The loss of original judge Paula Abdul over a contract dispute was a bit of a blow to “American Idol” during season nine as she was a fan favorite. Instead of reverting back to a three-judge panel, Ellen DeGeneres was hired to stand in as the fourth judge alongside Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi. It seems like an odd choice, given that the other judges all have musical backgrounds to qualify them as knowledgeable in the industry and are people whose opinions the contestants should respect and heed. It's a little soon to judge Ellen on her performance as she didn't actually join the cast until the Hollywood auditions, when the nearly 200 contestants culled from all over the country are whittled down to the final 24 who will make it to the actual competition.
In the interim, the producers employed guest judges in the mass auditions. This was a hit-or-miss proposition. Kara and guest judge Katy Perry were “downright catty” to one another, according to AI host Ryan Seacrest. Avril Lavigne complained that the producers edited her comments so that only the negative ones were shown, making her look mean. Joe Jonas was virtually mute during his stint as a judge, barely managing more than one or two words at a time. Neil Patrick Harris was poised and charming, but had words with Cowell more than once when they disagreed about the contestants' talent.
Hollywood Week was the usual war of nerves and attrition to pare the contestants down to the requisite 12 male and 12 female vocalists. Some of the judges' decisions were surprising and sometimes seemed arbitrary. One of the 24 finalists was cut because of some confusion over his amateur status; another finalist got a pass for the same offense last season.
Comments (0):