By Jim CantielloNew and improved Hollywood Week on "American Idol" can be summed up in two words:blue lollipops.For me, it wasn't about the "So You Think You Dance"-inspired changes in format, or the factthat contestants could now play instruments as they warbled a tune. Nope, all I could thinkabout during Tuesday night's episode was Carly Smithson's and David Cook's nasty bluetongues. Have Dum Dums replaced Coca-Cola and Ford as the major sponsors of "Idol"?(Hey, they would have perfect spokespeople with Randy and Paula on the show.) Or maybe,as a co-worker so, ahem, colorfully suggested, there was a Smurf backstage swapping bodilyfluids with the contestants. Did a PA get fired for doling out suckers backstage? Seriously, thisblue tongue thing really unnerved me. And it no doubt unnerved Carly "Green Card"Smithson's tattooed hubby, who must have had some pretty awful thoughts after watching amale contestant perform with a similarly stained tongue moments later. Shame on me for starting trouble.Before I break up any more marriages, let's take a closer look at each of the radical changesand how they impacted the contestants.
*SNIP
Change #2:
Holy crap, these kids know how to play instruments?During round one, in which Bryan Adams earned enough residual checks to last him throughthe summer of 2069, the hopefuls were allowed to show off their musical prowess by pickingup a guitar or sitting behind a keyboard (or for one poor soul, a drum kit). I imagine thisaddition would have silenced "Idol" critics who call its contestants mere karaoke singers, if only producers hadn't limited instrumentation to the first round of a preliminary audition (or approximately 20 minutes of screen time). The preseason hullabaloo about "Idol" nowallowing contestants to tickle the ivories now seems like much ado about nothing.
Who This Helped
: Brooke White, who kicked off the auditions behind a keyboard andreminded the judges of Carole King. It's important to note that Carole King is known more asa stellar songwriter than an amazing vocalist (or pianist!), so Brooke shouldn't get tooflattered, but nonetheless her "singing piano-player chick" shtick made Simon very, veryhappy.
Who This Hurt
: Everybody else. After Brooke's successful audition, it seemed like Simon hadnegative things to say about everyone's band-inspired tryout. True, some had no businesspicking up an instrument. Alisha Dixon, Michael Sanfilippo and he-just-has-to-be-in-a-wedding-band drummer Jack Mellema all looked distracted pulling double duty. But even thetrue "musicians" like Josiah Leming (who rocked Mika's "Grace Kelly," of all songs) and DavidCook will probably get hurt in the long run, when the judges worry that they won't be ascomfortable onstage without an instrument. Did anyone else get the impression that Simondownright detested this new rule?≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
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