'American Idol' finally has a grown-ups table

Season 10 and "American Idol" finally brought in a couple of pros.

Whether or not new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez will be able to find and foster an actual pop star or generate the love/hate buzz of their predecessors remains to be seen.

But moments into Wednesday night’s season premiere, it was gratifyingly clear that for the first time in a long time the fumblings and flailings of contestants fighting to find their feet on stage will not be mirrored by the judges table.

Not only are they great to look at, Lopez and Tyler are long-time stars who have nothing to gain, or lose, by being part of "American Idol."

And after the bipolar antics of last year's woefully mismatched panel -- including a zombified Ellen DeGeneres and a manically flirtatious Kara DioGuardi -- their natural confidence in front of the camera was such a blessed relief that it was hard to miss even the bracing ballistics of Simon Cowell.

A "selected scenes" preview DVD sent out by Fox last week was slightly troubling, with Tyler clearly being cast as the crazy Captain Jack Sparrow of the group and Lopez its Lady Madonna.

During the first two days of auditions in New Jersey, the two certainly had their moments -- Tyler got bleeped several times; Lopez hugged one weeping contestant and appeared genuinely agonized the first time she had to vote no -- but both were confident in their choices and professional in their reasoning.

"Baby, you got so much drama but you've got no notes," Tyler told one young woman, quickly establishing himself as capable of telling the truth in a colorful but nonhostile way.

"We say yes, to the singing," Lopez said firmly to Tiffany Rio who had opened her jacket to reveal a bikini top bedecked with two strategically placed stars. "Work on that. You want to be taken seriously."

For much of the two hours, Randy Jackson mostly played the bemused veteran. "I think they're both insane," he said at one point when his co-judges sent one young woman on to Hollywood after she told them she wanted to be the "Liza Minelli of pop music."

It was a role that suited him after years of being the panel's undeniable "also ran," and there was something so eminently sane about the new trio, something so professional yet friendly about, to borrow a very over-used "Idol" term, the energy in the room that even Jackson seemed shiny and new, more relaxed and less reliant on tired tics and posturing.

Jackson, and virtually everyone else has said repeatedly that Cowell is irreplaceable and that is certainly true in terms of biting wit and his signature air of jaded impatience.

But Cowell always viewed performers through the gimlet eye of a producer, the money man who saw success more as a marketing formula than a matter of personality or even talent. To Cowell, even passion was simply part of a grander equation.

Tyler and Lopez are performers, time- and road-tested, who have experienced failure as well as success, and even in the first two hours the difference in how they perceive performances made the show more interesting than it has been in a while.

Although they seem to understand, as Cowell did, that false hope is not an act of kindness, they may see things that past judges did not.

"You won’t find many people like that, that kind of enthusiasm," Tyler said of the Liza wannabe who essentially pleaded her way into the next round. "I am going to personally work that into something good."

He may be all talk, the initial good cheer may wear thin and we may be begging to be slapped around by Cowell in a few weeks, but for now it's just nice to have judges who aren't learning how to be stars themselves. Which means that this year, maybe the show can be about finding a real American idol.

-- Mary McNamara 

Photo: Tyler, Lopez and Jackson at the judging table. Credit: Michael Becker/Fox.

Comments

[Ritz]

I love AI but this was the WORST first episode to date. B.O.R.I.N.G. I miss Simon and could careless what these judges have to say and J LO spit it out and say NO instead of wasting time with ur stupid antics ugh :-(

[Cleo]

I agree with the article. LOVED the show. New blood, new energy, it was great!!! I've been watching Idol since season one and it was getting stale! I think this new batch will have a different focus and agenda and bring some fun to the show. They make Idol a "must see" again.

[ameyer13]

I am aghast with excitement for the new season of idol especially since the main reason I intend to be entertained is not only the enjoyment of watching talent on the rise but for Talent already established; Steve Tyler. I have been an avid fan since my first Aerosmith concert my senior year of high school. He is such a presence in performance and I can only imagine that his input and antics will be as entertaining as they have ever been even in this new area. I will be traveling a lot over the next few months and there will be a lot of shows I would be missing if it not for a great little gadget I came across working with Dish Network. I got myself a Sling Adapter, one of the most ingenious devices I have seen in a long time. It is a rather small little baby that easily attaches to my receiver and sends me all my programming to my iPad. Now I could stream through my iPhone, but the iPad has a much bigger screen and therefore I will enjoy it better. I feel a bit relieved since this does solve my dilemma. At the first feeling of disappointment in missing certain shows that I really wanted to see I realized that if there was something to be done I must find it and luckily, I have.

[emma]

I wasnt gonna see the show, but I did and I saw it all the way till it ended..the Judges did well..I love the show I laughed so hard and I cried too..I belive the show rating are going blow up ...remeber this e-mail..its gonna get hot..'Randy, Tyler, Jennifer, keep up the good work..ur gonna run into negative and positive.

[bettye198]

Who knew Steven Tyler was a total crack up and a sit down comedian? I loved it and it shattered my expectations that it would be a bust. Everyone is redeemed and now we can have a hoot and holler good time. I think the suggestions were thoughtful, quick to the punch instead of the drawllllllll. And all three seem to be in a same whirlwind of like kind energy. Kudos to Nigel Lithgow who was my hero on SYTYCD. We have some seriously good singers at the start. This year has hope.

[william wray]

I liked it but they do need a tough ( but insightful, ) Simon type. as a counter point to the nice newbies. Dog is dog.

[Melissa]

Never thought I'd say this after he spent last year phoning it in, but I miss Simon. JLo and Tyler let people through that don't have a prayer of winning. It was initially kind of fun, but by the end of 2 hours I was kinda bored.

[Tina]

You actually think Lopez and Tyler are "great to look at"? Their faces are disgusting! They literally look like plastic. They also sent through a bunch of mediocre singers. I am not impressed.

[Beth Copeland]

Great to be rid of sarcastic, negative, hope-crushing Simon Cowell. Randy, Trevor, and Jennifer are all brilliantly talented, and can make even a sixteen-year old hopeful by their comments. How many kids' futures did Simon Cowell ruin by his negativity and haughty spirit?

[Lisa]

All i can say is WOW! Its really good this year. I got sick of Simon anyway. He was way overrated and NOT American!