'American Idol' Champ Kris Allen Rates Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez

For our first-ever post-"American Idol " live stream, "Judging the Judges: An 'Idol' Without Simon," MTV News' resident "Idol" expert Jim Cantiello brought in the big guns to discuss and dissect the premiere episode of the 10th season.

A major highlight was the appearance, via Skype, of season-eight champ Kris Allen, who said hello with his dog Zorro and offered his thoughts on the new judges.

"I thought they were good. I thought Steven Tyler was obviously the most interesting one," Allen said. "I figured he was going to be a wacky kind of guy, and, I mean, you can't be mad at him for singing [along] all the time — he's freakin' Steven Tyler! I thought it was awesome, I really did."

When asked how Tyler and Lopez might have influenced his audition, had they been the judges during Allen's winning season, the 25-year-old said he hoped the Aerosmith frontman would have joined in on his audition like he did on Wednesday's episode.

"That would [have been] awesome," Allen said. "It's probably a little bit different to sing for someone like Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, because they have been in the industry for so long and you've been watching them do it forever, so it would probably be weird."

On the whole, Allen said the evening's viewing experience — which he shared with his wife, Katy, and a couple of friends — was a good time.

"It was fun," he said. "It wasn't mind-blowing or anything. I thought there were some good singers. I thought there was some funny stuff, and I thought Steven Tyler was great," he said, adding that his dog, Zorro, definitely liked J.Lo the best.

What did you think of the premiere? Share your reviews in the comments!

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