American Idol season 17 premiered on ABC last night. Or, as the network insists on calling it Season 2. Based on last night’s premiere, ABC has not changed the formula up from season to season. The show is the same mixture of aspiration, hijinks, and (mostly) great performances.
The judges, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan have become a real unit. There’s a ton of joking around, and it doesn’t feel contrived. Although, there were times I wished an editor had tightened up the segments. For instance, the bit with potato chip girl went on WAY too long.
Also, while Idol producers keep insisting the days of mockable joke contestants are long gone, that simply isn’t true. Did we really need the audition featuring the screamo guy? Especially since the show did a joke bit with a metal singer last season.
American Idol 2019 Recap – Premiere Live Blog (VIDEOS)
In any case, the show featured some solid performances last night, including pop rock singer Walker Burroughs, country singers Tyler Mitchell and Laci Kaye Booth and the soulful Lionel Richie fan, Tiffanne LeMay. Maya Tran filled the role of the big voiced diva admirably.
I’d also like to give a little kudos to the producers who realize that fans thirst for intel on the singers. Sure, there were a few people alarmed that the show spoiled the premiere (overstated in some quarters, I think). But generally, most Idol watchers welcome any and all info on the talent to come. Producers teased the talent ahead of time: The singers performed in an Oscar promo, they were allowed interviews with local media, ABC posted a list of singers with photos ahead of the premiere. Also, producers have become pretty cool with spoilers in the last few seasons.
Former producer Nigel Lythgoe did a lot of things right. But he took too long taking advantage of social media. And he was too damn controlling. Keeping contestants isolated through the competition was a mistake. It took The Voice arriving on the scene, making their singers more accessible for Idol to loosen their grip on the show’s talent.
And now, American Idol is smartly setting themselves apart from The Voice by promoting the singers alongside the rest of the cast.
Now it’s time to VOTE for your favorites. Have at it!
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