Idol Chatter & Voice Views

In a conference call a couple of weeks ago, Nigel Lythgoe said Randy Jackson had become an anchor of the new American Idol judging panel. That he was saying more than “dawg” these days.

My reaction: Let’s wait and see what happens when the performance shows start.

Well, they started Tuesday night.

And not only is Randy saying more than “dawg,” he’s apparently the new tough judge in town.

That was demonstrated repeatedly over the past two nights.

In the second performance of the boys’ semifinal, former shipyard worker Jovany Barreto delivered a fairly adequate rendition of “I’ll Be.” But it wasn’t anything we haven’t seen on Idol 100 times.

Steven raved. Jennifer Lopez gushed.

Randy called the performance for what it was: Just OK.

And he got the boos that used to be reserved for Simon Cowell.

The second time was even more defined.

Robbie Rosen tried his best to deliver a heartfelt version of “Arms of an Angel.” I say tried because there were pitch problems all over the place.

Steven raved. J-Lo gushed.

Randy frowned and delivered the truth: It was not good.

He played the same role a couple of times in the girls’ semifinal — most notably with Ta-tynisa Wilson, the night’s first performer.

Then, just when I was started to appreciate Randy being the final word on each performance, Idol started rotating the judges’ critiques. I’m still wondering why that changed for Wednesday’s show.

And I’m still hoping J-Lo and Steven get a little more critical.

All along, I think we suspected Jennifer would fall into the Paula role as the judge most supportive of the contestants.

But I was hoping for brutal honesty from Steven. After all, we do not need two Paulas on this panel.

Meanwhile, my only complaint with Randy is some of the superlatives he spouted toward the end of Wednesday’s show.

Comparing Thia Megia to Michael Jackson? Saying Lauren Alaina is a cross between Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood?

But, for the most part, my message to Randy so far would be this: “Thanks, for keeping it real.”