Sounds like the same old song, only sappier
We’re going to Hollywood. Again. It’s hard not to feel as if it’s 2008 — or 2015 — while watching ABC’s reincarnated version of American Idol (Sundays and Mondays, 8 ET/PT,
which returns two years after its former network, Fox, aired a “farewell season.”
Whether or not it’s too soon to revive something we just said goodbye to, the new Idol is here and fighting for your attention. But the new version is really just the old version, a little sappier, a little more Disney-fied, a little more Americana-obsessed, and it’s all, well, fine. It’s not particularly good or bad. It’s just familiar. And familiar may be enough, depending on what you’re looking for. But it’s not special.
What’s the same, at least in Sunday’s two-hour taped-auditions premiere? Pretty much everything. The logo, the title music and the emotional contestant backstories are all there. Ryan Seacrest is back as host. The judges may be different, but the panel of Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan almost eerily mirrors the music genres and personalities of the final Fox judges, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban. Richie is the elder statesman, Perry is the biggest name and the most enthusiastic, and Bryan is the warm country representative.
The new judges, like the old ones, are also mostly OK. No one is trying to be acerbic like Simon Cowell, but no one really stands out, either. Richie is clinical in his assessment of the acts, Bryan is generically genial, and Perry is too wacky and all over the place. A moment when she surprise-kisses a young contestant who was going in for a peck on the cheek is played for laughs but is actually cringe-worthy. As the most popular star on the panel, Perry might be expected to offer the best insights about the state of the recording industry, but instead she dances with contestants and offers generic feedback.
ABC has emphasized the word “American” in the title, and the series is presented as a uniquely American experience. (Of course, no one mentions its roots as Britain’s Pop Idol.) A montage that kicks off the season, narrated by former Idol Carrie Underwood, features the requisite shots of classic Americana: flags waving, Midwestern landscapes, parents with kids. The tone is heartwarming. Failed contestants are let down as easily as possible, and those who make it to Hollywood are all as sweet and diverse and quirky as can be.
The problem with making Idol a warm and fuzzy show that takes literal trips to Disney World is this: The vitriol is what helped catapult the series to its onetime status as a phenomenon. Idol was a show about telling people the truth, even if it hurt. Not everyone can make it in Hollywood, even if they’re talented, and when Idol replaced honesty with uplifting platitudes, the magic disappeared. This problem was apparent on Fox, and it’s still there on ABC.
The new Idol is, really, just as harmless and forgettable as the most recent slate of its winners: fun and cute enough if you pay attention, but easy to ignore if you don’t.