Like many, I had insanely high hopes for this season of American Idol. Even though half of the judges were gone, I still felt that Idol could squeeze one more season out of me before I ditch it 100%. The fact of the matter is, however, that this season couldn't have been any worse. From the promises not fulfilled to the awful talent, this season was easily one of the worst in recent history.
Let's start with the good. The judges this season are a surprising fresh of breath air. Jennifer Lopez is NOT the new Paula Abdul, and she actually talks to the contestant on what they can improve on, and usually gives great criticism. Not to mention she is extremely beautiful. Steven Tyler, although a bit crazy, still says things that, for the most part, make sense. Randy, on the other hand, is terrible. He doesn't understand music at all, and he just says a confusing mess of words that sound smart, and then adds "(contestant's name) is in it to win it!!!", and the crowd goes wild.
Were Idol went bad this season, was all the unfulfilled promises that they weren't made. I remember when AI's producers made a huge announcement back in 2010 that said that American Idol would be completely different this season. Sure, the top 24 was gone, for the better, but what about all the stuff they said would change, that didn't? Remember when they said there would be guest judges? Yeah, I didn't see a single new face on the panel all season. How about when they said that contestant's wouldn't be forced to sing genre-specific songs out of their comfort zone? Well, tell that to Naima on Elton John week, or tell it to Casey almost all season. That's why most of the good talent is already gone, and why people like Scotty stayed in all season, because he could sing essentially anything.
The talent this season also wasn't as good as past's. I recall Randy saying that we had the best talent we've had all season, earlier in the top 13. And he was right. Standouts like Thia, Paul, Casey, and Haley really shined, but were eliminated too early. This is partly due to the fact that singers like them can't make it far, because America isn't ready to embrace true talent! (See: Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest).
Scotty McCreary and Lauren Alaina in the top 2? Oh give me a break. Scotty is decent, I'll give him that. He's got a good voice, but how he made it to the finals is beyond me. First, he gets the "12-year old girl vote" (see: Justin Bieber), which isn't a true test of talent. Second, he comes across as the "all-american country boy", which fulfills three more stereotypes. And third, I just plain don't enjoy him. He's awkward, and makes freaky faces at the camera, and shifts his eyebrows up and down and maniacally stares at you. Now, to Lauren. She's sooooooo fake. I'm sick of her act. Her and her mom are the biggest staged family I've ever seen. Not only is she fake, but her singing is terrible. She has virtually no range, and her whole "I broke my vocal cords" thing was just to get the sympathy vote. I miss good talent, like Haley Reinhart and Casey Abrams. Those two were my dream top 2, and then the season all went downhill.
Well, with all my complaining, you're probably wondering: well how do we fix it? Simple. America can vote all they want, but they create the bottom 3, and have no say in who goes home. Then, the judges decide who gets sent home, because the judges understand talent, and know who can shine as a good singer. American Idol could learn a thing or two from shows like America's Got Talent, or Dancing With the Stars (which I hate). These shows give judges more say in how the show turns out, which is what I think it would take to revive this dead reality show.
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