Are You Ready?

Welcome to Season Nine of “American Idol”!

For those of you who are new to the blog—and as a refresher course for the rest of us—here’s how I handle the live performance shows.

I give each contest a score based on the official scorecard from the now defunct “American Idol” magazine. The score is based on four categories: Vocal Ability, Song Choice, Personality, and Stage Presence. Each contestant receives a rating (from 1 to 5) in each category. The ratings are then totaled up for the final score, with 20 being the highest possible score.

I post each contestant’s scores as soon as possible—usually during the commercial breaks—and you are welcome to offer your critiques by posting a comment. I’ll post them just as soon as I can.

Just a few minutes to go now…

Are you ready?