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With the definite change in American Idol season 8’s auditions, it’s making me wonder whether the judges are truly being more gentler with the auditioners or whether it’s in the editing. If it’s the judges, it can’t be blamed on the case of Paula’s obsessed fan, as these auditions were filmed before that even happened. Yet, it could be that Editing has decided to mold the show and target it a certain way. Either way, it’s working, leaving people not much to complain about.

Those that are truly the bad auditions really aren’t being made fun of too much, and it’s not that the judges aren’t being given any material to work with. In the Kansas City auditions, the one that sticks out the most is Michael Nicewonder. He wore a singing medal he won in elementary school and had a five-year-old fortune cookie fortune taped to the back. He was only told his songs were too gloomy. Michael felt Simon Cowell was being his usual mean self, but to tell this guy only that his songs were too gloomy, really was being kind. It’s like the conversation I have with my son. Just because you disagree with what I’m saying doesn’t mean I’m yelling at you.

The worst that was told to Brian Hettler was that everything about his audition was horrendous. If you’re walking onto that stage, you have to be open to negativity, and that’s pretty much what you get with “horrendous.” It’s not really mean-spirited. Randy did mock someone with his movements, but we never saw him say anything bad. Simon seemed to kick him out before it got to that point. We also didn’t get to see what was said to Vaughn English who sang a song about a banana while dressed in a yellow coat. He was just dismissed. No one said anything back to Jasmine Joseph, and she just walked out. I think they were trying to not be mean, and couldn’t think of what to say. Mia Conley was called Baby and Sweetheart as she is dismissed.

Simon did have some negative words for Chelsea Marquardt. He told her she sounded like cats jumping off the Empire State Building. That was definitely mean. He was right, yet it was mean. Considering things he has said in the past, though, it wasn’t the worst he could have said. Simon also told Deandre Hopkins that he wanted to change the word “blind” to “deaf” in his song, with a very obvious implication. This is obviously also a mean-spirited comment, but again, not as much as some comments we’ve heard in the past.

Perhaps, though, it’s not so much the words that are said, but the focus of the show. Before, the focus was always more on the bad auditions, rather than the good ones, and we’d only see a few each episode that would actually get through. Twenty-seven people made it to Hollywood from the Kansas City auditions, and we saw thirteen of them. That would be unheard of in the Idol seasons of past. It’s like the producers were holding back a secret, not wanting us to see some of them until Hollywood, or even the semi-finals. Now we’re meeting them beforehand.

The judges also seemed to put through more of the “borderline” talent. There was some that was definitely raw, that in seasons past, I think would have had trouble getting put through, yet they often got four yeses. One with raw talent is definitely Michael Castro, the brother of last year’s finalist, Jason. It says a lot that Michael just started singing twenty days before the audition and was bold enough to admit that. He wasn’t bad, but will need work to hone that talent. Did he get through because of who his brother is? I don’t know, as several others that had marginal talent made it through as well, such as Von Smith that had a good voice while shouting. How does he sound when he’s not shouting? Jessica Furney, who lived with her grandmother, India Morrison, one of the two sisters, Jamar Rogers, one of the two best friends, and Asa Barnes, the middle school bandleader, all made it as well. Even the guy who had dreams of Simon, Dennis Brigham, made it, and Simon had said flat out he just didn’t get it.

This isn’t to say there weren’t a few singers that I’m not totally excited about. If I were to pick out two from Kansas City, I’d pick out Matt Breitzke, the family man and welder, who had a great blues thing going on. I thought he looked like a heavier Phil Stacey, but many others are comparing him to Sudance Head from two seasons ago. He’s one I’m going to be watching for in Hollywood. And of course, Lil Rounds, the woman chased out of her home by a tornado, will be one I’m watching as well. Randy called her a mixture of Fantasia and Mary J. Blige, but others are comparing her to LaToya London. LaToya’s problem was she didn’t connect well with the audience. Let’s see how Lil does. How can you miss with that name?

Looking at all of this, it has to be just a concerted effort on everyone’s part to make the show kinder and gentler, from the producers, to the judges, to the editors. I think theyw ere going with a different spin to begin with, and after the death of Paula’s obsessed fan, it only increased their efforts. It’ll be interesting to see if the judges still hold back throughout the rest of the season, or whether this was just something that they did for the auditions.

Photo courtesy of Fox

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