[Chi]

Michael Orland (American Idol's associate music director), Debra Byrd (vocal coach) talk Season 9 singers:

He [Michael Orland] thinks criticism that the season is moving slowly is because there are fewer professionally experienced singers in the group. The new singers are more raw, he said, so their talent will be more apparent as they develop over the coming weeks. "I think it's going to go back to the old days. Discovering somebody and turning them into a star is what this show is about," he said. "I love that it's a return to the person with no experience who was a bartender or sang in a little bar once in a while and we're going to turn them into a star."

Interesting..I wonder who they have in mind as a winner.. and surprised by their praise of Aaron..

[BatmanLaBatman]

Except that's not true and has never been true.

Some people still believe Kelly was genuinely just a waitress

Some of the ones that have already gone out and some of the ones remaining are experienced performers, just not very good.

They're just making excuses for what is a generally very poor year and where even the better ones would have been lucky to make the top 24 in all but perhaps one previous year.