I have a confession: I don’t watch American Idol.
Wait. Let me backtrack. I actually used to watch Idol all the time, right from its humble beginnings when there was that teensy stage, a mere 10 contestants, and a guy named Brian Dunkleman beside Ryan Seacrest.
But boy, how times have changed.
As the seasons passed, I stopped watching regularly, only tuning in once the finalists — whatever the number — were named, because I wanted to see talent, not the ridiculous wannabes who were trying to score their two minutes of fame. But then in Season 8, the producers of Idol wanted to tinker with their show and added a fourth judge.
As far as I’m concerned, Kara DioGuardi, despite her vast experience in the music biz, adds nothing to the show. She tries too hard to be like Simon, when let’s face it, one Simon is perfectly enough. And even though I don’t think Paula ever really added any kind of credibility to the show, I liked the dynamic between her, Simon and Randy, and a fourth person just messed that up.
Well, fast-forward to now and another judge is coming on to the show, replacing Paula Abdul — Ellen DeGeneres. And because of my love for the talk-show queen, I am definitely tuning into Idol. Obviously, I want to hear the funny that comes flying out of her mouth once she hears a dismal audition, but I also think the addition of Ellen is a good thing for the show. Sure, it may seem like a hypocritical comment considering I just ranted about how I hated the idea of a fourth judge, but it wasn’t the amount of judges that was the matter, it was the then-new judge herself.
I’m really hoping Ellen — who’s marking her debut at the start of the Hollywood round — wows naysayers out there who don’t think she will bring anything to the reality hit. But really, who couldn’t do this job? When you’re watching from home, it’s so obvious who is a good singer versus a horrific one. It’s even easy to differentiate between a good singer and a really fabulous one. Ellen has a knowledge of and an appreciation and passion for music, so on the singing front, I think she’ll be fine.
But then comes that extra quality she possesses that Kara and Randy don’t have: a sense of humour. So hey, if Ellen makes me laugh out loud — which she undoubtedly will — and can weed out the crap from the awesome, then I’m on board. Well, from this week on, at least.
Ellen debuts on American Idol, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 8 p.m. ET/PT, CTV/Fox.
What do you think about Ellen on Idol? denette@tvguide.ca
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