Idol Tainted?

Yes, by greedy singers who won't take no for an answer. I was reading an article on Yahoo! about how some people feel that American Idol should not let contestant, Joanna Pacitti be in the competition because she has already attempted a career as a pop star and failed. My opinion: I agree! Ms. Pacitti, you had your chance. You don't need a way into the business if you've pretty much already been shut out. I thought American Idol was supposed to be looking for undiscovered talent. If she's already been out there, then, much like a piece of damaged luggage left at the baggage claim in the airport, she's been discovered and left unclaimed due to poor condition.

This sounds cruel, but really, the point of this show is not to bolster anyone's failing career (you know, there's a joke in there somewhere, but I won't go there), it's to help an unknown create a career in music. There have been others who shouldn't have been given the chance to compete. The most recent was Carly Smithson from season 7. She had previously been signed by MCA and her record flopped miserably. This doesn't mean she was not a good singer or that she has no worth as a person, it just means that the general public was not into her style and did not want to buy the product she had put out there. She tried, and she failed. There have been others who were previously signed by record companies, but somehow the stories about these contestants were kept very quiet. I won't go into detail, but I do remember wondering why they were being included when they had already had their big chance. I'm a firm believer in the old adage, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again..." however; once the goal (getting the record deal) has actually been met, you must allow others the same opportunity that you have already had.

I can't understand why competitions such as this one get so far away from their original premise. Someone over there believes that the same formula can't possibly work for more than one season and that we constantly have to "improve" or otherwise distort the original purpose of the contest to keep viewers engaged. I get the sense from the people I talk to that most people don't even really like American Idol, but they can't not watch the show. We are stuck in this endless loop of watching to see how off course the show can possibly go. We aren't necessarily being entertained; we're being sucked into a black hole where the talentless go to steal their fifteen minutes of fame. Whether we want to have heard these people or not, they are being forced upon us. I say that if you've had a record deal that didn't go well then you need to go back to the drawing board and work a little harder at your craft before trying to win a spot in the world of entertainment. If you are talented enough, you'll get another deal and maybe this time, it will go somewhere. If not, well...the person needs to take some time to think about whether or not they really have what it takes to be a singer.

Allowing contestants who've already "won" a record deal to compete in Idol is like letting James Patterson (if he ever wrote a book that flopped, which isn't likely) enter a Writer's Digest novel contest to break back into the writing business. But, you see, we don't do this in writing as far as I know. If you flop, well, you keep on working until you get it right or you disappear. You don't get to keep entering contests once you've gotten the initial go ahead. With the exception of the self-published, published authors are usually not permitted to enter novel writing contests because they do not need to win what is being offered. They've already won it on their own. So, I might buy that an amateur singer who has their own record label would be allowed into the Idol competition, but that's really as far as I would go.

I don't want to give the impression that contest winners are not as deserving of a career as those who have been able to get their own music or writing deals. That's not what I mean at all. Hell, I'd love to win a publishing contract. What I'm saying is that it's called a "Big Break" for a reason. If you continue to have "Big Breaks" and you do nothing with them, well or they just fizzle out, then those "Big Breaks" aren't quite so big anymore. All you are doing is preventing someone who might be more talented than yourself from getting out there and taking their shot. Don't be greedy. There's obviously room for more than one celebrity out there. If you didn't make it with your "Big Break", acknowledge it and move on.

Until next time...

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I love a parade...

Last night's American Idol was quite a production. Not only was it chocked full of nearly every musical talent from the late eighties/early nineties that one could ever hope to see gathered on one stage. It was also an elaborate mix of Brady Bunch family style musical numbers that had me wondering, "How can people feel so comfortable wearing white pants?"

I have to say, I didn't care for it. I especially like Ryan's comment to George Michael about going on his first tour in seventeen years. Way to make him feel like an old geezer, Ryan. You never know with Seacrest whether or not he's trying to be genuinely informative or if he's just sneaking in a heartless jab disguised as some sort of journalistic interviewing technique. That's why I love him.

I'm also genuinely disappointed that my David didn't win. We all know that he was the most talented between the two. Frankly, I'm surprised David Cook made it to the finals. I just didn't like his style. But, like Simon Cowell always says, it's just an opinion.

Of all of the night's performances, I thought Carrie Underwood did a bang-up job on her song, Last Name. Not that she isn't always great, but I was surprised at how much energy she put into her performance. You'd have thought she was in the competition herself.

Syesha Mercado was another singer who had a great night. Although she hadn't made it to the finals, she showed up and sang her best. She even handled herself gracefully when Donna Summer handed her an extra microphone during her medley. I was very disappointed that Syesha wasn't in the top two, but then, I'm usually disappointed by the show. Yet, still I watch.

One thing I could have done without was the migraine-inducing screeching of Angela Overmyer. She looked like she was having alot of trouble with the choreography and when she took her turn to sing, she nearly threw the whole number into chaos...twice, I think. I hate to criticize someone who is brave enough to get on stage and sing, but it was absolutely one of the most unpleasant sounds I've heard in a while. Had she not stopped singing, I might have had to turn off the television. Even my dogs were covering their ears.

I've been pondering, as I do every year, whether or not I will continue to watch American Idol. They really seem to have gotten to a point where they think quite a bit of themselves. They throw a bigger party than the biggest of the industry awards shows. Has this competition really become that important? Is this show worthy of a night where 97 million votes are cast to crown a winning singer? 97 million? Good Lord, if only we could get that kind of participation where it matters.

That's my take on things. Until next time...

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