Coming into Season 7 of American Idol, the biggest question was whether the show's creators would focus more on great stories or great talent. Last season was considered a down year because the stories were far better than the vocals.

Well, one show in, fans might be getting both.

Hey, we won't know the ratings until Wednesday, and for all we know, the first shocker of the season could suggest the biggest pop culture event in America is on a continued slope downward. However, the first episode of Season 7 was perhaps the best put-together start to any Idol season so far.

In years past, producers would give the masses a terrible singer right off the bat. This year, they gave us Joey Catalano, a 19 year-old kid from New Jersey who has lost 204 pounds. Two notes into Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning," it was clear that Philadelphia would bring some soul.

Perhaps it was a calculated move to tug at heartstrings five minutes into the season, but Catalano's story and obvious talent underscored what a "nice" start to the season it was. While I've always believed that the nastier Simon Cowell is, the better the show is -- maybe I was completely wrong.

At times, the first installment of Season 7 felt more like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Take the story of Angela Martin, 26, of Chicago. She had a daughter while in high school, and while the girl was a toddler, Martin noticed her feet turning inward. She has Rett Syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that outwardly looks a bit like cerebral palsy.

Martin made the trip to Philly for a shot at a better life. And while that story is all too common and terribly sappy, it's clear that with this woman, it was heartily sincere. She brought a posse of friends and family, and sang some Stevie Wonder to the delight of Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.

Truth is, Martin's story is far better than her voice. But the vocal potential was there, and the story's hook had already lured millions. Idol producers have always asserted that they wanted people to relate to contestants and their stories earlier in the Idol process.

Heck, at some point we should start calling the months from January to May Idol season because its regularity is akin to sports. From April to October is baseball season. From September to January is football season, and from November to June is basketball season.

This is Idol season.

However, let's get real. Most of us watch Idol auditions to see the absurd.

One should have known that Philadelphia tour guide James Lewis, 22, was an odd one when he compared his vocal stylings to Paul Robeson and Eddie Vedder. Not that either alone is weird, but together, they are bizarre.

And as the weird description might have led you, Lewis sang the equally odd, "Go Down, Moses," an old spiritual. What was weird is that he did not sing, "Let me people go." He sang, "Leh my peepllgahhh" in a very staccato, spastic fashion.

Unfortunately, while Paula and Randy howled with laughter, this guy stood there humiliated. Yes, it's mean, and sure I feel for those who feel the brunt of it. However, I feel no sympathy because these cats know what Idol is about.

Duh! Oddly though, Simon said nothing.

Alexis Cohen, 23, lives with her mother in a studio apartment in Allentown, Penn. She made a reference to the great Billy Joel song named after her town, but instead of crediting it to Joel, she said it had been recorded by Bon Jovi. Cohen wore glitter on her face, talked strangely like Richard Nixon and sang like she was channeling Grace Slick on acid.

After Simon booted her on her arse, she flipped off Idol cameras in a barrage of birds and spouted a bizarre speech that concluded with, "Always be victorious."

I think she needed some lithium, and Simon said she looked like Willem Dafoe. Absurd, indeed.

Christina Telisano, 24, of Connecticut, said she was hoping to leave her hometown because it had nothing to offer unless she wanted to become a corrections officer.

I can't make this s*** up.

Oh, and to take that big step forward, she dressed up like Princess Lea in honor of her favorite movie, "Star Wars," but then complained when the judges turned her down, noting that they focus too much on outside appearances.

"I'm just a f***ing dork as usual," she cried to her grandparents outside of the audition room.

Who says that in front of their grandparents?

Ben Haar, 27, donned a cloak to see our fair judges, only to derobe before he could sing a note. When Paula noted that whatever he was wearing on his chest made his chest hair stand out, Haar offered to have it all waxed.

He asked, "If I get rid of the hair, can I come back?"

This IS pop culture television. You KNOW they said yes.

Milo Turk, 39, a social worker from New Jersey, sang an original song called "No Sex Allowed," which featured the following lyrics:

No Sex Allowed
I don't want to be part of your crowd

Clearly too old and too bald for the competition, Turk said he merely wanted to give American audiences a clean and wholesome song. Simon called it creepy (it was) and sent him away.

Equally creepy was Paul Marturano, 32, who sang an original song called "The Stalker" directed toward Paula Abdul. Some of his lyrics included:

If she were a blackboard, I'd chalk her
If she were a bathtub, I'd caulk her
And if I were Columbo, I'd Peter Falk her

It was easily the funniest moment of the night, spoiled when Simon suggested that security get him away from the equally nutty Paula.

But amid the stories, talent and lack thereof, there were some auditioners who had some major mainstream commercial appeal, something beyond what a Jordin Sparks or Taylor Hicks have given the show the past couple of years.

Jurot Joyner, 25, from Maryland belted out Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues." Beth Stalker, 28, sang the standard, "Bewitched, Botherd and Bewildered," and Chris Watson showed some deep-voiced soul with Uncle Kracker's "Follow Me."

Brooke White, 24, of Mesa, Ariz., showed kind of an indie-folk appeal with Corinne Bailey Rae's "Like A Star." On her MySpace page, she does a pretty fair pop version of Aerosmith's "Dream On." In fact, in terms of amateur production and styling, she really did an impressive job with it.

But the story of the night belonged to Temptress Brown, a 16-year-old girl who plays middle linebacker on her school's football team. Seriously.

"Make me mad enough, and I'll break your bones," she said.

Yet behind that rough exterior was a ton of pain, watching her mother be confined to a wheelchair, in need of constant oxygen and attention. After singing, "I'm Not Going Nowhere," (sic) by Jennifer Hudson and after being turned down 3 to 0 for a chance at Hollywood, tears streamed down her face and she bemoaned having to go out and face her mom.

All three judges got up, gave her a group hug and faced Mom with her.

It could be the dawn of a new era on American Idol, one in which the nastiness for the sake of "keeping it real" is replaced by genuine empathy for kids way out of their league who try anything to better their lives.

Nevertheless, the key for a successful Season 7 is whether the talent can keep up with the storylines.

And so far, so good.