Like an old friend coming to visit, American Idol premiered after 6 months off the air and wrapped the audience in its warm blanket of familiarity within minutes.  Besides the addition of Kara DioGuardi to the judges' table, last night's audition episode felt exactly like audition episodes of seasons past.  There's nothing wrong with this, clearly – the audition episodes have always been immensely popular.  No need to mess with the tried and true American Idol formula.  You'd think that laughing at the horrible singers would get old after eight years – weirdly, perhaps sickeningly, it doesn't.  American Idol kicked off its season in Phoenix, Arizona in the midst of some crazy heat.  A total of 27 singers got a golden ticket to Hollywood over two days in Phoenix and, though we didn't get to know all of them, there were a few stand-outs who could go a long way in the competition. 

Best of the Best

Stevie Wright

She was my favorite of the night, and someone who could go very far.  Her voice is incredible for a 16-year old, and just different enough to set her apart from the crowd.  Also, she's got a good personality.




Emily Wynn-Hughes

She's a genuine rocker chick with a good voice.  She's clearly very independent.  It's unfortunate she has all those tattoos and piercings though – she's a pretty girl underneath all that stuff.

There's no YouTube available yet for embedding, but you can watch a crappy, iPhone version here:


Scott McIntyre

The blind dude might not have been the best singer, but I'm guessing that he'll be a force once he has a piano at his disposal. 




Worst of the Worst

Michael Gurr

Nervous guy with the voice of a possessed toad.





X-Ray

I thoroughly enjoyed the abject ridiculousness of X-Ray's song.  It was horrible, but I loved it. 




Bikini Girl

What a shameless tramp. 






Stray Thoughts

I like Kara DioGuardi.  She's not perfect, and sometimes she gets combative for the sake of being combative, but I think she'll be good for the show.  She's smart, and isn't afraid to call people out (bikini girl is a good example).  Now that she has the whole audition phase under her belt, she'll add a new dimension to the Hollywood, semi-final and final rounds.  Now, if she would only refrain from singing (it's self-aggrandizing), I'd be happy. 

Paula Abdul was strangely lucid.  Multiple times last night, I found myself enjoying her presence.  Perhaps I've just gotten soft. 

For all the talk of Simon Cowell being fed up with Idol and ready to leave, I don't buy it.  Idol is a great forum for him to be witty, and he enjoys it.  He also genuinely enjoys sending good singers through and is not, as is sometimes insinuated, without a heart. 

I hate bikini girl. 


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of FOX)