1. Popular Music, Schmopular Music
Okay, so there were still a lot of schmaltzy songs in the premiere, a situation exacerbated by the presence of new judge Kara DioGuardi, who probably wrote most of them. But I knew there had been contestants branded "rockers" before, and the premiere served up at least one of those -- I loved the tattooed Emily Hughes singing "Barracuda." I also love oldies and '80s music, so I actually enjoyed hearing renditions of classics like "Let's Hear It For the Boy" and "Dock of the Bay." (I just wish that guy hadn't butchered "Mad World" by Tears for Fears.) I'm still not sure whether they made everybody sing Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" or just the ones who would be funny in a montage, but I suppose it could have been worse. (It could have been "Livin' On A Prayer.")

2. Fewer Bad Singers = Funnier Bad Singers
I had read ahead of time that they were going to focus less on the no-talents who showed up and more on the people who actually made it through the first round, so I was looking forward to less William Hung and more Kelly Clarkson. Of course, then they totally faked me out by starting off with Tuan Nguyen, the afro'ed, tap-dancing, JROTC drill-team Michael Jackson impersonator. They spent so much time with him -- and he had such crazy hair -- that he must be a serious competitor, right? No, of course not. But he was sure fun to watch. As was dressed-like-a-rocker guy, deep bass voice guy, woozy whiner guy, songwriter cowgirl and X-Ray the Dancing Mariachi. As long as they focus on the ones that are fun/funny, and not painfully awkward, I guess I'm cool with that.

3. American Idol is Geek-Friendly
Let's face it, a lot of the contestants on American Idol, while probably fairly geeky when it comes to music, are not really geeks in the traditional sense of the word. For instance, I'm fairly sure Bikini Girl couldn't name any of the planets from Star Wars. But there were definitely a couple of geeks on that audition stage last night. Despite singing a ballad-y song, Cody Sheldon is a total freak who makes his own horror movies and kills himself in them. (Ginger Snaps anyone?) And Alex Wagner-Trugman, while clearly a geography geek (where the hell is Abkhazia?) has probably read more than his fair share of comic books in his life. And I don't think any self-respecting geek would turn down a chance to see Emily Hughes perform, what with her pink hair and tattoos. If any of those tattoos are Lord of the Rings-related, she'd be a fanboy's wet dream.