Wednesday, May. 07, 2008

Chink in 'Idol's' armor revealed

By Jeremy Dutton

Just as former Idols were being dropped from labels like overhyped teams in the NFL playoffs, American Idol came back in what will likely be a triumphant return to form.

Damn you, Hollywood -- to the execs and the writers.

You decided to sit this round out and didn't come up with anything that will distract from this juggernaut. Not even to mention depriving me of things I actually like to watch rather than just tuning in for the sick sideshow that describes most early Idol contestants.

But maybe, just maybe, the lack of competition out there will send Idol in a tailspin without anything left to crush in its path.

Let's just pray another Northwest contestant doesn't float to the top. Kristy Lee Cook of Selma, Ore., actually did a refreshingly sweet version of Amazing Grace on Tuesday's opening show. But all we can do is hope her confidence wanes because we really don't need the overbearing Idol coverage on TV to leak into this newspaper any more than necessary.

Luckily, if Tuesday's show is any indication, Idol's slip that Chris Daughtry recently railed on is coming true. While the early episodes provide plenty of comedy, the same ol' shtick of Simon Cowell spitting on hopelessly overconfident wannabes is truly getting old. Let's hope Daughtry is right in his latest assessment to Rolling Stone:

“People get tired of seeing people that suck,” Daughtry said. “It's funny at first, but come on. They spend three weeks on people that can't sing, and that's what they're banking it on. (They should) find some people that you can really invest in.”

And just so you can mark it on your calendar, not that an incessant barrage of ads on every TV channel won't remind you, here's the Idol schedule after the talent draws are set:

Feb. 12: Hollywood round, part one (two hours) Feb. 13: Hollywood round, part two. Top 24 revealed. Feb. 19: Top 12 men perform (two hours) Feb. 20: Top 12 women perform (two hours) Feb. 21: First live results show; two men and two women leave. Feb. 26: Top 10 male vocalists perform Feb. 27: Top 10 Female vocalists perform Feb. 28: Two men and two women eliminated March 4: Top 8 male vocalists perform March 5: Top 8 female vocalists perform March 6: Top 12 finalists revealed March 11: Finalists' first performance show (two hours) March 12: First finalist voted off (90 minutes)

Nothing like three-day blocks of Idol, huh?

Golden Globes

Double-damn to the writers' strike. Not only was the entire Golden Globes event a farce, it also deprived us of seeing a possible (however unlikely) showing by Eddie Vedder. Seattle's finest won for best original song with Guaranteed on the Vedder-penned soundtrack for Into the Wild. The soundtrack by the way is pretty good, and the standout track Great Big Sun has Northwest fave Corin Tucker, formerly of Sleater-Kinney, on background vocals.

- Jeremy Dutton: 582-1525; jdutton@tricityherald.com