Season 10 American Idol

One thing you probably don't know about me is that I am a huge fan of American Idol.

What's different this year? The new group of judges selected probably the best contestants ever!

Although I didn't hate Simon Cowell, still I thought he could cut the contestants to the heart with only a few words. So I can't say that I miss him, especially with the new judges this year. The entertainment value provided by the judges on the show has gone way up.

I've always enjoyed Jennifer Lopez in the movies, and she seems to be a grounded, genuinely kind person as a judge, at least so far. Stephen Tyler is fun and unpredictable, and I am enjoying his personality. The fans love them both. Jennifer has started giving some technical advice which shows her classical voice training. Stephen needs to bring more in the way of advice to the singers as well. Randy Jackson, the experienced judge here, needs to give some real constructive advice. He tends to want to pigeonhole certain contestants into a mold when this early, it just seems they might be trying to show what a broad range they possess when they switch song types from week to week. Other contestants seem to get a pass when they switch from Blues to Rock, etc. Really Randy!

That said, this year I feel the contestants were much further along and polished than in previous years, at least not until towards the end did they show as much poise and stage presence as they do this year. The voices are better, and most any of them will probably have a future singing somewhere.

I know everyone doesn't feel the same, but hey, it's only one person's opinion: ME. My son confessed that Simon sometimes was the reason he watched the show.

The guys: I admire James Durbin having overcome Turret's and Ausberger's Syndromes to get into this competition in the first place, so I'm watching him with great admiration and interest. He has a really nice voice which he has shown, in addition to his preferred hard rock style. Scotty McCreery is a deep-voiced 17 year old who sings pretty good country, but it's hard to feature that mature voice coming from the face! Paul McDonald sounds a lot like Rod Stewart, and he has had a couple of rough weeks, but escaped without any scars from judges so far. Jacob Lusk can pull off a Luther Vandross song with seemingly no difficulty. Stefano Langone has a career in Vegas with his vocal style. And then there is Casey Abrams who in addition to his wonderfully intense singing possesses a great sense of humor and is so likeable. Jacob and Casey have the early lead. Stefano and Scotty are right in there too.

The girls: I tend to root for underdogs, and right now Haley Reinhart is someone I like, but she has an uphill battle convincing the judges she knows who she is. Naima Adedapo will also have a tough road and we will have to see if she can correct her tendency to be flat - that is her pitch is. Lauren Alaina and Thia Megia are the young ones, only 16 years old. What big voices they both have: one country and one more of a ballad singer. Pia Toscano is the favorite of the girls right now.

Well, there you have it - my opinionated opinion! I'd love to hear how you feel!