Another season of "American Idol" is upon us... My apologies to any of you fans out there, but I've never gotten into this show, nor have I tried. The premise has always seemed tenuous at best. It seems to me that all ‘Idol’ does is play into some peoples’ sense of entitlement for the entertainment of the general public, and entices them with a shortcut to fame and fortune, bypassing things like hard work and perseverance; skills that anyone else prior to ‘Idol’ had to have in spades.
A friend of mine was fond of saying, “Sex is a lot like becoming a rock star, is not something you can shortcut from "novice" to "expert", and if you try, well, the results are typically less than earth-shattering.”
It may be a stretch to say that 'American Idol' is a microcosm of all that is wrong with America... but not a big one. Its not a talent show- its a popularity contest. Its not a SINGING contest, its a VOTING contest. And more people vote weekly in 'American Idol' than vote in elections- how sad is that?
Great, you can sing- you can cover songs from all different genres. Congratulations- you are the best karaoke singer in the country. I hear there's a Holiday Inn in Nebraska looking for a lounge act. Now, some ‘winners’ like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood have broken out and had some success, but what have Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, or David Cook done since winning? Hell, Taylor Hicks was dropped from the contract he won- how sad is that?
Arguably the biggest success out of that show was Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, who didn't even win! She came in 7th! Sure, American Idol, may have raised her profile, but it was hard work and determination that got her where she is today.
I’m not a fan of Kelly Clarkson- I’d put her average at best, owing a lot of her success to the fact that she was the first season’s winner- nobody knew what to expect n ‘Idol’s first season, so it was new and interesting; a novelty. Carrie Underwood is the only ‘Idol’ winner I’d consider an unqualified success, having won 29 awards since winning Season 4 in 2005. Even with a three-year advantage on Carrie, Kelly has only been able to bring home 18 awards.
I passively rooted for Sanjaya in 2007, but not because I thought he had any talent; rather, because Simon Cowell told ‘Extra’ that had Sanjaya won, he would not have returned as a judge to the show, even though he was contractually obligated to do so. If only he could’ve pulled off a victory, I may not be writing this today. Alas, he was voted off, so we’ll have ‘Idol’ to look forward to for the foreseeable future. Yay.
More so than the questionable contribution to music, though, the thing that really disturbs me about this show is that not only is this excuse for prime time ‘entertainment’ (and I use that word very loosely) still on, but that it often takes up as much as four hours out of prime time during the week. If this keeps up, they could have their very own 'American Idol' channel- "All Idol, All The Time"...
Seriously, the fact that they stretch it into multiple days of the week in lieu of actual programming is unacceptable. Its worse than when 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' was on 2-3 nights a week... and at least ‘Millionaire’ was arguably educational.
Unfortunately, ‘Idol’ is a cash cow for Fox, so as much as I’d like it to disappear, I don't expect it to go anywhere anytime soon.
'American Idol' has held the top spot for the most expensive commercial time for the last couple of years- Fox has been getting well over $600,000.00 for every 30-second spot on the show- and that's not counting the lucrative in-show placements and endorsements (you really think that Coke cup just happens to be in damn near every shot of the judges’ table, and that the logo just happens to face the camera?).
And because of the success of 'Idol', and the general dumbing-down of America, a host of other shows in the same vein will undoubtedly continue to pop up like weeds- if you thought there was nothing past 'American Inventor', 'The Next American Band', 'America's Next Top Model', et al, just wait for the permutations that can't be far behind:
'America's Next Sports Hero'- Mark Cuban will sign the winner to one of his teams for a one-year contract.
'America's Next Soap Star'- win a one-year role on Daytime TV.
'American Poet' (for the PBS crowd)- in between the contestants will be pleas for donations. The winner will have their poetry published in a special book... "which you can get FREE with a 12/20 pledge- $20.00 a month for twelve months... won't you help public broadcasting?..."
'Anchorman'- For all of those struggling to get a leg up in journalism, the winner gets a one-year contract as an anchor in a major market (couldn't be any worse than some out there). Runners-up end up as field correspondents in hot spots like Dubuque, Iowa and Branson, Missouri.
Don’t think so? Just wait until the next writer’s strike.
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