AMERICAN

IDOL SeasonIdol TenShow Opener,one, New York/NewYork and New Jersey

It’s that timeThe again.singers: (clears throat, rearranges various important body parts, sets feet…)

Idol is BAAAACK BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!R Ok, enough of that. If you stuck through to the end last year, I salute you. If you gave up early, I don’t blame you but I hope that you’ll give the show another shot. 2011 will be the year of the kinder, gentler judges and a renewal of the original mission of the show: Find great singers, and let them sing great. The singers:a I just took them as they came, and I skipped all but the Golden Ticket winners. Rachelchel Zevita, 22- Out of control vibrato, and shaky in her intonation. Fodder.

Caleb Hawley, 25- Loved the voice, hated the screeching at the top. Good looking kid, but fodder.fodde r.

Kensie Palmer, 15- She has a country sort of quality to her voice, but her inflections were more in line with the pop and gospel styles that she is learning in musical theater. She is very poised and polished. Her intonation is very strong, and she has some command. I really need to post a glossary of my buzz words and phrases, don’t I? I’ll get on it this weekend. She smiles easily and she has some vocal chops, most noticeably the ability to “moan” up and down between notes. I don’t know what the guys were thinking when they dunned her for her lack of movement. She’s a musical theater member (I can’t say that she’s a veteran, she is 15 years old for chrissakes) and she moves in a practiced and comfortable way. It’s way too early to call anyone a contender, but she isn’t fodder. She’ll be in the power rankings.

Tiffany Rios, 21- She can sing, but she is more likely to make it to the cast of “Jersey Shore” than the final twelve. I’ll find a spot for her in the power rankings, but let’s not get carried away.

Robbie Rosen, 16- He has an emotional, thrilling voice and the killer nice guy vibe. He’s interesting, very likeable, and memorable. I’m guessing that he’ll be around for awhile. I’m not sure that he’s a slam dunk for the finals, at least not yet, though he seems to be getting the package treatment. His intonation worries me. I want to hear him more before I start calling him a contender. He could be great, or he could lose the ability to sing in tune. There were some shaky notes in between the big ones. Not majorly shaky, but juuust a little bit disconcerting.

Ashley Sullivan, 25- I had to rewind and get her name and age when I saw her waving a golden ticket. I had already moved on, assuming that she was toast when she started channeling her inner Liza Minnelli. She can sing some, but she is total fodder for the next round. I don’t want to make it sound like I hated her. I didn’t. She reminded me of a drag queen more than anything else, but she actually IS a girl; a skinny, dirty-blonde haired girl with a rubbery face, expressive eyes and so much nervous energy that I was getting nervous watching her perform. I don’t think that she has a chance in hell on a show like this, but there is something there that I really, really like. It was like Kelly Ripa started doing a Robin Williams impersonation, and not one from last week. I’m talking late 1970’s, back when he was so full of cocaine that he almost drowned in his own sweat. It was amazingly weird, and strangely cool.cool.

Victoria Huggins, 16- This kid isn’t going to the finals, but she could be cast as Larry the Cable Guy’s daughter in his next movie. Did you see that dress? Rip off the sleeves, and she’s already in costume. The accent is perfect. Let’s roll tape, fellers…. Seriously, she has a very strong voice but her intonation isn’t sharp enough for this kind of competition yet. She might go fairly deep, like Haeley Vaughn did last year, just because she’s catnip for the cameras. She has a potential future as a TV personality if she wants to go in that direction. She is totally natural in front of the camera, and even in front of famous people like the judges. She has a natural sense of humor, and a sense of moment that can’t be taught. I’d love to be her agent.

Melinda Ademi, 16- I didn’t get why they subtitled her mother, and not her father. Both of them, in my opinion, spoke very good English. I had no problem understanding either of them. Melinda is a very good singer, and I can’t find fault with her audition. She sang her butt off. I didn’t feel the kind of relaxed confidence from her that would lead me to expect her to be a serious contender, and her back-story didn’t tell us anything about the kid herself. I’ll stick her in my power rankings, but her grade so far is incomplete. I just don’t know enough yet. She is from a million miles away, but she reminds me more of the girl next door. She is remarkably good looking, which might or might not matter down the road. It’s more important to be able to sing with some emotion. I didn’t get that in her audition.audition.

Devyn Rush, 20- Cute kid, decent voice but no high range. Her experience as a singing waitress might take her past the early rounds, but her ceiling is the semis at best. I don’t expect even that. She will be towards the bottom of the power rankings. She reminds me of Lilly Scott from last year a little, but she doesn’t have Lilly’s range or sense of moment. She is way too normal looking to be a quirky singer.singer .

Briell Von Hugel, 16- Charming Boston accent and huge pipes, but she is lacking at the top end and in her ability to control her voice yet. She’s very green for a competition like this. Probably fodder, with only the big pipes giving her a puncher’s chance. Cute kid, though. Lots of cute kids tonight, actually. It was a very cute show.show.

Travis Orlando, 16- He is years from being ready for this kind of competition, but he has some nice chops. I don’t see him going deep, mostly because he is all throat when he reaches for his high notes. As with most of the golden ticket winners from tonight’s show, he seems very likeable and nice.nice.

I didn’t hear anyone that I believe can win it all tonight, but there are a few that might make it to the live shows. It’s good to get going again after several months off, and the kick-off show was very cute and nice. It’s so good to be back, and let’sLet’s all hope for a terrific season, with terrific singers.