We’ve been struggling tonight to keep our American Idol commentary positive, but the truth is, the Aspen auditions were as flat as a slashed tyre. At times it felt like the judges were handing out golden tickets because they had a quota to get rid of, rather than because they’d found earth-shattering talent.

Sadly, the judges left us baffled with their decision to send Jairon Jackson through to the Hollywood rounds. To his credit, Jairon performed an original song that he’d written a year ago. The problem was So Hard was a forgettable track, and Jairon’s voice was profoundly mediocre. What’s more, he made some limp, half-hearted dance moves that failed to impress us either.

Now, we used to love nothing more than being harsh about Idol contestants and having a laugh at their expense. Not these days though, because after talking to enough Idol and X Factor contestants you realise that most are genuinely nice people who just want to entertain and want their shot at being in front of a large audience. Unfortunately, there’s a lot to be said for the (old style) Simon Cowell approach of being brutally honest.

The problem with Jairon was that he was only operating at about 40% of the level needed to be a star. We didn’t feel any stage presence or spectacular vocals. And if he can’t pull off confidence in a small audition room, how does he expect to convince us he’s a star on stage in front of a live television audience? Of course, he could sail through Hollywood and prove us wrong, but do any of you think that’s likely?

The most memorable thing about Jairon’s entire audition was him tumbling out of the audition room, ripping and crumpling his golden ticket and then accidentally smashing one of the lights on the way out of the audition venue.

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