"American Idol" judges, from left, Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson, and host Ryan Seacrest take part in a panel discussion on the show during the FOX Broadcasting Company Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)"American Idol" returns for its 10th season tonight with a new crop of contestants, some fresh faces at the judges' table and a pretty big chip on its shoulder.
Between declining viewership, the underwhelming commercial performance of recent winners and the departure of signature judge Simon Cowell (who left along with Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi), there's been plenty of doomsaying going around for the show. But this year, "Idol" might have an ace up its sleeve: Music City's talent pool.
More than 16,000 hopefuls showed up last July for the program's second-ever Nashville auditions at Bridgestone Arena, and when the show's judges - now consisting of original judge Randy Jackson and newcomers Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez - saw a second round of auditioners at the Ryman Auditorium in October, it seemed the city had already left a mark.
Tyler told reporters then that Nashville was "doing very well." Jackson name-checked Nashville rock successes Kings of Leon and Paramore while talking about the city's "broadness of flavors."
Unfortunately, locals will have to wait just a little longer to see who's headed from the Ryman to Hollywood.
Though Nashville was the first town Idol visited for its season 10 auditions last summer, you won't be seeing Music City on the show's two-night premiere this week, which instead covers the New York/New Jersey and New Orleans auditions. Producers have yet to reveal the details of the future audition episodes, which air on Wednesdays and Thursdays through Feb. 10.
But from those who are talking, signs are good for Nashville's presence in season 10. In a statement to The Tennessean, Bridgestone vice president of booking Brock Jones called the Bridgestone round "an awesome display of quantity and quality of singing talent in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. The entire production crew seemed thrilled with the turnout and musical ability our city was able to provide."
Ryman general manager Sally Williams sang a similar tune in a statement.
"Nashville is known as Music City with good reason; there is an almost endless source of fantastically talented musicians in this town," she said.
A few of those fantastic talents made their way to Nashville after their Idol success. Middle Tennessee is now the home of Idol season-four winner and country superstar Carrie Underwood, as well as notable alums Kellie Pickler, Bo Bice, Diana DeGarmo and Bucky Covington, not to mention longtime local Melinda Doolittle.
Bice, who released his third album last year and is at work on country co-writes, predicts the show will reveal that the judges didn't see the usual crop of auditioners here.
"They're not going to get as many of the colorful folks that you might get, like the William Hungs," he says. "You do have a lot more serious and vetted people here in Nashville."
NEW FACES
This year, Idol may need to prove to viewers that it can still be taken seriously, too, in light of its winners' recent track record. But Kristy Lee Cook, a season seven finalist who's now signed to Nashville's Broken Bow Records, was optimistic about the show's direction.
"There's definitely room for another season," she says. "I think it's going to be great with Jennifer Lopez and actual artists (judging). ... They actually understand what's going on, unlike Simon, who didn't know because he's probably never sung in front of people in his life."
Bice, on the other hand, called the new judge lineup "bittersweet."
"I'm not trying to be political with it, but I just know that my experience wouldn't have been the same without (the original judges)."
At the Ryman in October, there were hints that new judges Tyler and Lopez wouldn't be straying far from the tastes of their predecessors, who sought in competitors more than just vocal ability.
"We really have been seeing some good talent," Lopez said. "There are a lot of people here who can sing. It's just whether or not they have that little extra magic that we're looking for. That's not everybody. That's like one in a million sometimes."
Still, if Idol doesn't strike pop gold in Nashville, there should be plenty of living reminders of the show's star-making power in Music City for years to come.
"American Idol was like a huge door being opened," Cook said. "It was like, 'Here are all of these opportunities on the other side. You just have to figure out if you want to walk through it.' "
Contact Dave Paulson at dnpaulsontennessean.com or 615-664-2278