Turning the tables... Judging the Judges
Every week we watch them as they deliver their opinions of the contestants' performances. Some days I agree with them wholeheartedly; other days I wonder if we're watching the same performances. And sometimes, I just can't help but wonder, "What are these guys smoking?"
The scale seems to have tipped slightly. During the first rounds of auditions, I often found them unnecessarily critical, and wondered if they would ever find anyone they liked. There were quite a few hopefuls that did amazingly well - especially considering that singing a capella in front of four glowering faces is not exactly a walk in the park - and yet, they didn't make it through. To add to the confusion were the mediocre performers that actually did make it through. I started to wonder if a contestant's chances didn't hinge on whether the judges had had enough coffee that day. They certainly seemed hard to please - so much so that they couldn't even fill out the Top 100. There were quite a few contestants with split votes; generally Gareth and Mara for, and Randall and Dave against. With Dave's casting vote, they were out of luck. I thought they should have given those borderlines a wildcard chance - come back, perform one more time, and see if they couldn't catch the naysayers in a better mood. At any rate, the much-touted "highly selective" approach was clearly evident as they toured around the country, and it seemed that these judges would be hard to please.
The trend continued, for the most part, once they settled in at Gold Reef City with the Top 70 contestants in tow. I did find most of their criticisms spot on, and there didn't appear to be much disparity among the judges' opinions. They weren't unnecessarily harsh, yet they weren't blatantly gushing either; for the most part, I found their comments to be fair, accurate and insightful.
Then we moved on to the Top 24. This is where, in my opinion, it started to fall apart. They gushed over contestants that I thought had done poorly; scowled at those that had shone brightly, and in several instances, disagreed vastly with the viewing and voting public. The first show in, I started to wonder if they weren't just going to say something nice about everyone. Maybe they were just overwhelmed by the fact that the people standing before them all had at least a modicum of talent. Maybe they finally got their hands on some decent coffee. Maybe the difference between live and TV really was so vast that the judges saw something we didn't. Or maybe, just maybe, their idea of "good" and "bad" doesn't quite match up with mine.
And now we're in the Top 12. Will the judging level out a little bit, finding a balance between critical and appreciative? I think some of the judges have established their own personal favorites and commenting accordingly. Randall has proclaimed Kesha as his pick for the next Idol, but manages to tell her when she's failed to deliver. Mara seems to have a few that she wants to see succeed, but seems to comment less critically. Maybe it's the Mama Mara showing through, and she can't bear to hurt the feelings of her choice contestants, but it seems to me her comments are eitherly overly gushing or unfairly critical. No, I don't think she's racist. Some believe she gave no positive comments to the white contestants at all, but that's not true. She told Martelize that she was born to be on the stage. She's given praise to white contestants in previous rounds. And truth be told, 75% of the performances on Sunday night were decidedly below par, both white and black. But that doesn't change the fact that she comes across as having a handful of contestants that she is supporting wholeheartedly, and perhaps a little blindly.
Which judge do I think is delivering the best comments? I'd have to say Randall. He's a discerning judge, and he has no interest in fluffing up the feelings of those who stand before him - or even those who sit beside him. He stands by his opinions. The difficulty is, he needs to come up with some new leading remarks. I'm thinking of keeping score the next show, to see just how many times he pulls out one of his tried and true remarks. Really, Randall needs to up his game.
The other judges have their own little stash, as well. Mara and her "You're rocking [insert name]. Dave and his "Hoo... I don't know." Gareth and... hmmm... Gareth and whichever judge he seems to want to emulate at any given time. Gareth seems a little hesitant to make his own calls at times. During the first round of auditions, he seemed to agree with whoever judged just before him. Now his comments seem to reflect Dave quite a bit. I don't know whether it's simply coincidence, or if he's uncertain, but I wish he'd put himself out there a little more and make some more intrepid judgements.
The four of them together, however, make a good overall team. Mara and Randall balance out the spectrum between nice and nasty, and Dave and Gareth further temper the mix with insight and a sense of what works and what doesn't. And for all their faults, and questionable judgement calls, in the end, I think that we'll get an Idol we can be proud of. After all, no matter who they favor or dislike, the most important thing at the end of it all is that the Idol of 2005 is someone the country will love, and of course, buy!
The scale seems to have tipped slightly. During the first rounds of auditions, I often found them unnecessarily critical, and wondered if they would ever find anyone they liked. There were quite a few hopefuls that did amazingly well - especially considering that singing a capella in front of four glowering faces is not exactly a walk in the park - and yet, they didn't make it through. To add to the confusion were the mediocre performers that actually did make it through. I started to wonder if a contestant's chances didn't hinge on whether the judges had had enough coffee that day. They certainly seemed hard to please - so much so that they couldn't even fill out the Top 100. There were quite a few contestants with split votes; generally Gareth and Mara for, and Randall and Dave against. With Dave's casting vote, they were out of luck. I thought they should have given those borderlines a wildcard chance - come back, perform one more time, and see if they couldn't catch the naysayers in a better mood. At any rate, the much-touted "highly selective" approach was clearly evident as they toured around the country, and it seemed that these judges would be hard to please.
The trend continued, for the most part, once they settled in at Gold Reef City with the Top 70 contestants in tow. I did find most of their criticisms spot on, and there didn't appear to be much disparity among the judges' opinions. They weren't unnecessarily harsh, yet they weren't blatantly gushing either; for the most part, I found their comments to be fair, accurate and insightful.
Then we moved on to the Top 24. This is where, in my opinion, it started to fall apart. They gushed over contestants that I thought had done poorly; scowled at those that had shone brightly, and in several instances, disagreed vastly with the viewing and voting public. The first show in, I started to wonder if they weren't just going to say something nice about everyone. Maybe they were just overwhelmed by the fact that the people standing before them all had at least a modicum of talent. Maybe they finally got their hands on some decent coffee. Maybe the difference between live and TV really was so vast that the judges saw something we didn't. Or maybe, just maybe, their idea of "good" and "bad" doesn't quite match up with mine.
And now we're in the Top 12. Will the judging level out a little bit, finding a balance between critical and appreciative? I think some of the judges have established their own personal favorites and commenting accordingly. Randall has proclaimed Kesha as his pick for the next Idol, but manages to tell her when she's failed to deliver. Mara seems to have a few that she wants to see succeed, but seems to comment less critically. Maybe it's the Mama Mara showing through, and she can't bear to hurt the feelings of her choice contestants, but it seems to me her comments are eitherly overly gushing or unfairly critical. No, I don't think she's racist. Some believe she gave no positive comments to the white contestants at all, but that's not true. She told Martelize that she was born to be on the stage. She's given praise to white contestants in previous rounds. And truth be told, 75% of the performances on Sunday night were decidedly below par, both white and black. But that doesn't change the fact that she comes across as having a handful of contestants that she is supporting wholeheartedly, and perhaps a little blindly.
Which judge do I think is delivering the best comments? I'd have to say Randall. He's a discerning judge, and he has no interest in fluffing up the feelings of those who stand before him - or even those who sit beside him. He stands by his opinions. The difficulty is, he needs to come up with some new leading remarks. I'm thinking of keeping score the next show, to see just how many times he pulls out one of his tried and true remarks. Really, Randall needs to up his game.
The other judges have their own little stash, as well. Mara and her "You're rocking [insert name]. Dave and his "Hoo... I don't know." Gareth and... hmmm... Gareth and whichever judge he seems to want to emulate at any given time. Gareth seems a little hesitant to make his own calls at times. During the first round of auditions, he seemed to agree with whoever judged just before him. Now his comments seem to reflect Dave quite a bit. I don't know whether it's simply coincidence, or if he's uncertain, but I wish he'd put himself out there a little more and make some more intrepid judgements.
The four of them together, however, make a good overall team. Mara and Randall balance out the spectrum between nice and nasty, and Dave and Gareth further temper the mix with insight and a sense of what works and what doesn't. And for all their faults, and questionable judgement calls, in the end, I think that we'll get an Idol we can be proud of. After all, no matter who they favor or dislike, the most important thing at the end of it all is that the Idol of 2005 is someone the country will love, and of course, buy!
posted by Julie at
11:59 AM
