The judges were right: it’s the girls year this year. The guys’ first live performance was mostly a disappointment, though with the relatively low expectations set by the judges it isn’t that big of a disappointment. Compared to the girls night the last episode was really boring with people probably wondering, just like I am, if there’s even 6 guys that’s really worth watching week after week. Maybe it’s just because I missed the first three performances, but I doubt it. To be fair though I did like some performances.

Casey James definitely stood out tonight. It was nice that his performance was great (“Heaven” really did suit him) but even if he sang out of tune any girl would have to agree that he is just to yummy not to stand out. I mean he really has Kara’s cougar vibes going and we can all see why! Seriously though I closed my eyes a couple of times while he was singing just to make sure that the visual wasn’t messing with my objectivity – it wasn’t. He sounded great.

Another good but disappointing performance was Andrew Garcia’s rendition of “Sugar, We’re Going Down”. It wasn’t disappointing because it was bad but only because everyone had such high expectations. I think he’s the only guy, based on talent alone, who can give the girls a run for their money. I’m a fan though and he will definitely go a long way. Hopefully he comes up with something fresh and really riveting next time.

As for the rest (that I saw at least) they were just ok. I squirmed a lot for Alex Lambert who was as nervous as hell though he’s so nice I want him to stay just to see him grow. Can’t help but root for guys like him. Oh well tomorrow we’ll see who’ll make it and who won’t.

Got my American Idol fix for the week and all I can say is that yesterday’s auditions was much more interesting than tonight. Granted that Avril Lavigne contributed nothing except for a few giggles and not too constructive criticisms, and Katy Perry was a bit too bitchy; I still found last night more enjoyable simply because there was more talent in the LA auditions compared to Dallas. Dallas was plain boring with the high point being the ex-Barney girl turned Simon’s fantasy and the girl who beat leukemia.

Now the funny thing is that although Katy Perry grated on my nerves by the end of last night’s episode and I’m sure I liked more contestants in those auditions all I can remember is her saying she wants to throw coke on Kara’s face and saying something like they’re not trying to make a “movie story”. Looking back at Victoria Beckham’s guest judging stint, which I missed but saw on TiVo (Yay for TiVo!), I can’t agree more when she said that being polite is good. Katy could use help from Victoria. On the other hand, I guess people would call Victoria boring but all I can say was the she was “nice”.

Hopefully next week’s auditions will be better. Better judges and better contestants – both in terms of talent and quirky entertainment value.

I missed last night’s first part of American Idol premier but heard that Victoria Beckham sure was boring. I made sure that I got to see tonight’s episode.

Audition week shown for tonight’s episode was held in Atlanta with Mary J. Blige as guest judge, who was plain ok. It was a bit funny to watch her trying not to laugh though she did come off as a bit standoffish at times. I have to say that even if I didn’t want to see Paula gone it is true that it doesn’t feel like she left any vacuum at all. I’m not sure we can say that though once it’s Simon that says bye bye.

Auditions showed us the same mix of great talent, crazies, and downright horrible singers. To be fair to Atlanta there was quite a good crop of talents from there and even the judges were pretty happy. My favorite raw talent was the bridge-jumping country girl, Vanessa. I know she’ll need to build up her confidence big time if she wants to go far. I can’t help but root for her though. I also liked the 62 year old rapper who dislikes low-rise jeans. I can’t get his song out of my head: Pants on the floor, pants on the floor. Lookin like a fool with your pants on the floor. I wish they didn’t have age limits. Things would be much more interesting that way.

Anyhoo we’ll just have to wait and see how good this season will turn out. Then next season, we’ll see if AI will be toppled over by X Factor or not.

It’s Christmas Eve and here I am writing about Simon Cowell. Got to figure out what that means. ^_^
Simon’s making waves yet again (Last week I wrote about his internet reality show – If I Can Dream) after his older brother Tony announced in his podcast, The Cowell Factor, that next year’ll be his last as a judge in American Idol. According to Tony, “Simon will leave Idol at the end of 2010 to concentrate on bringing the American version of X Factor to U.S. TV in 2011.” This means that Simon will still have a very hectic schedule sans Idol. Good for him but that still leaves his fans with many questions.

Will he be appearing on screen for either of his shows (X Factor and If I Can Dream) or will he be staying in the background?

Who will be replacing him in Idol? With Simon leaving, Randy Jackson will be the only remaining original judge. Not that I don’t like Randy but the dynamics just simply won’t be the same. How sucky will Idol be with only Randy, Ellen and Kara?

What will this mean for Idol? With X Factor, also a very successful singing competition (albeit in the UK), coming into the scene we’ll just have to wait and see what the impact to Idol will be.

As for now I leave you with this to mull over while you pretend to sleep with all the racket Santa’s making while delivering presents – Is it right to be thinking of Simon Cowell’s impact on our viewing habits on Christmas eve?

Have a happy Christmas everyone!