What's wrong with American Idol

Cafe Society
1

First of all, it is supposed to showcase the singing, yet at 1:40 per song, that means that even with all twelve contestants, there is only 20 minutes of singing in an hour - less as the season moves on. I know that some will argue that the show is only an hour, but Biggest Loser seems to be sucessful with two hours of people crying, stating the obvious (“We’re here to lose weight.”), Alison Sweeney, and bumpering the ads with the same 5 minute clip.

Second of all, the complete lack of suspense. If two of the bottom three have already been called out, the I pray to hear my name bacause as long as there are more than two people left, I know I’m safe.

Third of all, the quality of singer has plummeted. At least half of the final 13 forgot lyrics which according to Simon was as close to automatic disqualification as you could get. I guaranty that no matter who you like, at least 7 or 8 are completely forgetable. Not good, not bad, just :o . How many got picked based on the blusey soulful voice? Too freaking many! Oh, and do any of the advisors ever say, “Pick a different song.”?

Fourth of all, after Sinjaya I think AI decided boring was better. Say what you want about Nick Mitchell (Norman Gentle) but he actually could sing and was an assload more entertaining than most of the others. He deserved a wild card but I would have put in the stipulation that if he did Norman for the sing-off, he would be dropped from consideration. Ditto Tatiana Del Toro. Her drama was way more entertaining than most of these yahoos plus she could sing better than some that they picked. Most will argue that at least they made it to the final 36 and that’s true, but when the chips were down, they picked yawners.

2

The fan vote is dominated by kids. What adult would sit down and vote over and over for their favorite? If he has sex appeal for a teen age girl ,he has a big advantage.

3

Well, they need to make the songs short so as to get more commercials in.
Also, the teen vote is not what made Taylor Hicks win either.

4

It’s all about ratings. Ratings mean staying popular. -> Popularity is made up of two things, formula and freshness, in a very fine imbalance. Yes I said imbalance, because formula must dominate, but it must always be presented in a fresh way. -> Thus, change is necessary but risky to popularity and ratings.

But no one can crack what viewers like about a formula, and what they feel is tired. It is always a crapshoot, especially because there is no unbiased way to view the issue.

Also, there’s a built-in uncertainly principle. In chasing ratings, you will lose a certain amount of ratings - some from viewers who liked it the old way; some just from focusing on ratings rather than on quality, which ultimately has no bearing on ratings. This only intensifies the crapshoot element.

Like any endeavor involving really big money, there’s a very small window for success and vast opportunities for failure.

5

It is what kept Sanjaya in way past his time.

6

Actually, I think American Idol is quite successful at what it is trying to do. Namely, be a very popular TV show which also has a decent chance of turning out a reasonable music professional with a following.

It’s hard to argue with success. The show is still a juggernaut that devours every other show in its timeslot, despite being on two or three times a week and many years after most shows of its type lose the interest of the public. It’s still a ‘water cooler’ show, and judging by the attention it gets on this board, still grabs people and makes them pay attention.

I don’t mind the amount of time each singer gets to actually sing. The show isn’t about listening to songs, it’s about evaluating the ability of singers. You’re going to learn as much as you need to know about a singer after a minute or two than you will if they sing every verse of the song. And frankly, most of the contestants I don’t want to hear for four minutes at a time, and the same goes for a lot of the sucky songs they sing.
In terms of musical artistry, you can criticize the show for not cranking out Bob Dylans or even Trent Reznors, but I’m not sure that’s really fair. After all, there are very few such musical luminaries around, and people with that kind of immense talent often don’t need a show like American Idol to find their niche, or they have too much artistic integrity to involve themselves with a highly publicized talent show.

But given those limitations, I don’t think American Idol has done so bad. Kelly Clarkson has a genuine artistic voice, and so does David Cook. A few others, like Blake whatshisname also did and made it surprisingly far on the show. So it’s not like they are producing nothing but Jessica Simpson clones. Last year’s final group was surprisngly diverse - you had a female singer/songwriter in the vein of Carly Simon or Carole King (Brooke White), you had a laid back hippy rocker (Jason Castro), a black soul singer (Chikeze), an Australian power rocker, a modern rock guitar player (David Cook), A female power rocker (Carly Smithson), a broadway singer/diva, and a young crooner. Very different people. That was pretty cool.

The changes they’ve made in the past couple of years have been for the better. Mainly, allowing contestants to play their own instruments has brought out more people who strive to be more than just a voice. I think it would be very cool if they had a week where the contestants had to perform their own songs, like Rockstar did. That would help shed a light on how many of these people actually have something to say and something new to contribute, rather than just being good singers.

But by and large, I think the show succeeds in what it’s trying to do, and it succeeds in producing some pretty good musical artists, which is only a secondary consideration for the show’s main goal of bringing in mega ratings.

7

I wonder how long Idol keeps a part of the profits the ex contestants make? Some of the country singers are doing quite well.

8

I don’t think so. Do you think either Taylor Hicks or Ruben Studdard appealed to teenage girls? most of the other winners have been female. Last season David Cook won, which would seem to validate your point until you realize he beat David Archuletta who was a lot more appealing to teenage girls.

9

I just wanted to comment for the 120th time that I hate that they moved to four judges. Messes up the rhythm and they are constantly cheating the last few singers out of a quality review.

10

I agree that it messes up the rhythm, but it’s not all bad. For one thing, Kara does offer solid criticism every now and then (albeit coupled with a few too many “that song is not you” – funny how Kara knows the contestants better than themselves :dubious:). Also, I don’t mind seeing two males and two females, in that sense, it’s more balanced.

11

When there are several contestants alive they can. But when it gets down near the end, the people who followed others start to consolidate their votes and eventually overcome the teen girl vote.