“But here I am and here we go again.”

Well folks, another year has passed and it’s time for another season of American Idol. But this is no ordinary round of Idol. This is the season 15 swan song for a reality show juggernaut that has seen its ups and downs.

Once a sterling, honest-to-goodness pop culture phenomenon, Idol struggled to maintain quality over a staggering 15 cycles. Since the quality started to decline, the TV schedule has also been overstuffed with the good (The Voice), the bad (The X Factor) and the ugly (remember Rising Star? Didn’t think so) of televised talented competitions. For my money, though, Idol is still the best singing show out there, especially with the stellar judging panel the show has had for a few years now.

This Keith Urban/Jennifer Lopez/Harry Connick Jr. panel is both fun and informative. They actually provide valid feedback and have the music knowledge and skills to back it up. I enjoy The Voice, but the live show criticism is so watered down, I appreciate the Idol panels’ mix of good-intentioned but entertaining criticism and well-informed feedback. Plus, the new panel (and producing staff) means a more varied roster of singers. While the Randy/Paula/Simon era had its plusses, Simon Cowell was too quick to mock and criticize, so we’d never get people like Joey Cook from last season, who was quirky and off the pop music radar. Back then, they would have laughed Billy Bob or even Kerry Courney off the set and the show is better for its open-mindedness.

Anyways, I’ll be with you this whole season recapping and reviewing just about every performance. But before we put the cart before the house it’s time for the first round of auditions. I’ll write about the top five auditions in detail, in order of appearance, and list the others who auditioned as well. When it comes time for live shows, I’ll write and rate everything.

Lindita

This Kosovo native, who lost 150 pounds, has impressive power and range. Singing an overdone Idol song, she still managed to pull out a winning performance. But if Lindita wants to go all the way, she’ll have to reign in the runs and vocal gymnastics (even if they were controlled well) because her audition was verging on indulgent. If you’re Christina, you can do all the runs you want. But Lindita hasn’t earned that quite yet.

Jeneve Rose Mitchel

The most unique audition of the night came from farmer girl Jeneve, who sang a Band Perry song while accompanying herself on the cello. She showed a surprising amount of musicality for her young age, playing an inventive and very syncopated cello part. There’s definitely talent there, although I wish Jeneve’s audition wasn’t so messy. Passion can somewhat spill into messiness and the song occasionally suffered from even singing. Also, I want to know where the bluegrass “Royals” cover comes from.

Sonika Vaid

On one hand, this beautiful 20 year old has a gorgeous, light feathery tone that’s totally radio ready. On paper, it is the most solid audition of the night so far. But on the other hand, Sonika’s performance lacked a bit of character and grit. Pretty doesn’t always equal interesting and next time we need to see more of Sonika shine through.

Joshua Wicker

Joshua’s folkie take on “Stay” perfectly walked the line between taking enough liberties to make the Rihanna track his own but without wiping out the integrity of the original. With a soulful, technically strong voice that shows echoes of Bright Eyes or Ray LaMontage, Joshua showed really gritty, singer-songwriter cred.

Jordan Sasser

I felt bad that Jordan’s cute wife didn’t get a ticket (Alex was a bit bland, but had a light Ingrid Michaelson vibe) and that she was giving him grief over her own audition failure but that all melted away once Jordan started singing. This warship leader had a reedy, gorgeous voice even if his performance veered towards the overdramatic. But his runs and technical skill were undeniable.

Others who got a golden ticket were:

- Michelle Marie came off a bit too Rachel Berry, but handled the yodel-y “Blue” with a surprisingly amount of control.

- Josiah Siska showed an original, deep, tremulous voice that was nevertheless limited in rage.

- Lee Jean had a lot going for him (a winning smile, a smooth tone and a fantastic audition song), but his audition was marred by rampant pitch problems, especially at the end of phrases.

- Reanna Molinaro's Patsy Cline cover was more than competent, but lacked the dynamics it needed to be really memorable.

- Shevonne Philidor's cute, squeaky voice showed promise.

- Kory Wheeler reinvented “Benny and the Jets” and showed so much singer-songwriter potential, I wish they had shown more than 10 seconds of it.

- Laurel Wright's performance was only shown for a few short seconds.

- Kerry Courtney left me stuck between his killer alt-rock voice and creepy, serial killer facial expressions.

- Shelbie Z has an undeniably strong voice and homespun charm, but her Carrie Underwood cover was far too shouty and one-note.