A second chance for AI

I thought I was done with American Idol. I really did. It's been so lackluster the past few years, my love for Steven Tyler notwithstanding. And even though I kind of adore Philip Philips, it wasn't "ohmigod, I have to see AI before I get spoiled on Twitter!" (Trust me, sometimes it really sucks living on the west coast. As a spoilerphobe, I've learned that if I really care about a show, I have to stay away from Twitter, which annoys me to no end because it's my favorite form of social media. /rant)

When they announced Mariah Carey, I really thought I was done. I. Am. Not. A. Fan. Even though my husband is. Don't get me started on his diva fixation. I even have the photo proof of Toni Braxton sitting on his lap in Vegas to show it.

But...they've announced the other two judges now. Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban. And I'm all kinds of curious how on earth they're going to gel together. Or work together. Or, you know, support an aging franchise like AI when they're not actually aging themselves.

Frankly, I would've thought Nicki would diss AI as the lamest thing on the planet. That whole too cool for school thing. But it would seem they've taken a page from the judges over on The Voice. I mean, it's not like judging a televised talent show has hurt Adam, Cee Lo, Blake, or Christina's careers. Their chemistry is off the charts. AI would seem to be hoping to copy it.

Will it work? I have absolutely no idea. Frankly, the biggest problem with AI isn't the judges at all. It's the fact that it's become so bloated in the past few years, with two-hour long performance shows that are mostly filler and product placement, and results shows that suffer even more. Getting new faces at the judging table isn't going to solve that problem.

But...yeah, I'm probably going to give it another year to see for myself. In all likelihood, the usual will happen. My favorite won't win, I'll roll my eyes at the overrated singers and lack of real critique, and I'll question whether or not I'll watch again when it's all over.

But I'm going to take the chance and hope that I'm wrong.