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This post might offend some people. If it does, just try to hear me out before you get angry and vow to never read my blog again. I have this theory that there are a lot of things that are popular in this culture simply because we think we’re supposed to like those things. For instance, when I was in high school, some friends and I made up a fake band and started raving about them to some of our other friends. Within a short time, some of our oblivious friends were raving about how awesome that band was. They even claimed to have all their albums and songs. Unfortunately, that band was made up. They simply liked them because some of their friends did.

Just because something makes this list does not mean that you’re a poser and only like it because your friends do. In fact, most things in life are “liked” because of a chain reaction. I truly believe that there are genuine fans of these shows, movies, products, etc. The following list (in no particular order) contains things that I think our society has overrated, simply because people think they’re supposed to like those things.

1. Coldplay
And here come the hateful comments. I do think a lot of people like Coldplay for their music. However, I think a lot of people buy into Coldplay because “everyone” thinks Coldplay is “cool” and let’s face it, we all want to be cool.

2. Dane Cook
He’s not funny! But somewhere along the way, someone really popular said he liked Dane Cook. And the snowball effect has taken place.

3. Lost
Too soon? I will admit that I’m a fan of Lost. However, sometimes I think Lost gets overhyped because people think they are supposed to be obsessed with it. It’s a great show…but some go just a little bit overboard with it.

4. The New York Yankees
You either love them or hate them…and a lot of people that love them came to love them by jumping on the bandwagon. They’ve almost become more of a fashion accessory than a baseball team. If you see someone wearing a flat-billed cap turned sideways, chances are it’s a Yankees hat.

5. Avatar
It was in 3D. It featured blue people. But is it really a “great” movie? Is it Golden Globe worthy? Academy Award worthy? I think the media made a lot of us buy into this one.

6. Lady Gaga
People call her a freak, yet her music sells. Someone must be buying it. I guess she could be the very opposite of this last and everyone buying her music is a closet fan afraid to admit it.

7. The North Carolina Tar Heels
This one is tough to put on here because I’d like to think of myself as one of the biggest Tar Heel fans on the planet. (I even came home from the hospital wrapped in a Tar Heel blanket when I was born.) However, much like the Yankees, the Heels have become a bandwagon-ridden team. This is mostly in part to Michael Jordan. Nonetheless, there’s a lot of Heels fans out there who are Heels fans simply because they want to fit in with their peers and culture.

8. Kim Kardashian
I’m pretty sure she’s only popular for being popular. Yet Kim, as well as any other “reality-TV” celeb on the E! channel have become overnight sensations. Their shows and stories are pitiful, materialistic, and vain, yet their popular keeps growing. Do we really like this people, or do we simply like them because our friends like them?

9. Hot Wings
This probably applies to guys more than anyone. Wings are a “guy’s” food. And to be honest, they’re good. But there’s a level of pride in guys that says they have to eat the hottest wings possible to keep their standing as “one of the guys.” Anything mild makes them a wuss. So even though they’re mouth is on fire, they’ll swallow their pride (literally) and pretend like everything is fine.

10. Rap music
A lot of people truly enjoy rap music. But a lot of people only listen to it because their friends are listening to it. You know who I’m talking about too. They’re very easy to spot.

11. Alcohol
If none of your friends drank alcohol, would you? Even more, if all of your friends thought alcohol was disgusting and detestable, would you touch it? Probably not. You’d have no need to.

12. The Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is much more than a game these days. It’s 2 weeks of media coverage, and a 3 hour social gathering for most people. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s fun for people to get together for the game, even if they care nothing about the game. But since a lot of people show interest in it just to blend in with the crowd, it makes this list.

13. MMA
UFC has a huge following, as well as the rest of MMA. It’s a sport that’s on the rise. But in a sport that’s becoming so popular, you know there has to be a large chunk of the audience that only watch because it’s the “cool” and “manly” thing to do. Also, wearing Tapout and Affliction t-shirts fits in here too.

14. Abercrombie & Fitch
Why do people buy overpriced clothing? Because they’re friends are buying overpriced clothing and because the media says that is what we need to wear to be cool.

15. Dave Matthews Band
See Coldplay

16. American Idol
For many of us, we watch because our friends and co-workers watch. After all, we don’t want to be left without a word during the talk around the water cooler.

17. Political Activism
Whether it’s a fight for social justice or politics, a lot of people take a side they know nothing about and march, protest, complain, etc because that’s what everyone else is doing. This really seems to spring up around election time. If you really want to see it in action, wait until October 2012. Whether people love Obama or hate Obama, they will be out in full force…with absolute ignorance as their guide. Any guesses on how many of those people actually read the newspaper or watch Fox News and/or CNN regularly?

18. President Barack Obama
I’m not bashing or endorsing the president here. However, in many circles, it’s fairly obvious that people make up their opinions about the president based on the opinions of their friends or others in their “social group.” Very few people actually know how to think politically for themselves. Instead, they either hate or love the president based on what they think they are supposed to do to be accepted in certain circles.

19. Twilight
Need I say more?

20. Michael Jackson
It’s sad that Michael Jackson died at an early age. It’s amazing how many people became fans after he died. Some people just couldn’t stand to fall behind a trend.

Thanks for those that contributed. I want to give you credit, but I don’t want to put your name down if you wished to remain anonymous. So, feel free to claim your submission. If there’s anything to add, feel free. If you disagree, I would love to hear about it.

Congratulations to Kris Allen for winning American Idol last night in a upset of gigantic proportions! In a competition filled with egos, prima-donnas, and karaoke singers, the 23-year-old worship leader from Conway, Arkansas emerged as a humble, down-to-earth underdog who won the hearts of America. Whether you love American Idol or hate it, I hope everyone can appreciate the talent and heart of Kris Allen. 

Watch the video above to hear Kris’ performance (and beautiful arrangement) of “Ain’t No Sunshine” which helped pave the way to victory.

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

Let me start off by saying I am not one of those people who is anti-American Idol because it uses the word idol in the title or seems to be a show based on amateur karaoke. To be honest, I’ve enjoyed watching the show over the years and have even been impressed when the show has removed contestants from the show because of run-ins with the law and other questionable behavior.

However, this season on American Idol, it seems as though the judges, or at least 2 of them, have traded in their class and objective criticism for ratings. A contestant who has become known as “bikini girl” recently made it past the initial audition round and through the first round of Hollywood judging. Her nickname, as you can probably guess, comes from the fact that she initially auditioned in only a bikini.

Some of you may be saying, “What’s the problem?” Well, here’s the problem: She can’t sing! Sure, she can carry a tune, but she has done nothing worthy of putting herself in the top 100. Judges Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi seemed to acknowledge that, but amazingly Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson refused to take an objective approach and gleefully put her through to “the next round” twice.

Typically, I have much respect for the honesty of Simon Cowell. I don’t always like the way he presents it, but the guy does know his music. Unfortunately, this seems to be nothing more than a publicity stunt that is being used to bring in ratings. In a sense, what they’re doing is working because….well, I’m writing about it right now.

Just curious what you think about this. Is this all just silly nonsense that will take care of itself eventually, or have the judges gone a little too far with trying to catch the public eye? Is this hurting the competition? You decide…

Well, my goal was to post every Tuesday and Friday. For the 3 people who visit this site, you probably noticed that I didn’t post on Friday. I left work a little early so I didn’t get around to it. Rather than break tradition and my routine (cause we all know that’s unethical), I figured I’d halt the writing until today (Tuesday). I don’t have anything profound or interesting to write, but I thought I would just share some of the crazy ideas floating around in my head:

“I Can Hear the Bells…”
To start off, I want to congratulate Jacob and Lynsey Riggs on their marriage. They were married this past Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee. If you know them at all, you know they are two of the greatest people in the world.

“Deja Vu All Over Again”
If we’ve even talked for 2 minutes, you know I am a huge sports fan. More specifically, I am a huge baseball (St. Louis Cardinals) fan. Over the past few weeks there has been a major debate concerning instant replay in Major League Baseball. Every night I turn on Sportscenter, it seems like there is another questionable call on a home run. Sometimes the umpires get it right, sometimes they don’t. In the past 2 weeks, Read more…