Did everybody catch the American Idol finale? I sure did! And by that I mean it was on the T.V. while I wasted my time in a significantly more interesting way by staring at my computer screen. It didn’t take me very long to remember that I hate everything about the show. Outside of laughing at the discovery that Jennifer Lopez was on the judge panel I didn’t see any entertainment value in the program.
I usually love championships, and I mean any kind of championships. I watch the Super Bowl every year despite the fact that the game is usually very one-sided and football is like the worst sport ever. There’s just something very wrong about a singing championship determined on the basis of popularity.
If you ask me the format of the show should be reversed entirely. I think that the judges should determine who is the most talented in the final leg and the fans should be able to say who they want to see more of in the initial rounds. The only contestant that I’ve ever seen on “Idol” that I would consider voting for is Larry Platt. Any contest that doesn’t allow Pants on the Ground guy to advance obviously has some fundamental flaws.
I don’t actually know anything about music. This is one of very few things that I have in common with like… all of American Idol’s viewers. It doesn’t make any sense to have a bunch of people who are clueless about something vote on it. That would be like letting ordinary people vote on tax policy… or gay marriage.
Even if I did know anything about music what would I even be voting on? There are many, many talented singers that never make it in the music industry. So I guess I would be voting on stage presence. And wouldn’t you know it; the world is full of people who can put on a show that never get anywhere as well… Why aren’t we exposed at all to the contestants’ ability to write? I can guarantee that quality writing is rarer than good singing and performing. Of course, that's only requisite for good music- not popular music.
What I really don’t understand is why people continued to watch the show after Simon Cowell left. He was by far the most articulate and constructive judge of the bunch, yet he was the most hated by the fans. As a performer I can tell you that he’s the only person on the panel that I would actually listen to. We all have enough friends that will tell us that we did well regardless of how terrible we really are. What we all need is somebody to tell us how to do better in the future.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that American Idol is a dumb show that is full of dumb.
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