On Wednesday's Season 12 "American Idol" premiere,
the family-friendly feelgood show sort of lost its way and lost its
heart, focusing on the judging-table diva drama between mortal frenemies
Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj--at the expense of any contestant
unfortunate enough to have auditioned on this season's first troubled
day of taping. And when Season 12's second episode, featuring the
Chicago auditions, aired this Thursday, it looked like weary
viewers were going to get more of the same, or worse of the same, so to
speak: feuding, more feuding, and worse feuding, for two tedious hours.
But just when it seemed like Mariah and Nicki were about to brawl
like a couple of scorned women on a particularly heated love-triangular
episode of "The Jerry Springer Show," a memorable, bow-tied contestant
came along to turn the show around and remind viewers (and hopefully the
judges) what "Idol" is supposed to be all about: giving kids a
much-needed break and making talented people's dreams come true. Yes, it
was sappy and manipulative (cue violins here), but it was just the sort of sap and manipulation the show dearly needed.
The contestant's name was Lazaro Arbos, one of Season 12's most
moving sob stories so far, and already one of the season's standout
stars. A Cuban immigrant with a severe lifelong stutter, whose speech
problems became even more pronounced after he moved to the States at age
10, the shy, sweet 21-year-old struggled to make it through even a few
syllables of his nervous introductory conversation with the judges. But
once he began singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water," he wasn't troubled
at all: He warbled the Clay Aiken-popularized Simon & Garfunkel
classic with nary a trace of speech impediment, and it was impossible
not to root for the guy or not be impressed by his brave performance.
It really was a special "Idol" moment. And ironically, the squawking,
side-eyeing judges were finally rendered temporarily speechless...by
someone who had difficulty even speaking at all.
Mariah Carey congratulates LazaroBut
all four judges finally found the right words to praise such a lovely
audition. "I love your voice. It's amazing that the stammer that doesn't
happen all the time," marveled Randy Jackson. "Your story is very, very
inspiring. I think you brought a really great vibe into the room," said
Nicki. "You have a beautiful voice," gushed Mariah. And Keith Urban
advised Lazaro, "Just sing all the time!" And of course, all four judges
voted to send Lazaro to Hollywood. A joyful Lazaro broke into sobs as
he embraced Mariah, while the other judges looked on, beaming
benevolently. And for a few minutes, there was peace on "Idol."
But of course, for most of the night, Nicki and Mariah weren't
speechless at all. Within the first 30 minutes of the episode, in fact,
some sort of Mimi/Her Minajesty argument broke out about pink eyeshadow
(at least I think that's what it was about?); this was preceded
by a montage, set to "Stuck In The Middle With You," of Nicki and
Mariah snipping and sniping at each other while put-upon Keith sat
haplessly between them, banging his blonde head on the table and
probably wondering why on earth he ever decided to quit "The Voice
Australia" for this. I believe this segment was supposed to be funny. It wasn't. It was just shticky, silly, and sad.
This was a shame, because along with Lazaro, there were some really excellent auditioners in Chicago--much
more so than on Wednesday's underwhelming New York episode--and they
deserved to have the judges' and viewers' full attention, rather than
struggle to be heard above the divas' din. So I wholeheartedly suggest
that "Idol" producer Nigel Lythgoe scramble to drastically re-edit the
next few audition episodes, no matter what the cost to Fox, to
ensure future shows highlight more superb singers and a LOT less icky
bickering. (Additional suggestion: Figure out a way to feature former "Voice" semifinalist Jamie Lono--who was shown for maybe two seconds on Thursday's "Idol" episode--to find out why someone who sailed through "The Voice's" tough Blind Auditions didn't even get a golden ticket on this show.)
Really, with a few salvaging tweaks, "Idol" actually could pull off great Season 12--and that's nothing to argue about.
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