Yo! Wanted to check out the new setup for this season...

Few thoughts:

Steven Tyler is AWESOME.
Jennifer Lopez is HOT.
Randy is Randy.

That kid from Jersey was phenomenal.

This was the first time I didn't watch a season premiere of Idol.

I wasn't planning on watching it this season. If I hear good things (????), I guess I'll consider it.

Yeah, by the looks of all the discussion this thread is generating this season will be a rousing success.

I'm totally willing to give Idol another try if I hear good things, like Libs, but IIRC:
- initial reaction abt season 8 -- Wow! Kara's a real judge!
- initial reaction abt season 9 -- Wow! Maybe Kara isn't so bad this year. And Ellen seems like a great addition.

So...count me out until the Top 12 or something.

What might actually help is if they changed the voting rules to prevent people from voting more than once. Or maybe giving the judges' final say or something. Idk.

I watched five minutes. It wasn't bad. It's nice to see the change-up at the judges table. One man and two women works well for AI.

I actually like the new judges. Tyler is hysterical and Lopez is great. I'll keep watching.

It was good enough. I didnt watch the premiere but i did tonight.

Randy kind of took the role of the asshole. He was practically the one laughing and denying people saying words like "horrible" and "awful" and the rest just said "sorry but no". i didnt like him tonight.

Considering Idol is still beating all our favorite shows in the ratings, I'm sure this isn't the end. But what of the judging panel? I can only imagine the dough forked over for Tyler and Lopez. Will they ever in a million years sign on for another season? I don't see it. Especially Lopez.

I think JLo is just using this as a platform to re-launch her career (see her new single released, "coincidentally", this week) in music and films by getting exposure and trying to be relevant again.

J.Lo is definitely doing this to try and reestablish herself as singer again. Her last two albums buried her into irrelevance on the music charts. Her last successful song was Get Right which went to #1 in a lot of European countries. And that was like 5 years ago. Since then she didn't manage a single big hit song.

It's amazing how she might look better now than she has in YEARS.

I wish there were guest judges this season too. That's was the only Katy Perry moment I liked on her otherwise terribly irritating personality.

Don't watch the show anymore.

But as Randy is on the end and has been on since Day 1, maybe he feels he needs to Simon and leave a mark on the show.

Just read an article and said he is getting 18 Million. So I think it depends how he does and does Idol want him back.

But also supposedly, with Tyler doing Idol, he can't tour with Aerosmith. So it may also be whether Tyler wants to do TV or music.

Also some say Tyler is an ego guy and Idol is feeding his ego making him bigger with the public over all the criticisms from music people saying he is selling out by doing idol.

He is exposing himself to a new generation of people who don't know who Aerosmith is. To people who don't know him, he's a homely grandmother on Idol that's pretty fun and sex-crazed.

Liv Tyler, where did you go right?

Liv Tyler <3

That scene in The Two Towers where she sees her doomed future

I don't really watch this, but for any of you who do would you mind mentioning what TV spots you see tonight for movies? I'm curious if they'll have an ad or two for 127 HOURS.

I'll be the first to admit I was wrong in predicting AI's demise after this season. They've breathed new life into the once-flatlining show. And I hate to admit I was wrong here, but I love the new judges. I even, by God, like Randy this year. They found a good balance for him. This year makes me realize how stale the Randy/Kara/Simon team was the last two years, with Paula and Ellen barely there.

The two negatives? The show still relies heavily on personal stories which ends up fueling votes more than actual singing. Although the end story on Wednesday's show was heartbreaking. And, the judges haven't been given the true test of semi-finals/live show critiquing yet. I don't want to see Simon-level bashing, but some criticism would be nice.

This show will never end .

I told myself I wasn't gonna be interested in watching AI this season with all these changes, but I've ended up watching the premiere and the recent episodes. It's simply the best reality music contestant show on tv still atm.

I actually like Steven Tyler and J. Lo as new judges. I like how ST seems to want to give people a chance every time regardless of how bad they are. He'll say like "you need to practice". JLO can be the same way. Randy is okay but he's more annoying now. I used to really enjoy his chuckling during an audition but sometimes I think he's to aggressive with contestants now. He'll be questioning their audition like "C'mon" "Is this a joke". It may be a joke for the dude who showed up in that head to toe green costume but not for the black chick who thought she was really good and had her own cd. He doesn't have to be so harsh and he shouldn't try to be Simon because no one can ever be like him and to even attempt to imitate him isn't a good thing.

I like some of the contestants I've seen but I can't recall any as of now, but what I'm hoping for is that they do their best not to let someone like chicken head or red head crooner or sanjaya advance to far. I want to see the best of the best, not a mediocre group of singers making the final 12.

Overall, I like what I've seen so far and am looking forward to the rest of the season.

Still loving Steven Tyler. Easily the best part of the show.

I love randy jackson and how he just laughts at people now.