glimpse of.
Then again, I could be totally wrong.

Yikes. What an oddly watchable set of auditions that was last night . I couldn't separate the good singers from the better back-stories and/or peculiar (yet intriguing) circumstances that got them there. The girl who lost her father two days prior to trying out was heartbreaking - but she had a great voice. Call me crazy, though, if you will ... but I still have a problem with her priorities. I know that her voice should be the focus [and all that], but I can't shake the itch that attending the funeral of her parent might have been a more "humane" focus to have at this particular leg in her life journey. Not to mention that, really, WHO could have had the heartlessness to NOT send her to Hollywood? Even if she'd sounded like Pee wee Herman on crack? Luckily, though, her audition was pretty exceptional. And that 'biker nurse'? Eeek! Another decent (but pretty pigeon-holed) voice, nice and gravely Joplin-ish. But she looked positively sinister ! And then finally the homeless teenager with some mock British accent? Ye Gods, what was that all about? And, from my humble seat, he really didn't deserve to get the yellow ticket. But, considering how things had unfolded up to that point, I was just glad the poor wandering boy would get to stay in a warm hotel room for a couple of days (or longer, in the event that he does well in California).

Honestly, though. It seemed a little bit like a David Lynch movie last night. But, once again, showing the likelihood that the season is taking a definitely eclectic turn this time. All over the place .

Funny, the more I hear the "Friends for Ever"song guy, (which is being done to death on our screen),the more I think he was as good as lots of the others that went through. He was such a sweetie too. I liked the boy in the car, maybe because he seemed so genuine... I suppose that isn't a reason for him to go through.

I agree, Gatsby - last night's contestants were just bizarre! I also agree with you about the girl whose father passed away. Her place was with her family. If her father's wishes were for her to audition, she could do it next year. I'm thinking that the reality of this situation hadn't quite hit her yet, to be honest.

Did they say she missed the funeral? I don't remember that. Two days is awfully fast for a funeral to have been arranged.
I do remember, when my mom died, all I wanted to do was keep busy and keep my mind off it. Some people are like that, they'd rather distract themselves and give themselves some time to deal with things. If I had had something like an American Idol audition to keep me busy, I most likely would have gone ahead with it. And I think it's a pretty nice tribute, too, if it's something her father really wanted for her.
I dunno, everyone grieves differently, and I just think it's nobody's job to judge why others do the things they do in those kinds of situations.

Ok, and now I'll just add, I guess that came off sounding pretty snotty and I didn't mean it that way at all...just musing, thinking out loud is all. And recalling what it felt like when people told me how I should behaving to deal with my loss.

Yeah, well, Gats, what fun would it be if we agreed about everything?. Rather boring, that.

I missed last night's epi, but I don't feel a great sense of loss. I'll trust everybody else's commentary. On to Hollywood! Whoohoo!

Yes it has been quite a fun ride so far hasn't it? Personally I find the sob stories rather annoying because they might create biases in judges and public. Many of the contestants have moving stories I'm sure but not everyone has a nice little video or interview to go with them. I understand it does increase the t.v. value of the show but it's at the expense of other contestants who were a bit more modest about their private lives.

btw If I were in the maternity ward or delivery room and husband was auditioning I'd encourage him to go and good luck to him!
I agree with Taesma that a funeral would probably not have been arranged so fast..(usually) and I agree that though it might have seemed a bit inappropriate, I can see that she'd want to go ahead with it to make her father proud. I hope she does well!

awaiting further developments...

First question I, for one, had last night - "Hey! What happened to my fave big jazz-singin' girls ?" I surfed a little as the show progressed, but I missed both of them. Or else they didn't show their audition(s). Too bad, that. I was really really hoping they'd be on and do well. Maybe I just missed them? Egads, I could have absolutely lived with missing our Latin guy, eh ? Honestly, I couldn't really believe that voice last night was the same one that we heard last week. The accent and all was the same, but the presentation was just so, so, so (I have no right to say so, but...) "high school talent show". Perhaps second-string wedding singer in Buenos Aires? Still a suave little devil (I reckon?), though. I'm really liking two of the early ones from last night. Brooke (she sang "Beautiful" ~ nicely Carole King-ish) and some dude named David (did a nice spin on "Love the One You're With"). I now soundly (soundly) bow to the "Dad's-funeral-comes-second" girl . It's hard to really say so early on, but that young lady is as good as I've ever heard up there. I look forward to her climbing through the contest - she's dazzling. Then there's [*sigh*] Josiah. That first song he did last night was better than I expected. Much better, quite frankly. His likability is a lock, his sincerity another lock. And he really isn't the "greatest" singer to jump out of a car in the last decade ... BUT it was so individualized and so perfectly delivered. Really good, I thought. THEN comes the next tune. Yikes - the little rapscallion waltzes out (after nixing a voice coach because he was "pooped") and, essentially 'fires' the band ? I thought he was pretty horrible the second time - IF he gets through, it has to be due to his personality/demeanor and certainly not his skillful audition. Not that second one, anyway. And I gotta say it, too: despite the pigeon-holed style, I really am rooting for the biker nurse. Scary as she looks, the woman has got some major soul and she pours it out like a pro.

So! Did anyone else watch? If so, what'd y'all think ?

Yes, the biker nurse is just great. I liked Dave (he is 16, hard to believe!) Yes, where WERE the two big girls? I loved them too. Josiah is getting up my nose, I must say.

I really thought it was a little unfair that they went ahead and put Josiah through after his final performance, dreadful as it was. They didn't seem to give anyone else credit for how good they had been in previous auditions! I had liked him up to this point, but now not so much. I'm wondering how he would be able to do if he was forced to perform with a band. Before last night, he had always performed his own songs, and seemed to have a problem singing anything else.
There are 2 Davids that I love. First, David Archuleta - he is the 16-year-old. He sang Bryan Adams' "Heaven" last night and was incredible. The other one I like is Dave Hernandez, the one Gats mentioned who sang "Love the One You're With." He was so nervous backstage and just transformed into someone else when he got out there!
I like the blonde girl Brooke, also, and the girl whose father passed away on her way to competition seemed WAY better to me than she was before.
I am SO glad they axed the beauty queen girl, whose personality I couldn't take much more of, and that equally annoying Amy Flynn.
You can find pictures of everyone who got a ticket to Hollywood on Idol's website.

I agree with you about the beauty queen - sitting and crying about not being treated the same as everyone else. They couldn't seem to get her off the stage

And Simon actually said YES to her - Paula had to make the decision to get rid of her! Couldn't believe that!

Well, the top 24 are in the box - was it what you expected? For me, it pretty much was, and I was SO relieved that crybaby Josiah got let go. If I would have had to listen to him boohoo much longer the TV would have gone off.
I did agree with Simon that the nod should have gone to Kyle for the token geek of the season instead of Colton. How'd you like to start out the competition already knowing that Simon doesn't want you to be there?
You know, someone else who I think has a really nice voice is Michael Johns. He's the one who did "Bohemian Rhapsody" for his final audition. I forgot about him yesterday.
I don't care for that Danny Noriega. He just seems really full of himself and his mannerisms remind me of Sanjayah. Just try watching his introductory video on the Idol website. I guarantee you will be tearing your hair out 2 minutes into it. Enough said...
Some of these people I don't even remember seeing before, so either I wasn't paying attention or their performance was, as Simon would say, "unremarkable."

Jeesh. Even I, just a viewer with a wee attitude , felt a bit guilty sitting there hoping they'd send Josiah packing (but I was ultimately relieved that they did). Nice kid, excessive potential (I think?) - but not even close to the calibre of the rest of 'em. Otherwise, though? Yes, I think there weren't too many suspenseful moments in who they sent through. It's just me, mind you, but I was rooting for Colton (either of those two would have been OK, though, I reckon). Another "just me" thing, too: Simon really had no business snorting at him like that. Or, if he felt compelled to, they should have edited/lessened it. It really seems to me that the judges' remarks carry some weight, usually, when it comes to votes. And that kid is now going into the contest with a target on his head - actually, he already looked likely short-lived based on talent alone; Cowell just made it worse. It seemed unfair a bit. Not that "fairness" is a large part of the game there, eh ? A slight grumble would have sufficed, though. A dressing-down like that seemed excessive. I also found a few of the Top 24 complete strangers ! Glad to know it wasn't just me who missed noticing them prior. For example - who was that Leif Garrett-like (visibly, anyway) fellow? I missed him altogether up until we got to see him dance around at the end. And I thought Chikoochie Izzi (or whatever his name is) was gone! But *nope* ... he's in!? Also [to Ren]: the guy you mentioned with the braids that you liked. Was that the Jason bloke that made it through? Oh, and one final thought this morning (and chorusing cinnamOn) ~ Danny Noriega is irksome. Times 10. He didn't put me in mind so much of Sanjaya, though. More like that absolutely frightfully endlessly annoying Ace Young . Ugh to him/them indeed.

All righty then, though. Let the games begin, I say . I predict a pretty interesting show (based on what is there to work with, this time)!