With a format that is well-beyond familiar by now, the injection of fresh blood via new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez has amped up the watercooler talk for a show that some had predicted was on the decline. Despite fears that the show would stumble without the harsh guiding hand of departed go-to judge Simon Cowell, MTV News' , said instead of mourning the loss of King Cowell, he's praising the rise of Tyler."If anything, Steven Tyler's wacky addition proved that it's not a 'mean judge' that keeps me jazzed for 'Idol.' It's an unhinged one," said Cantiello about the entertaining, unpredictable shenanigans pulled out by Tyler in the first two nights of audition episodes this week. "Truth be told, I never realized how much I missed Paula [Abdul] last year. Tyler's colorful language, zany metaphors and deafening jangly man-jewelry was just the entertaining wild card the two-night premiere needed to give it a must-see facelift."
Cantiello was glad that the new trio, which also includes sole returning judge Randy Jackson, didn't fall into the same old "mean Simon" and "too-nice Paula" tropes. Lopez easily mixed Abdul's sweetness with an undercurrent of Cowell's honesty, while Tyler deftly pinwheeled between wacky Paula-isms amid stinging putdowns. And already he's delivered one of the season's top lines in his zinger to belcher Michael Perotto courtesy of "Tommy Boy": "Did you eat a lot of paint chips as a child?"
Read More: American Idol' Experts Talk Steven Tyler, Early Faves
