Over the first seven seasons, "American Idol" has only won 2 of its 34 Emmy nods. Of course, with Simon Cowell in charge of the show, Kara DioGuardi may not want to run the risk of ruffling that peacock's feathers by earning an Emmy nod possibly at his expense. Already, the reviews, for the most part, are focusing on her addition to the show as a much-needed breath of fresh air.
For Jim Farber of the New York Daily News, the show "has finally found its mean girl. In stark contrast to pushover Paula Abdul, new judge Kara DioGuardi showed some teeth in her debut Tuesday night." As he explains, "The season premiere didn't find her quick with a honed zinger like Simon Cowell. She favored instead a general tone of condescension, told in an instantly annoying tic of calling everyone 'sweetie' and 'honey' right before she kicks them to the curb."
Idoltracker here at the Los Angeles Times said, "At first glimpse, it was hard not to be struck by the visual difference between DioGaurdi and her new colleagues – in appearance younger, sharper, more attractive, conveying a slightly dangerous edge to her smile — she instantly put a little spring in the aging juggernaut’s step. But the question remained; how would she fit in and stand up to the other judges. " The answer — "In the first half, while Diogaurdi was largely unheard, an interesting dynamic took shape as her presence in the middle of the table had the effect of seeming to isolate Randy from the real action — which was taking place in the Simon/Paula banter … In the second half, however, hints of the DioGuardi promise were seen. In the heated 'bikini girl' incident, the new judge showed clearly that the knives are there, waiting to come out. She demonstrated an edge sharper, more informed and potentially even nastier than Simon’s occasionally shopworn put downs. In her parting comment to the bikini girl, a tossed aside of 'Sing naked next time' she gave us a glimpse of potentially deadly force to come, with an edge that could inject a great deal of energy into the show."
Rob Salem of the Toronto Star thought, "DioGuardi's charismatic credibility seems to somehow ground them all, and indeed the entire show. She's more than a match for Simon, more substantially authoritative than Randy, and gives Paula someone non-threatening to play with and divert her attention away from Simon." And TV Watch at People says, "DioGuardi, who looks like an older, more languid Katharine McPhee with a touch of Anna Paquin, is presumably meant to be a level-headed counterpoint to Paula, who lives in a magical, sometimes baffling world. Kara — pronounced “care-ah” — was slickly pleasant, but you get the feeling she won’t really tolerate too much nonsense, and she knows how to make a point."
American Idol is Back!
Things have gotten so bad you can't even count on a Will Smith movie to crack the $100 million mark at the box office anymore. (Although, let's be honest: Those trailers for Seven Pounds looked kinda busted.)
But fret not, folks. Look up there in the sky! It's a Paula (as expected, joyriding through the clouds)! And a Randy! And a Simon! And something we're being told is called a Kara! And they're bringing you the shiniest, happiest, feel-goodiest season of American Idol auditions that you ever did see. Sweet, talented mother of three whose apartment just got destroyed by a tornado? You're goin' to Hollywood! Burly welder who put your singing dreams aside to raise and support your peach of a three-year-old daughter? Grab a golden ticket! And what the heck, even if you're only a marginally tolerable spaz who dreams at night about Simon Cowell, there's room for you in the next round — provided that your mom flew out from Florida to lend support and that you use the word ''please'' when imploring the judges to help you fulfill your lifelong goal of superstardom. Oh, and if that's not enough to lift your spirits, we've got plenty of footage of potential Idols' families hilariously hugging Ryan! (Say what you want about the pint-sized hostbot, but don't you think Fox could spin ratings gold from a special summer series called Squeezing the Bejeezus out of Seacrest?)
Don't get me wrong: I'm not complaining about the way Idol emphasized the positive during tonight's audition rounds from Kansas City, MO (hometown of last year's champ David Cook). Quite the opposite, I was elated that the show's producers chose to highlight 13 of the 27 successful auditions from the 'Show Me' state — a much better ratio than Idol addicts have come to expect in recent seasons. And perhaps even more interesting, the night's best auditions focused on seemingly average Joes and Janes, folks with ordinary jobs, living ordinary lives, and stepping into the spotlight to chase extraordinary dreams. What better elixir for the doom and gloom permeating the bulk of today's news headlines? (Then again, I try my best to avoid Idol spoilers, so I should probably brace myself for the news that Welder Guy had a three-record deal with Sony back in 2005.)
Still, even if you found yourself wearing your Idol warm fuzzies like a pair of footie pajamas by the end of tonight's show, the reality is that in about a month's time, all of these likable dreamers are going to be thrown into the musical Thunderdome: 36 singers will enter, and only one will leave. Which means it's time to look at the Kansas City Thirteen perhaps a little more critically than our suddenly soft-hearted judging panel did tonight. Let's separate 'em into four distinct groups: