American Idol Returns with More of the Same

American Idol returned Tuesday night with a line-up that's familiar to anyone who has watched any of the previous six seasons. There were the weirdos (what's up with the Hairy-Man Genie Guy?), the melt-downs (Alexis, I'm talking to you), the sweet, but horribly off-key crier (Temptress, I cried right there with you) and mixed in with all of the mayhem and bad auditions were inspirational stories, laughs and an impressive array of talent for this early in the season.

American Idol started off this season on a high note with the feel-good story of Joey, who lost 204 (!) pounds. That in and of itself is an accomplishment so big that I can scarcely wrap my head around it. I desperately wanted him to do well, but my hopes weren't high. How many times last season did Idol producers allow us to care about someone only to pull the rug out from under us when it became apparent that there was no talent to back up the story? I was pleasantly surprised that Joey gave a nice version of Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning." I liked him, but I'm not sure if we'll see him again. We also got to hear from Melanie, who seemed proud to be a back up singer for Taylor Hicks. Apparently this was filmed before Taylor lost his recording contract. I predict that she will go the way of so many other back up singers who are in the background for a reason.

Kristy Cook was awesome- I loved her voice, but her bio clip has made me dub her "Carrie Underwood: The Sequel." Juno James surprised and we got a quick clip of cutie Jonathon Baines who sounded phenomenal. I would have loved more of him and less of Princess Leia.

Two of the best were saved for near the end of the show. Twenty-six year old Angela got pregnant as a teen and auditioned for Idol to help pay for treatment for her daughter who suffers from Rett's Syndrome. It's an admirable motivation, but I hate when Idol singles out people who have had such hardships, because I feel like I'm being emotionally manipulated into liking someone. But Angela is a doll and she has a great voice, and she used it without a ton of hysteria and oversinging. I like her- and I'm glad. I would have felt like I had kicked a puppy if I had thought she was bad. The last audition was Brooke "I've never seen an R-rated movie," White, with one of the most nondescript, non-superstar name in the history of auditions. She has an Idol's voice, though. She was superb. I suspect we'll see a ton of her in the Hollywood rounds.

After being criticized as "mean" last year, this year's debut lacked the cruelty of last year. There also seems to be more talent than last year, thank goodness. Idol is off to a rollicking start and shows no signs of slowing down.