'American Idol' Premiere: Steven Tyler Shines, Some Changes Evident

When "American Idol" returned for its 10th season last night, a lot of tepid viewers tuned in to see if the changes were worth committing to another season. This morning, Steven Tyler was trending on Twitter and mostly for positive reasons as he took his place alongside veteran "AI" judge Randy Jackson and fellow newcomer Jennifer Lopez.

The promise to focus more this season upon the actual reason most people watch "American Idol" - the contestants - was reiterated in Ryan Seacrest's opening monologue: "This isn't our story - it's yours."

As in prior seasons, the judges were introduced with their pedigrees, but no time was wasted getting to the actual contestants. The first three hopefuls earned their Golden Ticket to Hollywood without much drama.

The producers of "American Idol" still brought people into the judges' room that had no vocal ability at all. However, there seemed to be more focus on the people who had some talent rather than the continual parade of train wrecks the "AI" audition shows have been known for in the past.

Contestants still try to use some schtick and schlock to get noticed by the production staff. New Jersey resident Tiffany Rios gave "Jersey Shore-esque" hair teasing tips prior to her audition and initially sang a self-penned song while tearing open her jacket to reveal huge silver stars over her breasts. She had a great personality and when she sang her second song, Tiffany let her true vocal talent shine through to earn a Golden Ticket.

One of the best contestant lines of the night came from 16-year old Victoria Huggins from North Carolina. When Steven Tyler mentioned the length of her skirt showing just the right amount of leg, Victoria countered with "Got to please the boy fans, but I still want to be a lady!" Victoria made it through to the next round.

While "American Idol" is all about the contestants, it's hard not to judge the judges. Refreshingly, Randy Jackson seems to have taken - or at least reduced the use of - some of his trademark comments out of his vocabulary. Jackson didn't rely too much on "dawg" and there wasn't a single reference to "sing the phone book." None of the judges used that other word that was criticized last season by Harry Connick, Jr. - "pitchy".

As expected, Jennifer Lopez was the judge who had the hardest time telling the contestants "no". Lopez has a lot of personality in her face and it was easy to see from her sudden upraised eyebrows and bends of her head when she wasn't happy with a performance.

Steven Tyler can easily take over the judges table. He's nice to the contestants and is animated when he enjoys the performance. Tyler found creative ways to let them down easy such as the "oh, I dropped something 'Sorry - no'" trick. Blogger Spike at 94 WYSP nailed it when he said "If there's one thing that Steven Tyler knows how to do, it's be Steven Tyler, and he was really good at it."

Some of the comments from the judges table reinforce the plan to spend more time grooming the contestants through the season. Mentions of "the whole package" and advice to embrace the talent and create a proper image of an "American Idol" were given to more than one hopeful.

In the end, 51 contestants from the New Jersey auditions received Golden Tickets and a chance to advance. There are still six audition cities to go, including tonight's New Orleans auditions. Hopefully, the "American Idol" hopefuls took some of the advice offered by the judging panel that will create a better Hollywood week than viewers have seen in the last few years.

"American Idol" airs on Wednesday and Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET on FOX.

Sources: AI10 Season Premiere, Steven Tyler Might Save American Idol