With a dramatic tweet about her love for all mankind, puppies and pussy willows, Paula Abdul announced last night that she was leaving American Idol. This comes after weeks of speculation about will she or won’t she? Her public rants about her contract were nauseating. In this day of economic hardship, she had the nerve to cry about her measly millions not being enough to sustain her. Although she had a legitimate gripe about the obscene amounts of cash being thrown at Simon Cowell and the even less deserving Ryan Seacrest, Paula seems to have forgotten that it was the Idol show that pulled out of obscurity – much like the people who go on to win the show. And much like those former winners of the show, Abdul will eventually blend back into the background. Because just what does she have to offer the world? I am not saying this to be mean…but seriously? Will her singing rule the day? Hardly. She attempted a comeback album not that long ago and it seemed to go nowhere. It was almost laughable, to be honest. She hocks her goddy jewelry on QVC and maybe that can help for a while….but it seems to me that she’s looking a gift horse in the mouth. I am curious about what Idol offered her. At the rate she’s going, any raise would have been a good one and she’ll probably be kicking herself later.As for the show itself, I see it on the decline as it has been heading that way for the past couple of seasons. Sometimes producers just don’t know how to not mess with a good thing. The format changes, the new judge – all mistakes. And now with Paula gone, Kara will be back and even more annoying because she won’t be competing for face time with Paula and I’m guessing that she’ll want to use Paula’s talk time as her own – as if she doesn’t talk too much as it is anyway. At least with Paula, we had the unknown to look forward to. We never knew if she’d be loopy, crying, thoughtful or what. That in and of itself is worthy of a raise. Frankly, if they could have ditched Kara and used the money they spent on her and gave it to Paula, maybe the show could have stood a chance of being good again. I think Idol may survive another season or two but if Simon decides to follow suit, say bye bye to Idol. Because only then will the show not be worth watching anymore.
American Idol was really weird last night! Paula Abdul majorly screwed up by reviewing a song that hadn’t even been sung yet. I really wish I could have been a fly on the wall there so I could see how the producers and everybody else was reacting to what she did. Paula was clearly confused and I am willing to bet that they will not be making that mistake again. Was the mid-show critique impromptu? Because it didn’t appear that she knew it was coming judging by her rifling through her notes and flubbing the whole thing anyway. There is an interesting article here recapping what happened including a video clip just in case you missed it. What do y’all think?As for the performances themselves, I was underwhelmed. I was looking forward to Neil Diamond week but last night’s show confirmed my feeling that the only person who can sing Neil Diamond is Neil Diamond. I felt the first half of the show the band played way too loud. It drowned out the singers and what I could hear of them just wasn’t that great. It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great. Jason Castro managed to sing better than last week but the longer he stays the more weak his voice is against the others. If I had to choose someone to go home tonight it’d be him.Brooke White is charming and wholesome and likeable..but can she sing? The problem with her, Jason and David Cook, they are one dimensional. All that comes out of them is one type of sound. Of the three, David Cook is certainly talented because he is able to arrange the songs to fit his style. He did that last night well but sang songs that were not very well known (at least to me) and that could be a good and a bad thing. It made his stuff sound new but then it was like that is a Neil Diamond song??? It almost looked like cheating.Syesha sounded pleasant but she’s grating on my nerves! I think she’d almost be happiest performing in front of a mirror. She is her own biggest fan. Enough! But she’ll survive this week I think. David Archuletta will be back again, too. His efforts were solid but even for him, I wasn’t all that impressed. I don’t think it was his singing but so much the songs he chose to sing. I dunno…the whole night for me deserves a big “Nyeh! Whatever!”
There is an article on NYPost.com about the producers “Rethinking ‘Idol’”. Apparently the ratings have been slipping this year and in an effort to stave off any more decline, they want to make some changes to the show to try to keep viewers engaged. I’ve been thinking about this and although I have enjoyed this season a lot – namely because so many in the family are into it this year – there are a few things that the show can do to make it a little better for us the viewers. The first thing that comes to mind is that I’d like to hear more from Simon. It irritates me that the show will let Randy and Paula drone on and on and then by the time it gets to Simon, he’s got so little time left to comment. And when he does, he is constantly berated by the other judges and Ryan Seacrest. What Simon has to say usually means more because most of the time what he has to say is relevant and honest. I don’t agree with him 100% of the time but I think it’s a little self-serving of someone like Seacrest to banter on like that. Ryan Seacrest is a good host but he’s not the show and shouldn’t be so much of a focus. I’d rather hear more from the judges than him.Another thing the show can do is show us more of those who make the cut. It’d be easier to understand why someone like Jar-Jar Binks, er, Jason Castro made it to the top 12 if we could see his journey there. When he was introduced to the top 24, it was like, who is that guy?Maybe another twist on the selection process would be to allow the public to choose the final 24. Why should the 3 judges decide who is destined for AI and who isn’t? I’m not sure what a logistical nightmare it could be but it’s at least worth a look see.So, the ratings are sinking but there really shouldn’t be anything the producers at AI should worry about. They’re still way ahead of other shows.
