Ear plugs may be necessary

My TV is fixing to be in for a workout. It’s that time a year that all my favorite shows start back up. It won’t be long before I’m screaming at Hell’s Kitchen, Big Brother 11 and Survivor again.

Last night was the beginning. American Idol premiered and I watched every second of it. I used to be a huge American Idol fan but over the last couple of years I’ve strayed a little.

I admit that in years past I was one of the people sending in the maximum number of texts allowed to vote. I was one of the people that spent hours on the phone hitting redial.

Last year all that changed. The show just didn’t hold my attention as much. The people weren’t as interesting or as talented as they had been in past shows. At least in my opinion.

Then a couple of days ago I saw an ad for this years American Idol. They have a new judge. A lady. Hmm, this might be interesting. She might be good…

She wasn’t. First of all they act like she’s someone famous but I’ve never heard of her. Her name is Kara DioGuardi and from what I could figure out, she’s a songwriter. I repeat: I’ve never heard of her. She actually felt the need to prove that she could sing better than one of the contestants and STOOD UP AND SANG. Well, I’m sorry. She sounded as bad as some of the wannabe stars.

The ‘improvements’ they’ve made aren’t that great to me either. They said they are going to show less of the Gong Show auditions for one thing. Well, again, I’m sorry, but the people making fools of themselves is one of the things I liked. It was an easy laugh. Remember William Hong? No? Well you can see him for yourself in the video I've included.

They also said they were going to show less Ryan Seacrest. I’m a little torn on that one. I like Ryan but I agree there is too much banter in the hallway taking away from why I’m watching. (In case you’ve forgotten that’s the people who think they can sing but just make me laugh.)

One girl (I can’t remember her name and have no desire to remember it) showed up in a bikini. Simon and Randy loved her of course. Paula and Kara acted like jealous teenagers. It was really quite boring. I could have done without it.

There was talent but they didn’t let us see much of it. There was Michael Sarver, the oilfield worker with a beautiful voice. And at the end they showed Scott McIntyre. I like him. He’s been almost completely blind since birth and he can sing.

All in all I was happy with the start of this years show and I’ll be tuning in tonight for another look. Maybe they’ll cooperate and show me what I want to see: fools and never-before-discovered superstars. We could get lucky.