American Idol...yes I'll sheepishly admit that i've watched it :(

Okay so sue me, i love music, even listening to genres and styles and yes, god forbid...POP, because i love music that much. music makes me happy. music makes the world go around and even though american idol is soooo not my type of show of am i the type of person to tune into it, i have and i am, yes, i'm slightly embarrassed to admit it but i am. so...... i tuned into this season's american idol and it's different. there was all this hubbub about the new judges, once the others left and the panic that ensued, would it be the same, as "good" (debatable how good it's ever been, no offense, it's just so pop machine, which does make me cringe, though i can appreciate talent) as it was before, as big of a hit. hiring new judges, discarding them, would they be ready in time or ready at all? gasp, the world was waiting w/bated breath. haha i'm sure they were. no, i'm not putting people down who live for this shit, just acknowledging it.
anyway, i used to tune in here and there mostly for the entertainment value of the delusional people who were tone deaf or just flat out crazy (ah c'mon, the crazy ones are the best! like that black dude who was in his 60's or something, thought he was james brown, had NO clue even what show he was auditioning for and well, basically lost his mind or maybe was looking for it, knowing it was already gone? "i will take over the studios, i will be the amercia's next..." i was waiting for him to say top model. then he mentioned universal studios. haha, that was grand!), watching them audition, so yeah that's how and why i initially tuned in. oh that was fun, especially when they REALLY thought they were the shit and well, they were. meaning shit as in dookie and were honestly shocked to hear they weren't. did no one around them EVER tell them the truth or did everyone who ever heard them sing have no tone hearing capabilities either?
then they started showing less of the bad singers (maybe due to the chick who killed herself in front of paula abdul's house? i mean sad, yeah i get it and they don't want lawsuits, etc), but occasionally you still do get to appreciate some of the hideous, delusional singers.
so what i was getting to is that this season IS different, it's a much "happier" idol. not just because simon and his dry witticisms and harsh judgments are gone but because it seems like a love fest. maybe the new judges are just happier people in general? maybe they aren't yet worn out w/the job at this juncture? doesn't everyone start a job new and fresh and excited? besides, they are working like 4-6 hr days in general, not exactly in the ditches mind you. or maybe the talent IS better this year?
another thing i've noticed (seeing now the first 2 opening episodes of them ON the stage stage, the big too doo place) is that these contestants are waaaay more confident, way more prepared, way more entertaining, way more ON, so to speak. it seems gone are the days of the timid, bad, awkward, uncomfortable first performances. these people are like singers, real singers outta the gate. no, i'm not saying they are the shit per se, just saying they are way more professional. perhaps they are working w/them a lot more prior to the big stage appearances? remember when people used to whisper, mumble or just be bad singers or were such nervous wrecks (and who can blame them? i sure as hell would be!)?
oh yeah and as i was saying is the talent pool just better all around or is this team of judges just better choosers of talent and potential?
so far, out of the guys i like that blonde, bearded, BEAUTIFUL toned guy (i'm horrible w/names), i love love the tone of his voice, so soft, sweet, melodic. nice! oh then of course my FAV is the red bearded guy who plays the stand up bass along w/various other instruments. okay THAT guy has some real talent, some FLAVOR, some cojones, some fucking blues AND soul!! very fly for a white guy. haha. cheesy i know but i couldn't resist. yep, he's the shit and i hope he wins or at least gets some modicum of fame, recognition from the show. maybe better that he doesn't win, so he doesn't have to be cranked outta the pop machine contract and can do what HE wants as opposed to what the hit makers and powers that be decide.
as for the girls, i've always loved that 15 yr old blonde girl who can sing her butt off, she's southern, sang w/steven tyler a bit, yeah, she's groovy. oh and surprisingly the other 15 yr old girl, the asian girl, who just sang "out here on my own" of "fame" fame. the old "fame" the real "fame". which is unusual to me that no one has chosen that song before. irene cara sang the shit outta that song and it's so plaintive and beautiful. so yeah that asian girl came out and started acapella (sp?) and really surprised me. she was great. let's see who else? oh i was REALLY impressed w/that bette midler type girl (they called her that), she can sing her butt off as well. nice. she was fantastic.
as for the rest of the cast (i don't know who they've narrowed it down to yet), they are mostly throwaways in my opinion, just recycling bruno mars, mariah carey, alicia keys, usher, kelly clarkson and not even living up to the original version let alone making it better.
as simon WOULD have said: very karaoke, and i agree.
so yep, that is my opinion at this juncture and it probably will not change. each season that i've seen, from the get go i have decided who i liked, who i thought was good and there i stayed, unless someone surprised me, which i can't think of any instances, but i could be wrong. stranger things have been known to happen. haha. i'm kidding. :)