Last night American Idol kicked off its round of 36 with 12 singers. Out of the 12, 3 singers will move on to the round of 12. I have a few thoughts about last night’s show, and the overall premise:
- Paula Abdul is NOT there. Half of her comments did not make sense, and she only repeated what the 2 previous judges said. After one girl finished her song, she started her criticism with “You are gorgeous and every guy has been talking about that.” Hey Paula, it’s a singing show! During nearly every song, she jumped out of her chair and did some guy of dance that looked like a cross between riding a bull and twirling a baton. Her mind and emotions are about to breakdown…let’s just hope it’s not on national TV.
- Kara DioGuardi is a step above Paula, but not much. Her criticism made more sense, and she actually offered some tough words for judges. But last night proved we don’t need Paula and Kara on the show together. My advice: lose Paula and stick with 3 judges.
- Randy Jackson knows what he’s talking about 80% of the time. For the most part, Randy’s criticism was, and always is, dead on. A few times he seemed to get overwhelmed by the performance and did not hear the problems with the vocals. Thankfully, he seems like a nice guy and lets the contestants down easy, even when they’re awful.
- Simon Cowell is a jerk, but the man KNOWS what he is talking about. Despite the boos he may receive and disagreements from the other judges, the man is right 95% of the time. He knows music, he knows the industry, and he knows what it takes to make a star. He may be harsh and incredibly mean sometimes, but he doesn’t want to put up with karaoke singers in a professional competition.
- Speaking of karaoke, I have NO idea how some people made it through the first several rounds and into the top 36. Most were HORRIBLE. I understand nerves probably got the best of them…but wow. They had their one shining moment and blew it!
- Song choice is underrated. If you can find a song that fits YOU, you’re golden. Find a song that you liked in high school cause it was popular, you’re gone! Taylor Swift and Michael Jackson…bad choices!
- The show does go deeper than materialism, fame, glitz, and glamour. Take Danny Gokey for example. He’s a church music teacher who lost his wife several months ago. He’s started a charitable organization to help children come out of poverty. The show has done a nice job of spotlighting him. The show has also moved away from highlighting the “beautiful people” and has focused on people who can actually sing…with the exception of bikini girl. Thank goodness she’s gone!
- Our culture is still obsessed with watching someone like you and me make it famous. Just check out the weekly ratings for the show. We love the “average joe” to “number one celebrity” story. Maybe because we hope that will be us someday.
- This season, the guys are much better than the girls. No bias; it’s the truth!
- Tatiana is annoying. If you voted for her, you should have to leave the country.
- Out of the top 36, no more than 3 will be known beyond the show. Usually, each of the winners make it big, although Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks are not prime examples of that. Sometimes, the top finalists will do something, like Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry, and Jennifer Hudson. But most of the people that make the show will never amount to anything in Hollywood. Case and point: remember Corey Clark? He was disqualified from the Second Season of the show, and also was said to have had an affair with Paula Abdul. Well, I’ve seen him several times at Opry Mills in Nashville, TN trying to sell his CD out of his backpack in the parking lot.
- Reality TV is NOT dead.
- It takes more than good looks to win the competition
Tags: American Idol
February 18th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
David J – here is my comment to your blog… :)
1. I agree with you about Paula. I kept saying those things to my wife last night. SHE IS NOT WITH IT. Sad, if you ask me.
2. I would say Kara is a 2 or 3 steps above Paula. Maybe not during season 1, but Paula is just THAT bad now. Kara brings a lot to the table and her comments are more in line with the competition. Btw… I wonder if that is why AI brought in Kara… to replace Paula next year. I said that from the start of this season.
3. Randy – true.
4. The difference between Randy and Simon is that Randy is indeed nice about it and a little more tactful. Personally, I like Simon. He says what I think most of the time and he knows the industry.
5. I agree with the Karaoke part. I am always amazed.
6. I think there were about 3 songs that actually fit the person last night. Poor song choices was the theme of last night’s show.
7. I agree to an extent. It goes deeper, but still tends to highlight the shallow.
8. True… I am starting a new reality show… “America’s Next Pastor”… still hammering out the details.
9. Not sure if I agree yet, though I will say that I thought the two best performances came from guys.
10. No Comment. – I lied… I really hope her Idol number was disconnected that night.
11. Yup
12. I may not be dead, but I hate most of it.
13. In some, but not all competitions.
How’s that for a comment!
February 18th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I think it’s pathetic that people are still watching American Idol to begin with.
February 18th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Josh, what’s your reasoning?
February 19th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Duh. Cause it’s AMERICAN Idol.