Via: Tuned In
I haven’t been watching much American Idol so far this season, particularly the audition rounds, because of a general sense of life’s-too-short-itis. Also, past Idol judge transitions have taught me that you can’t really get a sense of the new judging panel from the heavily edited audition and Hollywood rounds; you need to see them assessing singers one-by-one. Last night I watched the first Las Vegas semifinal round to get some first impressions of this year’s new panel. And I was… kind of impressed? Cautiously? At least for one night, it seemed like the end of the Steven Tyler / Jennifer Lopez era means that the judging panel is again willing and encouraged to offer specific, substantive feedback on performances. You know: to judge. In that spirit, a few very preliminary judgments, going right down the line: Keith Urban: I didn’t have much of an impression of him before he joined Idol, other than his being Mr. Nicole Kidman. I still don’t have that much of an impression of him, but I became guardedly hopeful for him when critiqued Brandy for not connecting emotionally with the Travis Tritt ballad “Anymore,” smiling at odds with the song’s lyrics. Smiley-itis is a longtime Idol pet peeve of mine, so this was bound to appeal to me, but it’s also the kind of specific, intangible-but-important feedback that the show has been short on since Simon left. Nicki Minaj: If Keith is there for laid-back critiques, Nicki has clearly realized she’s there to stand out like a pink dye job. Some people will love and some will hate it, but so far I’m loving how she’s owning her judginess: “Get ready to boo again!” she taunted the crowd at one point. But she didn’t seem critical for nastiness’ sake last night; she was also attentive and specific in her praise. OK, Nicki also told nearly every girl she looked pretty, a longtime Idol-judge tic. But it meant something a little different every time—sometimes consolation, sometimes part of her judgment of the singer’s presentation and sometimes,
Read full story at: Tuned In
Posted: February 21st, 2013
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