American Idol Season 10: What’s Going Wrong…?

Is it time to put the champagne corks away on this season of American Idol?

After slavish and gushing reviews in the likes of Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone and some great ratings that proved that Simon Cowell wasn’t the king of the Idol universe we all assumed him to be, the general consensus is that Idol is BACK – and better than ever.

But is it really?

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve had an up and down relationship with Idol this season. I thought the opening show of Season 10 was terrible – the new judges were uncomfortable, Simon’s absence was acutely felt, too many weak contestants were passed through and the format felt tired. I honestly thought the show was dead.

But then as the auditions progressed my old love for Idol started to return. The judges started to settle in and found some interesting talents along the way. By Hollywood Week I was hooked once again. Group Night was terrific TV and most of all Idol was offering us some really exciting talents – a huge step up on last year’s dreary bunch (remember Andrew Garcia, Casey James and Tim Urban. Exactly). And to be fair the live shows started promisingly too…

But over the last couple of weeks – the smile has started to freeze on my face as the flaws in the format are starting to show through. I’m finding myself reaching for the fast forward button – and not just on the notoriously padded Results Shows. Is it possible that American Idol has peaked this season? I think it might have – and here’s five reasons why:

THE CONTESTANTS AREN’T THAT GOOD: When 19 year old Casey Abrams performed in Hollywood Week he blew my mind. Standing on stage with his upright bass, Casey was musical, cool and vocally flawless – a sure thing for the finals in my mind.

But then Casey almost found himself eliminated – and in 11^th place – saved only by the Judges’ Save. What happened?

Unfortunately Casey proved himself a bit of a one trick pony. We loved the scowling and growling to begin with but now that’s all Casey seems able to do on stage – his sole bag of tricks – and without them he’s curiously neutered and flat.

But Casey’s not the only one. Pia Toscano has a beautiful voice and stunning looks but it’s just one ballad after another. Paul McDonald is quirky and cool but his stage routine is the same every time, hipster dancing and wobbly vocals. He’s even recycling outfits (the flowery suit). Scotty McCreery sounds the same on EVERY single song. And Jacob is reliably terrible every time!

I understand every performer has their strengths and absolutely should play to them in a competition. But in a post-Adam Lambert American Idol I think we need more. We need performers who can run the gamut, change up songs and make them their own. Singers who can take any song and add their own indelible mark. And acts who most of all know themselves, who they want to be and can take risks. Honestly, does anyone out there think Lauren Alaina has a clear idea of the artist she wants to be?

RECYCLED THEMES – AGAIN! I know, I know I harp on about this all the time, but seriously – when are the Idol producers going to start realizing that people under the age of say 40 actually watch American Idol. I mean, seriously, Motown Week and Elton John week…and how about that old chestnut, Songs From The Year You Were Born? Great, another excuse to listen to warmed over 80’s Whitney Houston tracks…

Why is it so difficult for Nigel Lythgoe and co to realize that the show’s contestants don’t stand a chance in the real music industry if they have to keep singing old Beatles tracks. I’d much rather hear how these performances handle new songs from Pink and Rihanna than reheated Rolling Stones leftovers.

And really what’s the point of having Jimmy Iovine and his band of name-dropping producers if the results aren’t in the slightest bit contemporary – or relevant?

ONE OF THE JUDGES ISN’T ACTUALLY JUDGING: I know, I know, Steven Tyler is a rock legend, music genius and all round amazing guy… but on the Idol panel that ultimately counts for little when nothing that’s come out of Steven’s mouth even vaguely resembles a critique. Steven thinks everyone is amazing and offers little in the way of constructive advice. And while in the early auditions and Hollywood Week he kind of got away with it… on the live shows, there’s just no hiding the lameness.

What amazes me most is how many people out there have drunk the Tyler Kool Aid. Rolling Stone this week actually proclaimed him the savior of the show. Seriously?  Cause from where I’m sitting Steven makes Paula Abdul seem lucid – and incisive.

To add insult to injury, Jennifer Lopez is proving to be a good judge. She’s lost some of the iciness and aloofness from the first few weeks of the show and is now offering smart and useful advice to the contestants on a regular basis. Sure Jen is still a tad too positive – and I do wish she’s sometimes disagree with Steven when she follows his critiques – but overall she’s been a good addition.

And Randy… well he’s still Randy. A little better than the last few seasons but still prone to wild exaggerations. I’ve seriously lost count of the number of times Jackson has pronounced a performance the ‘best’ Idol performance ever… But at least he gives us something compared to Steven.

THE FORMAT FEELS TIRED: I think we were all expecting American Idol to come back with a bang this year with some new twists and turns to keep the contestants on their toes – but aside from a new panel and a few minor tweaks it’s pretty much been business as usual. And for a show in its tenth season am I the only person who thinks Idol could do with more than surface tweaking?

Take the results show for example. They’re as over-padded as usual. We still have endless recaps and pointless viewers questions. The contestants still get sent to dreadful Hollywood movies and forced to grimace and gush (Red Riding Hood – please!) There are the Ford commercials, which slowly become less and less inventive each week. And of course the music performances which seem to constantly involve chart toppers who have no business singing live… I don’t know about you but I’m STILL recovering from James Foxx and Will.I.Am.

There’s so much you can do with a format with Idol but the show’s producers have constantly adopted a ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it attitude’. And maybe they’re right. But personally I think changing aspects of the show format ALONG with the panel would have been a smart move…

WE’RE ALL EXPERTS NOW: When Idol first started 10 years back it was totally different from anything else on our screens. But years later I think it’s fair to say we’re all a bit jaded.

When we see Lauren Alaina we think she’s good – but know she’s NOT as good as Carrie and Kelly. We hear Ashthon Jones and compare her to Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia and know it’s like comparing McDonalds to a Michelin Star restaurant. We see James Durbin and know Adam Lambert did it better and know that even if Scotty or Casey wins they’re probably not going to sell many records.

In many ways the buzz is gone. Lambert was the last strong selling and electrifying presence on the show and I don’t know if we’ll see that again – because idol isn’t really cool anymore. And there’s no amount of panel changes or format tweaks that can remedy that reality…

But what do you think? Are you enjoying Idol this season – or do you agree the show many have peaked? And what do you think of my points? Start commenting everyone…