[princesskadee]

Ok, so I watched American Idol last night. Im not an avid fan of the show, so I dont watch every single episode, but I do watch it on occasion. I did tune in last night for the one of the first shows of the new season. Here we see Paula, Simon & Randy judge countless "bad" singers, and endlessly refuse their so-called talents time and time again.

Its apparent that Fox has a hit show on their hands. The bold network that anchors shock to reel in high ratings has only created similiar spawns of the show from other networks, including NBC's America's Got Talent.

For those who dont know, the show offers aspiring vocal talents a chance to make it big by singing in front of a panel of three judges for their primary audition. If they prove well, they continue to advance further and further as they vie for the top title and even the possibilities of a major recording deal. People, less than 10 years ago, who were unknown nobodies to the general public are now well-known talents. People like Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks and Kelly Clarkson.

I realize as I watch the show that its main purpose is for entertainment value. the true competition only starts to begin only after Simon, Paula and Randy reject scores of people and the process repeats itself over and over, weeks on end. There is nothing wrong with rejecting individuals if their talents dont measure up to the standard, the problem lies that we are actually watching this process on a national level, at home on our TV's. Yet, we arent exactly complaining either, we find it rather amusing to see people,.many of which who have vocal ability linear to that of a swamp toad.

Is it really worth it for these poor souls? I mean, yes, a good percentage of them simply cant sing at all. But then there are these certain few,.which it seems that Paula's heart will go out to,.Simon will consistantly say NO, and Randy will seem totally out of it. I felt really bad for a singer named "Amy", the young asian girl came before the panel with a cold, and even after drinking a glass of water, her talent still didnt get Simon's approval.

Many of the "singers", which I will loosely call them that, are just looking for a chance to give Simon a piece of their mind. They tell Simon to "Go back to England!", and some even inquire Simon about his stature & credibility as being a judge, and wonder if he even has any music experience at all.

But of course, Simon isnt one to reserve untasteful judgment either, and will constantly tell many who fail his piece of mind as well. Many of Simon's comments arent even related to the music industry, and are nothing more than hateful torments that seem to be inspired by the producer's of the show in dire effort to keep those ratings very high. Such comments as the one Simon launched at a young man from Seattle in which Simon told him he looked like a creature from the jungle due to his rather large protrusive eyes. The sad part is, this man held no hostile feeling towards Simon.

Is it really necessary to cast out hateful remarks to simply tell someone no? Some will say these are the type that dont seem to understand no in the first place. As in,. "NO!",.you should even try to go to American Idol, because you simply cant sing at all. I wonder about these rejected singers who have taken many abusive remarks from the panel, then walk off the audition stage in hatred. what will become of them. They walked on the stage with a sparkle in their eyes, and left with darkness in their eyes. will this new found hate seep deep within them and resonate off to the general public? will they become serial killers, rapists, and burglars? hate doesnt go anywhere until cured by love, and if they dont seek the proper professional treatment, their problems will only get worse. Im willing to bet that Fox isnt picking up the tab for their mental therapy bills.

And for the judges? Why are there so few of them on the panel? There should be more judges, we need to hear more of a diverse feedback process, than a yes, no, and maybe (which soon changes into a no or yes based upon usual pressure from one of the other judges) Certainly, there are more judges for the Olympics, and even the Special Olympics if you want to take it that far. Just about any major competition I can think of seems to have more judges than the American Idol has. But if there we too many judges it would probably detract from the cultural flair the show has, and would turn into the U.S. House of Representative reincarnated, and then the ratings would fall cause the show become more realistic and we wouldnt want to watch that on our televisions. Leave that mess to C-Span, right?

The judges are biased and use prejudice. Its true, but then again, dont we all? The judges' bias and prejudice is rather apparent right as the new talent walks before the audition panel, before they have even sung their first note. The have already made their own judgments based upon the way the person is dressed, by the way they walk and carry themselves, by their hairstyles, their eyes, height, race, gender, and even the way they talk. If a person looks bad to them, there are usually many questions they must answer before the panel will even give them a chance to sing. questions like "why are you here today?", "why do want to be an american idol?", etc etc. If a person looks good, well-groomed, great smile, etc, they usually recieve many warm greetings,.even from Simon.

another prejudice lies in the song they select to sing. If they so happen to choose something that appeals to one of the panel judges, they recieve instant cookie points, even though they havent sung a single note yet. But then again, this is usual tradition anyways, if you dont believe me, then go to your local nightly karaoke bar and select a song to sing. Once you are called on stage, people will shower you with claps and whistles if you start to sing one of their favorite songs as well. Even if you suck at singing, you will still get the praise at the start of the song.

So heres my ending verdict, to wrap it all up. I believe the show does spawn some new great talent into the music industry, but only after a very slow, eventful (otherwise known as drama-and we all love that) and even tearful process. In turn, this can lead to entertainment and even high ratings at a high cost to ones own personal dignity and esteem as they are rejected rather scornfully on national television.

This post has been edited by princesskadee: 18 January 2007 - 02:24 PM

[Slade]

You have a really good point. Often the judges act like the middle-social-class high-school kids who feel the need to belittle others to feel more confident in their status, espescially Simon.

The producers DEFINITELY know they have an enormous hit on their hands. They get millions of fans who think that it isn't the most tasteless, derivative piece of garbage on prime-time TV since the OC, and then you have the millions who tune in to laugh at the train-wreck vocals of the auditions and love to watch the arrogant people get belittled when they're insulted. There's a perpetual Coke advertisment in the form of the judges' glasses, and the show takes up two hours of prime-time twice a week. 8-10 Tuesday and Wednesday? This thing has to be insanely popular for Fox to pull such a gutsy move with its lineup.

I strongly disagree with your notion that it inspires "talent". They basically find people who can sing well enough for teeny-boppers to write signs for when they buy concert tickets to the show, and then have them sing the same boring pop music every other pop artist sings. It's essentially an insurance policy where the policy holder is paid an enormous amount of money instead of giving it to the bank. We don't need more Britany Spears clones and Justin Timberlakes.

The idea is so amazingly brilliant from the $$ perspective, though.

[Spoon Poetic]

I admit, I like to watch sometimes to see the arrogant pinheads get their egos shot down. Especially when I'm in a bad mood. It makes me sad to see good, humble people get belittled, though - but fortunately, they seem to have cooled down on that.
And the contestants know that they will be criticised, and possibly put on national television. They sign a waiver. Don't make them completely innocent victims. But yeah, I guess it is pretty awful and sadistic. I just have no problem admitting I like people to get their egos deflated.
How do we know that Simon really is musical at all? Has anyone ever heard him sing? And what about Randy? He plays bass. So what?

[Despondent]

It's a good process, it's entertaining, and it's waning. Did I mention blatantly manufactured?

the auditions aren't as awful-packed as they used to be. I think it's jumping the shark.
But then we haven't seen the Birmingham contestant yet. Time will tell.

[Jordan]

Is it really necessary to cast out hateful remarks to simply tell someone no?

You're missing the entire point of these shows. Look at "americas next top model". This show basically blows up modelling to be this deep and serious art form, when really 99% of the work is done by the photographer.

Models were booted from the show because they didn't understand the glory of love or whatever, as if there was some deep theory in side modeling. The judges were pretty harsh and often the longest most drawn out segement of the show was when a model was being expelled. A heavy pulse sound played in the background as Tyra Banks repeated 10 million times that "The loser must walk through that door and never come back again".

These shows try make everything more important than it is and chew the shit out of the contestants when they don't meet up to these ungodly standards, which are entirely fabricated and don't exist in the real world.

You watch these shows to see people fail, cry, and lose. That is the entertainment of it. You take away simon and you lose viewers.

Simon is being honest. Half these kids were told they could sing when they couldn't. Most just assumed they could sing without ever getting feedback (ever try record yourself sining, yikes). Simon is telling them straight up "you suck" because there is not way you can get around that or misinterpret it.

This post has been edited by Jordan: 20 January 2007 - 11:19 PM

[Despondent]

Any constructive criticism?

It would take an hour. Be happy, now you can get on with your life doing something else. (paraphrased)


There's still a lot to like.

[princesskadee]

Is it really necessary to cast out hateful remarks to simply tell someone no?

You're missing the entire point of these shows. You take away simon and you lose viewers.

If the point youre conveying is that the show is fostered by ratings, I already know this.

[Spoon Poetic]

Okay, a Bojo from my hometown is being called "Birmingham's greatest surprise." Turns out a few of my friends actually know him, too. I already know he's going to Hollywood. Maybe I have someone to vote for this year. Heh. So not like me, but I'm tempted!

[Despondent]

The local news is showing audition clips from tonight's show, and several Birmingham folks appear to have made it to Hollywood after all. Best of luck. The guy from S. Carolina was funny.

[Spoon Poetic]

Yep, that's our guy And of course our local news stations will be telling his life story several times a day now...