Now that the curiousity factor has been sated thanks to Wednesday night's introduction of the new judge's panel, Idol settled into its usual auditions blahs with a second episode set in New Orleans. The highlowlight? After singing a song in Spanish with a nice voice, Jovanny Barreto, 23, shows his love for J.Lo by stripping down to show his abs. Uh, thanks, but no thanks big guy. This prompted Randy to flash J.Lo (perhaps his idea of hazing the new judge) and Steven Tyler, 62, to upstage the cocky young guy by showcasing his impressive abs. Are we still watching a singing competition?
The show got lost in the swamps by showcasing more losers than winners -- including one obese young lad who has a lovely voice but for health reasons might be better off auditioning for The Biggest Loser and trying Idol again once past puberty and 75 pounds lighter. Just keepin' it real, dawg.
Sob stories hit close to home, staring with the introduction of Brett Loewenstern, a 16-year-old from Boca Raton who has Carrot Top's hair color and Kenny G's stylist and a passable voice. He sang Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody in tune, probably not an easy thing to accomplish, but did so with little flair. Not everyone can be Freddie Mercury. Or even Constantine Maroulis who pulled this one off memorably in Season 4. Perhaps the long setup in which Brett shared too much about getting picked on at school soured me on him from the start. No playing of the bullied card, please. Shut up and sing is a good tactic on a show like this.
The melodrama waltz hits its gag reflex nadir when we met Paris Tassin, a 23-year-old who, weeping, told her tale of getting pregnant at 18, before she "was ready," only to find out her daughter would be born with a disability. She claims doctors told her to abort. (Would a doctor really suggest the procedure so bluntly?) But, plucky young thing, perhaps with Madonna's Papa Don't Preach ringing in her memory banks, opts to keep her baby and gives birth to an adorable daughter with a hearing disability. Crying yet? She ups the sap factor with a melodramatic reading of Carrie Underwood's overproduced and cornpone Temporary Home and makes J.Lo cry. Of course, Paris gets a pass.
The freak show flag didn't fly as high as the premiere when we met the Asian kid who hated the Miley Cyrus song but sang it anyway while dancing like Michael Jackson. Tonight we saw Gabriel who looked like Mick Jagger but, alas, lacked a smidgen of Jagger's moves or talent. One suggestion: Guys should never, ever sing Lady Gaga.
Which brings us back to Jacee Badeaux, 15, the aforementioned heavy young man. He was probably the fan favorite for his rendition of Otis Redding's Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. Kid's got some soul, sweet voice and a winning persona. But I'm not a big fan of kids singing adult tunes. Feels too much like a stunt. But it would be churlish not to give the kid a pass to Hollywood so, with 36 other hopefuls, Jacee's on his way to the next round. Something tells me we didn't see the best N'awlins had to offer on this routine episode, redeemed mostly by Tyler's cheeky charm.
Idol returns next Wednesday from Wisconsin, their first stop in those parts. For more Idol chatter follow me on http://twitter.com/HowardCohen
It's tome for Idol to close down. What are the previous winners doing? I never hear them, and most people are not attending concerts or buying CDs no matter how good the contestants sound. Just keeping it real
Posted by: Kal | January 21, 2011 at 12:05 PM
True, Kal. The only winners who have come close to fulfilling Idol's promise of finding a "superstar" have been Kelly Clarkson (year 1) and Carrie Underwood (year 4).
None of the other winners are even close to "superstar."
Daughtry who came fourth in year 5 is very successful and sold a lot of albums so he's a star but not a superstar.
And the last few years have been dismal in that regard. Lee DeWyze? Kris Allen?
I guess if we just take it for entertainment value it's OK. I am once again curious to see how it goes thanks to the new judges and the real test will be during the live shows in March.
Posted by: HoCo | January 21, 2011 at 12:48 PM