American Idol thoughts

I watched an entire (ok, 1/2, but I didn’t get home until it was half-finished) episode of American Idol for the first time last night. I know, you’re thinking, how could you not have seen it before? And I’ve seen parts, but I always switch away as soon as possible. But last night I watched it, because Leah wanted to watch it. And several thoughts occurred to me:

AI is just a glorified karaoke bar competition. There’s a pre-recorded track and even back-up singers on the tape while these folks are singing. How uncool is that? Maybe it’s popular because we can all sing along, and everyone likes a sing along.

No one does anything interesting. If I were on American Idol, I’d do it a little differently (although, I really have no interest in winning. I might do what everyone else does if I wanted to win). I think it would be much more exciting to do alternate-genre versions of hit songs. For instance, anything by Green Day is at its root, country. So do a country version of a Green Day song. Or a lounge version of, say, Smells Like Teen Spirit. Or a soul version of, oh, an Eminem track. Which would be funny (if done right) or humorously awful if done poorly. But interesting none the less. I’d also be happy if someone took a less-well-known artist to do for a genre.

All that being said, the girl who sang that Dixie Chicks song last night should win, just for that performance. It was awesome!

8 Replies to “American Idol thoughts”

  1. I watched most of the first shows in the last series of American Idol (it seemed to get really borring once it only focused on 12 people). I got a laugh out of some of th epeople, and it was original enough to be entertaining.

    The thing is that all the stuff that you’re suggesting people do is what gets weeded out in those opening rounds. They’re not looking for anything original really, they just want people who can sell pre-packaged music and clothes and whatever with little worry about finding the audience. I suppose at the end of the day it doesn’t even matter now as it’s probably the show itself that generates all the revenue.

  2. I watched most of the first shows in the last series of American Idol (it seemed to get really borring once it only focused on 12 people). I got a laugh out of some of th epeople, and it was original enough to be entertaining.

    The thing is that all the stuff that you’re suggesting people do is what gets weeded out in those opening rounds. They’re not looking for anything original really, they just want people who can sell pre-packaged music and clothes and whatever with little worry about finding the audience. I suppose at the end of the day it doesn’t even matter now as it’s probably the show itself that generates all the revenue.

  3. I’m pretty sure that there is a band that plays the background track. At least I noticed a band in some of the previous episodes with real back-up singers.

  4. I’m pretty sure that there is a band that plays the background track. At least I noticed a band in some of the previous episodes with real back-up singers.

  5. Yeah, definitely originality was weeded out in the opening rounds. Ironically, they seem to frequently say “We want something special, unique, different.” but then in the end eliminate anyone who doesn’t sing with perfect pitch, and neutral accent.

  6. Yeah, definitely originality was weeded out in the opening rounds. Ironically, they seem to frequently say “We want something special, unique, different.” but then in the end eliminate anyone who doesn’t sing with perfect pitch, and neutral accent.

  7. I’ve been sucked into this show (I don’t know when it’s on, but if I turn on the tube and it’s there, I generally stick to it).

    I’m not a fan of humiliation in my entertainment, but I figure the show has been on so long, everybody on it has been well warned.

    Once they get past the truly horrible stuff of the general auditions though, my attention wavers…

    The trend of doing pretty straightforward covers of adult pop is not new, but I have been noticing a increased idol-ization of pop music in general. Case in point, I picked up the recent Ministry of Sound Annual to get a sense of what is poppy in the UK (or was last year) and I think about 80% of the tracks were limp covers of old pop tunes with more techy sounds.

  8. I’ve been sucked into this show (I don’t know when it’s on, but if I turn on the tube and it’s there, I generally stick to it).

    I’m not a fan of humiliation in my entertainment, but I figure the show has been on so long, everybody on it has been well warned.

    Once they get past the truly horrible stuff of the general auditions though, my attention wavers…

    The trend of doing pretty straightforward covers of adult pop is not new, but I have been noticing a increased idol-ization of pop music in general. Case in point, I picked up the recent Ministry of Sound Annual to get a sense of what is poppy in the UK (or was last year) and I think about 80% of the tracks were limp covers of old pop tunes with more techy sounds.

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