our idol
Laura and I are watching American Idol. We know the formula all too well: They will show us pathetic, horrible singers. Randy will moan, Paula will be embarrassed and Simon will berate them. They will show some really good singers. Randy will congratulate, Paula will gush and Simon will reluctantly give praise. We know this formula because it's been done for the past...how many years? And yet we watch.
Why?
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Why?
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posted by jch at
8:57 PM
5 Comments:
I watch because it's incredibly compelling to see how the people react who make it past the judges. The joy they have at getting to go to Hollywood mirrors our own ideas of how we would feel if our seemingly out of reach dreams started to come true right before our eyes. You can't tell me that you didn't tear up to see that sixteen year old girl (Minneapolis), who was born addicted to crack, given up by her mother, and rescued by her grandmother from foster care sing her way to Hollywood. Or the sixteen year old chorus kid who fell to the floor saying "She's finally proud of me," after he told his mother he had made it. Or the National Guard woman who sang "His Eyes are on the Sparrow" with the backstory of her husband in Iraq.
The horrible singers are comic relief and I think they serve to even further highlight just how special and talented a person must be to get a shot at something like AI. I do wonder sometimes when I am watching the worst of the worst if those people have some sort of clinically diagnosed social issues. Which if they do, I am not sure I could keep watching this audition phase in good conscience. These few weeks aren't my favorite weeks of AI, but once Hollywood kicks into gear, I am locked in.
I think the judges go way too far -- over the top actually -- in the way they treat contestants. Be sure, the people who sing in front of Randy, Simon, and Paula have been passed up through earlier auditions in order to reach the inner sanctum.
That passing has further developed their delusions that they can sing -- only to be crushed and ridiculed in front of the second largest audience in all of TV. The truth is that the audition shows are cruel! These people are set-up so that the country can laugh at them. I find it sad -- and typically don't watch the audition shows. Can you imagine having to face friends, family, and neighbors -- not to mention people who don't like you in the first place -- after being insulted in front of your entire world? After being called horrible or ridiculous or "the worst ever?"
That's gotta hurt!
The contestants are people, not Dicken's characters.
Of course, some folks just want to get on TV. That's why they wear costumes and juggle and do silly dances. But at the end of the day, the audition show, especially when good singers are like 1 for every 10 auditions they show, is not that different than Jerry Springer: It's designed for people to belittle other people.
The Hollywood shows are different, as Jason points out. I watch those for a simple reason, and I think it's the reason that others watch: I love music! Everybody does and everyone loves singing alone.
But don't you think they have signed some sort of waiver informing them that they may be completely insulted on national tv -- surely Fox knows that the way some contestants are treated could "cause" lawsuits. We'll sue for anything these days and defamation seems as good a reason as any.
I too am a bigger fan once they arrive in Hollywood, although it was fun last year seeing Chris Daughtry at the initial audition and then seeing him through (although he should have won, but that's for another blog altogether).
not idol,just wanted to say sweet black/white update.
Never seen it...and I'm not kidding. Never. Not even *once*.
I saw a clip of the William Hung performance, and I hear about it constantly (it's impossible not to know the names Clay Aiken or Carrie Underwood), but I've never seen this show.
And here's the *really* weird part...I've never seen Oprah, either. I've seen, at the MOST, five or six minutes of this talk show. (My cousin in California, an Oprah fan and devoted reader of this blog, will cringe when she reads that!)
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