More than once this season, Jennifer Lopez has said she hates crushing the dream of an aspiring singer.
Heck, she repeated it Wednesday, when the judges appeared on Oprah.
But this is ridiculous. I’m beginning to think the judges gave golden tickets to half the singing population between the ages of 15 and 28.
Check out these numbers.
Last year, about 170 contestants advanced from the seven city rounds to Los Angeles. In Chicago, where Idol found Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox, only 13 singers got golden tickets.
This year, with two cities to go, 241 singers are Hollywood bound. In Austin, the episode we saw last night, 50 got a ticket to Hollywood.
Last year, the most to advance from any city was Boston with 31. This year, at least that many have advanced from every city.
Now, perhaps this is a case of first-year judges being in too giddy a mood to say no. Steven Tyler and J-Lo seemed particularly gullible if a contestant does a little crying or begging.
Or perhaps it’s a ratings strategy. More families and friends watching to see their loved ones on the show translates into higher ratings. Right, Dizzyfeet?
I just hope the Kodak Theatre was well stocked with tissues when the contestants arrived.
Because an awful lot of dreams unscathed during the audition round must have been dashed there.
Which brings us to tonight’s episode, from Los Angeles.
So, tonight we start with someone who can’t sing, Victoria Garrett, a 21-year-old telemarketer. But I have a feeling that won’t last long. After all, we only have an hour for tonight’s episode.
* Tim Halperin: Last night, someone crushed on Ryan Seacrest. Tonight, we get Tim, who says he had a crush on Jennifer when he was growing up. But, hey, the 23-year-old can sing. Jennifer says he has a nice tone to his voice. And she sides with Steven to send Tim to Hollywood.
What’s up with Jennifer getting beeped, instead of Steven tonight? Will we get an apology for J-Lo’s behavoir next week?
OK, we’ve seen the judges get out of limos. We’ve seen the judges eating. When are we going to get to the talent?
Well, not, apparently. These 18-year-old friends — Daniel and Isaac — sure don’t have to worry about beating one another out for the American Idol crown. Neither is Hollywood bound. Have the judges learned how to say “no”?
Now we get some MySpace auditioners …
Karen Rodriguez: The 21-year-old from New York displays the best voice we’ve heard tonight. Guess that was worth the trip from the Big Apple to L.A. Karen’s goal: To be the first Latina Idol.
Tynisha Roches: Just in case Randy wasn’t feeling enough love, we get Tynisha, who chases him around the audition room. And growls and snarls much better than she sings. Well, the 25-year-old just had her two minutes of fame. She, too, has her Hollywood hopes dashed.
So, we’re 32 minutes in and we’ve seen two contestants who have gotten golden tickets.
Heidi Khzam: Idol’s blue bar tells us this 23-year-old from California is a belly dancer. Which she promptly demonstrates as Steven howls and taps out a beat. Thing is, she follows up with a decent version of “Super Woman.” And decent is plenty good enough to go to Hollywood from these L.A. auditions. J-Lo seems much less impressed that the guys. “Simmer it down.” That’s her advice to Heidi.
Anyone else get the feeling tonight’s Idol episode is a big waste of time?
* Mark Gutierrez and Aaron Gutierrez: Season 10 serves up another set of singing siblings. Mark, 28, is a substitute math teacher. Aaron, 27, is a shoe salesman. And Mark says he leads the more interesting life. Steven calls their duet of “Lean on Me,” “god-like.” Perhaps an overstatement. But certainly better than most of what we’ve heard tonight.
And now we get Cooper Robinson, Idol’s mandatory over-aged contestant. Mr. I Feel Good, from someone deep in the woods of Arkansas “is never gonna get bit by a snake” the way he moves around, Steven Tyler says. But he’s also unlikely to set off the type of “Pants on the Ground” sensation that Gen. Larry Platt launched last year.
That ends a pointless Los Angeles audition episode, unless you like crazies and people who can’t sing.
And, of course, the night I write a lead-in about how many contestants the judges are sending to Hollywood, Idol can’t help but serve up a batch of contestants the judges can’t help but say no to.
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