American Idol Season 8 Review: Auditions in Phoenix

So Season 8 commenced on Tuesday and with every passing year, the auditions are becoming a chore to watch. To me, it's almost like there are two different shows: The auditions, which conjures up memories of the Dick Clark series "TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes" and then the singing competition starts and the show becomes "Star Search."

True, the auditions still get tremendous ratings, but come on. How many bad singers do we have to sit through until we get to the good ones? I could not care less about the idiot with the afro, or the kid who tried to sing Carrie Underwood. It's the same old same old. How many times do we have to see Simon roll his eyes? How many times do we have to watch these kids feign shock that they were rejected? They know darn well that they're terrible, but they're hoping to catch their 15 seconds of fame. But if you want to see the legitimate performers, you have to sit through the clowns.

We did get to see the new judge, Kara DioGuardi. (Of course they had to show one contestant refer to her as Karen.) It was hard to tell how she will be during the competition. It's easy to pan the clowns, and praise the good singer. What happens when a somewhat good singer butchers a song during the top 7? Will she tell him how great he looks, or will she suggest that he pack his bags? That remains to be seen.

The ratings have decreased over the past couple of seasons, and some of the suggestions bandied about were to eliminate the auditions as episodes unto themselves and instead interweave them within the competition. For instance, during the top 36, when a singer gets up for the first time, only then show his audition. Apparently this good idea did not happen because if they can milk these couple of weeks for more ratings, that is what they will do, although you have to ask yourself if perhaps they are shooting themselves in the foot. Ratings for Tuesday's opener were down 10 percent from last season's, and if viewers tune out now, they will not return in a few weeks when the real thing begins.

I will not rate specific performers, because I cannot tell how they would do on stage. They might have a great voice, but what if they get nervous in front of the crowd, or lack charisma? We have seen contestants who have done great on their auditions only to go downhill from there.

I am still a huge fan of Idol, but if the shenanigans don't stop, I may have to ask myself how much longer.

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