TIME TO SET THE DVR
You know what time of year it is. For many fans, “American Idol” didn’t officially begin until last night, when they programmed their season recordings three weeks behind the rest of us. For those of you who either haven’t enjoyed or didn’t even watch the seemingly endless a capella auditions that have aired the last few weeks, we offer you….er, more seemingly endless a capella auditions. But this time, for the FIRST time, Hollywood Week is actually –gasp!- IN Hollywood. “Pasadena Week” just never quite had the same ring to it.
As 147 hopefuls descended on Hollywood, we watched their dreams be both shattered and encouraged in groups of eight. The judges were not there simply to critique their singing; they were there to be the judges of their fates. Randy, Paula, Simon and now Kara have the power to cut and to keep. A “no” could mean sending someone back to the lumberyard or to the McDonald’s fry cooker, for instance. A “yes” could afford another person the chance to be the next American Idol; however it could also afford the same person to be the next featured player on “The Surreal Life” or, even worse, “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.”
Last night’s show highlighted hissy fits, breakdowns, and, of course, those damn Ford cars, but the main event was contestants singing their hearts out on the stage of the Kodak Theatre, which is now “legendary” according to Seacrest. Yes, the Oscars and “American Idol” finals have been held there, but “legendary?” Really? How long does it take something to become a legend anyway? The Kodak Theatre has been around for all of 7 years and 3 months. I think Miley Cyrus is older than that but I have yet to hear her be touted a “legend.” Sheesh. Regardless, it was a nice move to give the contestants a feel for the stage they could potentially be performing on, even though, regrettably, at this early date there was no confetti involved.
‘IDOL’ OFFERS FIRST-EVER “BOOT CAMP”
One important twist that was quickly glazed over was the addition of “Idol Boot Camp,” which included sessions with the show’s vocal coaches, stylists and glam squad. The vocal coaches are a welcome addition to Hollywood Week. It is, after all, a singing competition and at this early phase in the judging, song selection is so crucial. It was also really cool that they provided the kids with a celebrity mentor. What was NOT “really cool” was the fact that said mentor was…. Barry Manilow. While Manilow is undoubtedly talented, both as a singer and songwriter, couldn’t they have gotten someone a little more, uh, timely? A couple of months ago, Simon mentioned that he would love to have Britney Spears on the show “in any capacity” (fingers crossed!). Unfortunately, the fact is that many of today’s popular young performers are all image and no voice. This puts the show between a rock and a hard place, which leads one to think that we will again see “seasoned” music vets acting as mentors this year, á la last year’s schizophrenic parade of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Neil Diamond and Dolly Parton (relevant only to the teenager who is involved in musical theatre, frequents dueling piano bars or owns a banjo, respectively).
