'American Idol' Season Premiere Down 10 Percent From 2008

Posted by Raymond Padilla - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:53 PM

According to early Nielsen media research reports, "The debut of the eighth season of 'American Idol' averaged 30.1 million viewers Tuesday night, down 10% from the previous year's debut of 33.4 million." While numbers are still phenomenal, I wonder if people are growing tired of Simon Cowell's snarkiness, Randy Jackson's overuse of the word "dog", and Paul Abdul's space-cadet behavior. New addition Kara DioGuardi definitely added a breath of fresh air, but she probably lacks the star power to draw in new Idol viewers.

I have to confess that Idol is one of my guilty pleasures. A friend got me into it last year and I haven't been able to stop. In case you missed the season premiere, here are my personal highlights and random thoughts:

There was a charming and lanky Black dude that sorta kinda resembled the guy from OutKast, but without the talent. I dubbed him Andre 1000.
Randy and Simon were thrilled by the contestant that showed up in a bikini. Kara was not. Her voice was okay, but her body was...wow.
The kid that tried to sing "Mad World" had an Igor vibe about him. His voice absolutely sucked. I was waiting for him to spit out the words, "Gollum! Gollum!"
A 16-year old with a big voice is going with the goody-two-shoes angle. She performs for elderly people and helps them find friends. I want to punch her.

The guy that works for an oil-rigging company had a shockingly soulful voice. I'm pretty sure Luther Vandross is still alive and hiding inside this guy's body.
There was a hot girl from Kentucky with a sexy voice and sparkling eyes. She's my favorite contestant so far.
It was awesome to see an exuberant, but lacking contestant pull a 180 by whining, "Simee!!!" She totally melted the icy Cowell.
The (almost completely) blind guy is going to go far. I mean, you have to be some kind of d*$# to not vote for a (almost completely) blind guy.
Ryan Seacrest's idiot move of the night was when he tried to high-five the (almost completely) blind guy. Really Ryan?!?

Anyway, those were my Idol highlights. Do any of you share my addiction? If so, what did you think of the show?

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Comment(s)

Posted by Chuckupman - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:18 PM

I liked the singoff between bikini lady and the new judge.

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Posted by jargy1 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:22 PM

I'm male. So no, I don't have a thing for American Idol in any way whatsoever. I've never even seen an episode, just the garbage that I'm forced to see when watching anything else on TV. It's not that I don't enjoy people who sing, it's that the contestants all look the same, sound the same, and behave the same way. I don't care for shows about cookie cutters. D-bag Idol is a lot more accurate.

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Posted by vaheegn - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:23 PM

I didn't know that the new judge was a professional singer until she owned the bikini lady(who was hot!)
Oh, and that kid who came out of the closet. lol.

This is only the second episode I've watched in my entire life. I guess I'll tune in during the beginning of each season, because that's where all the entertainment is.

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Posted by anonomousperson - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:24 PM

Show sux.

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Posted by Hrolf - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:33 PM

first 2 seasons were ok, the rest blow

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Posted by Ram_Man - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:35 PM

I hope they cancel it!

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Posted by r_pad - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:36 PM

@Ram_Man Yes, because most networks cancel shows that draw 30-million viewers....

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Posted by tedcwilliams - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:39 PM

I've never been into the show, so they aren't losing a viewer with me not watching it (I get all my Idol updates from The Soup, 'cause I like my reality television shredded apart with sarcasm).

My Tuesday night guilty pleasure/favorite show is The Biggest Loser. Unlike most reality TV, I don't feel like I need to bathe in bleach after watching an episode (read: any reality program on VH1). It's just a heart-warming good show about people trying to better themselves.

Oh, wait, that last paragraph is not fitting for this website...too Hallmark-y. I forgot to talk about bewbs or xbots or fanboys or something...my bad, it'll never happen again...

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Posted by deathsdelivery - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:42 PM

@vaheegn

Hot!?!Really!?!

Here face looks like a table, and her body is barely there.Plus her voice is generic pop fluff
material.
I loved when the judge said "hold ona minute,bitch"

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Posted by kidinredhat - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:52 PM

@deathsdelivery

r u high? table? sriously? she was the only reason i didn't feel like i wasted my time watching idol last night.

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Posted by lightknight77 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:55 PM

So, you're just outright admitting that you watch American Idol? Ok, I guess I can *giggle* respect that.

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Posted by deathsdelivery - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 2:04 PM

Stay in a kids place,kidinredhat!
Just because your hormones scream whenever you see a half decent body, does not mean everyones one does.

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Posted by kwhill00 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 2:17 PM

you forgot the Chocolate Rain guy. If that guy would of done chocolate rain it would of been awesome.

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Posted by kwhill00 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 2:21 PM

you forgot the Chocolate Rain guy. If that guy would of done chocolate rain it would of been awesome.

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Posted by r_pad - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 2:27 PM

@lightknight77 Yes, I admit it. I'm not proud of it, but at least I'm being honest.

@kwhill00 I totally forgot about him. His singing voice was disappointing. It was how I imagined Snufulafagus would sing.

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Posted by cerberusfreak22 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 3:01 PM

i love the black guy with the almost-inhuman deep voice:)

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Posted by Vader0954 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 3:14 PM

Bikini Girl was hot, The deep voice guy shudda song Chocolate Rain, and the kid who likes horror films is 100% gay.

But what about the Blind guy? I missed it, so was he good?

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Posted by Vader0954 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 3:17 PM

Bikini Girl was hot, The deep voice guy shudda song Chocolate Rain, and the kid who likes horror films is 100% gay.

But what about the Blind guy? I missed it, so was he good?

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Posted by SEPHIROTH111111 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 3:44 PM

American Idol sucks.

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Posted by r_pad - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 4:14 PM

@Vader0954 The blind guy was good, but he's going to do better than he ought to because people will feel guilty for not supporting the blind guy.

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Posted by Lil_Jon83 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 4:39 PM

Down 10 percent? This could be the start of something new, something grand.

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Posted by EJ_Texas_Made - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 5:06 PM

The chick in the bikini gets my vote. Except for the fact that I don't watch lame shows and I've never voted.

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Posted by DAREALGUMMY - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 6:06 PM

Bikini Girl was hot.

I only watch the Auditions...once the show actually starts, I couldnt really care less about it.

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