American Idol III: Cruel, Mean-Spirited Pricks

Cafe Society
1

For those who have not witnessed the first episodes of this show, it is the auditions where young hopefuls camp overnight at stadiums and then are rushed like cattle until they have their chance to audition to be the next American Idol. Then, other than a few occasionally good singers, some of the worst performers you have ever heard are ridiculed and humiliated for live broadcast.

“Their own damn fault”, you might say. And like many people, I just thought these poor saps stumbled into the audion and we were watching them for the first time. Wrong.

Today, on a local radio station they interviewed a guy from here who made the first cut. They asked him how they auditioned 10,000 and more people?! (I was wondering that myself.)

“First they took us in groups of three. Some production people heard us and if you made the cut you went and performed again, for the producers. Then, if you made that second cut, you got to go audition for Simon, Paula and Randy.”

In other words, the worst of those poor, untalented, kids had already been told TWICE that they were good enough to go on to the next audition. TWICE they got patted on the back and told they were good. They were getting their hopes up.

Give me a fuckin’ break. Even a four-year-old would be sticking their fingers in their ears listening to some of those people! So what was the point of telling them twice they were accepted to on to the next round of auditions? To ridicule them.

Listen, some of those kids have no talent whatsoever, but in their little hearts, they thought they could do it….it is bad enough to be 17 or 18, with unrealistic dreams and clueless enough to think you have talent when you don’t…but to play with these poor kids egos and lead them on to think they might have that chance to make it on the show is simply cruel and mean-spirited.

How would you feel if your son, or daughter, or best friend was tricked into thinking they had a shot. “Gee mom, I made the first cut! Ohmygod, I made the second cut!! Call Aunt Betty and Uncle Lou and let them know these producers think I do have talent and I am going to be on TV!” All the while, everybody else is in on the joke that you are an untalented patsy and nothing more than fresh bait for the judges to humiliate.
Gee, won’t that be funny.

I guess I should get off my soapbox, but it burned me up to think that these kids are being tricked into a life-altering humiliation on national television simply because they tried to realize their dream. Forgodsake, just thank them and send them home…don’t pretend to like them just to get them to look like fools. That’s what high school is for.

2

The worst part is that they give their names and home cities, so they can’t even humiliate themselves anonymously. Paula certainly shows her class, though.

3

I guess that explains why many can’t believe it when they’re told they have zero talent, even when it seems obvious.

As an aside, anyone else find it odd that Paula Abdul is judging a singing contest? Chris Rock said it best: “Paula Abdul judging a singing contest is like Christopher Reeve judging a dance contest!”

4

And that right there is why this show is as popular as it is. Nobody cares that another karaoke singer is getting an album deal, happens all the time. People tune in to watch Simon make fun of people.

This (along with a myraid of other reasons) is why I just don’t watch reality TV. Ever.

5

Hmmm. Maybe for the first show, I could feel some pity for them. But anyone who has seen either of the first 2 has to know that they let the best and worst through by now. It’s not like they are going into the auditions not knowing what the show is about, or what Simon is like.

6

The couple of times I’ve watched this, the same thought crossed my mind. I thought some of the really untalented people had to be plants for amusement purposes. I guess they were, but not to their knowledge.

BTW, who is that Simon guy and what has he done to judge a talent contest? He seems like nothing more than an unpleasant little prick.

7

He came up with the idea and sold it to networks around the world. He has made a bunch of people a bunch of money. It can be debated whether that qualifies him to be a judge, but he does know what the viewing sheeple like to look at.

8

He’s been a record company executive for a long time, with BMG, I think. He doesn’t own the Idol franchise, that’s Simon Fuller.

9

If they don’t know by now they suck, they deserve it.

10

First of all, it’s not a secret about the winners of AI 1 and 2. If you think you can win, you better think you can compete against the runners up for those two.

Don’t bring in your lame ass talent and think that’s gonna fool someone. If you know you’re lame, you’re an ass and deserve what you’re told. If you don’t know you’re lame and your friends and family tell you that you’re wonderful, your friends and family suck and you should be thankful for the likes of SIMON who will tell you exactly what the deal is.

I don’t think he’s superfluous in his critiques, unlike other people. He’s just painfully honest. We’re not used to be that painfully honest, so we think it’s harsh. It’s doing them a favour. You suck, don’t do this as a carreer, I don’t care how much you work on it, you may get better, but you’ll never be good enough.

I sing pretty well. My friends all say I have a great voice. They all request Amazing Grace acapella. They all ask for Happy Birthday for their special friend’s day. I’m confident enough that I do karaoke knowing I’m one of the top contenders of the night. I’m confident enough and good enough to be called up on the stage when I go to my friends’ restaurants/bars featuring live entertainment. My momma didn’t raise no fool. I’m NOT good enough for American Idol. That’s just the way it is.

I can put most of these people to shame. They can’t hear it? None of their friends hear it? Do they tell them?

Sucky part of it is: You’re tone deaf. You’re running after a dream you’ll never achieve. Your friends and family are liars or they aren’t but you don’t respect them enough to listen to their advice. Just because you dream it doesn’t mean you can achieve it.

Good for Simon. He says it like it is. That was horrendous. You make my ears bleed. That was the worse I’ve ever heard. Who told you that it was a good idea to audition? G-d took the day off.

As for Paula, yeah … nice to have a nice person. But with comments like, “I like the colours you’re wearing”, it’s very easy for the deluded (aka What A Feeling Girl) to think: Paula loved what I was wearing.

There’s just no mistaking what Simon is saying. It’s not cruel. It’s honest. And they’re lucky they get it from someone.

11

I have two questions for the OP:

  1. How did YOU come to watch the show not knowing that public humiliation is the raison d’etre of the concept (or at least FOX’s treatment of the concept)?

  2. Why here and not the PIT?

12

CheekyMonkey hit the nail on the head. I agree 100%. I can carry a tune, but I would never be deluded enough to audition for a musical, let alone American Idol.

Btw, they are being ruthless tonight and it’s funny as hell. Hopefully they’ll find at least one talent in Houston.

13

This is the first time I’m watching and I’ve got to agree with those who are saying those sad, sad, deluded people are getting what they deserve. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that being humiliated is actually good for them.

Don’t these people have ears? How could they possibly think that they have any singing talent whatsoever?

That being said, I feel sorry for them. It’s not pleasant to watch these poor, poor young people get their hearts broken.

14

I can sing a little. I’ve been a lead singer in a couple of rock bands. Mostly I’m a guitarist but I can function as a singer. I know that I’m just adequate. I can carry a tune. I can joke with the audience between songs. I won’t embarrass myself.

I also know that I would never even attempt to audition for AI. A capella is hard to do even when you can sing and it will definitely expose any weaknesses you have. If I could bring a guitar I think I could probably do just well enough to get to the second round. After that I’d be finished.

I think the majority of those deluded fools who are shocked to learn that they have no talent are people who have no experience or background at all in music. They’re just random idiots off the street who are clueless and egoistic enough to think that all they have to do is show up and be “discovered.” I don’t think they really understand or appreciate the skill and the talent levels that are required. They don’t seem to appreciate how rare an ability like Clay Aiken’s or Kelly Clarkson’s is or how difficult it is to perform at that level. Me, I know how damn hard it is, and I know enough about my own ability and the level of competition (and the genre as well. I’m just a bar band type of guy. I ain’t no pop idol) to know that I have no shot.

Frankly, I think those people deserve whatever they get. I can understand how the judges would get so short after a while. It must be frustrating as hell when these people can’t get it through their heads that they have absolutely no talent or ability whatsoever. you’d have to get more and more blunt about it. “Dude, you SUCK. Give it up. You can’t sing. That was TERRIBLE.”

If you;re not sure whether you got put through to the judges because you were that good or that bad…you were that bad.

15

I think it is important to remember that executives exactly like Simon are among those who told both Garth Brooks and Toby Keith they had no talent and should go home and get a job more suited to their talents.

Now, regardless of what you or I think of Garth Brooks and Toby Keith, they have made themselves and the record companies they work for many fortunes.

The truth is, Simon is peddling mean-spirited hatefulness disguised as “truth” in an industry that lacks credibility when confronted with the truth.

They tried to sell Kelly Osbourne as a singer – she wasn’t. They packaged Alanis Morrisette as a teen Pop Star she wasn’t. The truth is, the recording industry is the blind leading the blind. They have no special instinct for talent – or even what sells, really. All they have is a fairly educated guess, that hits about as often as a newspaper horoscope.

“You’re not what we’re looking for.”

“That is not the kind of music you should be singing.”

“You really aren’t suited to this career and if you are interested in being a performer, perhaps you consider one that doesn’t require singing.”

But statements that are just mean without being constructive are just not needed. If I were to draw the pop-psycho babble allusions implied by Simon’s bludgeoning, unconstructive criticism, I would speak of smallness, not only in terms of personality, but physicality.

I’ve seen perhaps a collective 15 minutes of all three of these together, and the numerous spoofs and commercials – which indicate the tone they want to set. I don’t watch it, because it is needlessly cruel, and offers hopefuls nothing resembling constructive or even helpful criticism.

16

I can’t dig up the quote right now, but during the first AI series, someone on this board said something to the effect that Simon no more harsh a critic than the public is. Look what people say about established singers (Celine Dion, anyone?). If these people really want to be singers, they should be prepared to go on auditions that they won’t get, and to perform in front of audiences that may be indifferent, or even hostile. They should know that even people who do get recording contracts are subject to a lot of guff from critics, and from the average citizen. Nobody gets just praise and accolades all the way up the ladder; not even when/if they get to the top.

I’ll concede the point about the screening process: choosing the worst of the worst while knowing that they have no chance. But producers will do anything to get ratings. The bottom line is, if someone can’t handle criticism and rejection, they absolutely should not pursue a career as a performer. Simon is doing them a favor, by giving them a chance to find out what they’re made of. If they can’t take what he dishes out, they’re in the wrong business.