Jan. 15, 2008

The anticipation has been building for more than a week now. After last season's fiasco I am hoping for some serious changes.

American Idol is moving away from the "mentoring" aspect of the show. That certainly won't be missed, at least by me. A celebrity guest here and there is nice, but they certainly went overboard in season 6.

We also heard that this season the contestants will be allowed to use musical instruments. That is something to lookf forward to. After all, some of these hopefulls are actually very talented.

However, the biggest change that needs to be made, but probably won't, is a change in the voting system. A system such as the one used on Dancing With The Stars or Deal or No Deal would be great. The groups like "Vote For The Worst" wold still be able to vote, but the legit voters would outweight the jerks who try to screw up the results.

All of that being said, I am content to know that some things never change, or take a really really long time to do so.

Let's get on with the show ~ ~ ~

Philadelphia... Right off the bat, I noticed last night that the judges were a kinder gentler sort. Not so insulting. However, it was just the first night. We'll see.

Joey - good job on the weight loss! (Now if I could just get my own act together) Oh, yeah, his voice... Great! I've really been getting into Maroon 5 lately and I enjoyed his performance of "Sunday Morning." I was glad to see him get through.

Yuka (sp?) - I know he didn't make it, but if he sharpened his English speaking skills, he wouldn't be half bad.

Melanie (Taylor Hick's backup) - She was good. Needs work, but glad she got a second chance.

All I can say about James (deep voice) is that his friends were not being very nice when they encouraged him to audition. A real friend wouldn't do that to someone!

Jose sounded very good too. Liked the Spanish, or was it Italian?

I missed bits and pieces due to the fact that I have a busy household and in no way can I sit for 2 solid hours in front of the TV without having to deal with SOMETHING!

In the 80's I owned Joan Jett's album "I Love Rock & Roll." But I never laughed so much while listening to that song - ever!

Angela (daughter w/Rhetts) - She was good. I would love to see her succeed.

Kristy (sounded country to me) - She was incredible! I bet the Country labels are already sitting up and listening. Definitely Top 12 material.

Chris (sang Uncle Kracker) - Very good. Chances are he'll be at least in the top 20.

And my Cali home girl of the night - Brooke - she was really good. I see we disagree, CQT. We'll see just how far she goes.

There were certainly some very interesting people in Phillie. I tell ya, that Paul and his "love song" for Paula made me wish the security had taken him away much sooner.

Wax guy? All that pain for nothing!

Still, nothing compared to Seattle last year.

I'll be back in just a bit with my recap from Dallas last night!

Oh, and this recap and all upcoming recaps can also be seen at