Ellen DeGeneres' 'coming out' debut
Avid American Idol viewers or as some people would call themselves, “experts,” couldn’t wait to put their two cents in on DeGeneres’ performance as a newly christened judge. Although mixed, the results have generally come in positive.
Whereas Abdul took the role of the sugar-coating judge who over-zealously clapped or danced along to a contestant she obviously approved of, DeGeneres was able to actually take a dignified seat at the panel where she played close attention and didn’t zone out with the exception for the contestant in which she apologized to by saying, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
According to MTV, Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly claims that DeGeneres seems to be a good fit for the show by stating,
“Ellen DeGeneres may not have years of experience in the music industry, but who cares? Her ability to sit still, be quiet and … actually pay attention to what’s happening on the stage in front of her could set an exciting new precedent for ‘American Idol’ ‘s generally frustrating judges’ panel. Yes indeed, the show is actually about discovering the next generation of music superstars, not watching four nimrods at a table drawing mustaches on each other, misstating pertinent facts about music history and finding new and annoying ways to make the phrase ‘you gave it 100 percent’ their own.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Dave Della Terza, of “Idol” spoiler site,Vote For The Worst, thought DeGeneres fell short:
“The first Hollywood episode was a bit underwhelming, because most of it was taken up by Ellen DeGeneres trying to be funny and failing miserably [...] At least Kara DioGuardi can finally give away the title of Most Contrived Idol Judge.”
Although DeGeneres still reminded viewers and contestants that she is the joker of the panel, her critiques were far from jokes as her humor did not interfere with her advice to the singers. Los Angeles Times‘ Ann Powers took on a similar path to Slezak and described the comedienne’s role:
“Hollywood Week’s big news turned out a fizzle Tuesday night — not because Ellen DeGeneres was bad, or offensive, or much of anything, as a judge, but because she seamlessly fit into the patter and often meaningless ‘critique’ at the judges’ table, the way a bottle of San Pellegrino fits in on a Beverly Hills brunch table. Quietly bubbly and refreshing enough, DeGeneres said nothing of consequence […] Her calm demeanor and deadpan wit have already exerted a calming influence on Randy and Kara, if not Simon (who seemed disconnected tonight), and the judges’-panel schtick that had turned into a bunch of tics last year might actually regain its rhythm.”
MTV’s own Jim Cantiell, who initially had reservations DeGeneress fame taking over the show, even came to agree that she certainly brought one thing to the table: Passion. To be a judge on American Idol, passion should be a prerequisite. However, Ellen seems to be giving feedback with enough credibility even though she is not part of the music industry. This factor, perhaps, is the most pleasantly surprising thing about her presence on the show.
But with Fox keeping their mouths firmly shut on who will replace Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres, it seems to be anyone’s guess as to what the new panel will look like, or even how many judges there will be.
Fox’s senior executives have refused to confirm or deny any of the rumors of recent weeks that have suggested that Jennifer Lopez, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, Jessica Simpson or even Justin Timberlake might be joining the show.
And they also refused to speculate on whether Kara DioGuardi or even Randy Jackson will return.
Even more tantalizing, Fox entertainment chairman Peter Rice said that some of the recent reports were accurate while other were “wildly inaccurate” — and he wasn’t saying which was which.
Meanwhile Brett Michaels is still publicly lobbying for the job, and Sean “Diddy” Combs repeated that he would be happy to do it — as long as he got the same salary as Simon.
So with a couple of the biggest jobs in popular TV still apparently wide open, who would you like to see dealing out the criticism when “American Idol” returns in January?
Official website www.americanidol.com has posted a detailed survey which asks fans why they are watching less often — and less enthusiastically — this year, and invites them to rate all the judges individually, as well as the entertainment value of “Idol” mentors and the show’s celebrity guest judges.
And perhaps most surprisingly, there is even a chance for fans to say how much (if at all) they miss Paula Abdul.
The survey is being conducted by an independent agency. But it suggests that “Idol” producers, or Fox, or both are thinking seriously about what hasn’t worked this year – and how they can tweak it next year.
The biggest question on the minds of many fans — the replacement of Simon Cowell — is not addressed in the online survey and Fox has already said there will be no announcement on that before the two-part season finale on May 24 and 25.
“Idol” has seen an 8 percent drop in viewers this season, and audiences have slipped below 20 million recently at a time when anticipation and fan fervor has generally risen going into the finale.
You don’t have to look far in the blogosphere to hear the biggest gripes from fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment