One of the great ideals underpinning American Idol is the thought that you can witness a scene like out of a 1940’s movie where a girl working in a restaurant does something nice and the right guy in the right place says “baby, I’m gonna make you a star” – then he does.\u00a0 Or like other movies of the era where an A&R guy is looking for a new talent and someone drags him to a butcher shop promising “you just HAVE to hear this voice”, which ends up landing a likeable working class guy with a huge record contract.\u00a0 In other words, aside from watching people make fools of themselves intentionally in the tryouts, the allure of American Idol is that someone who has had to forego their dreams of being a singer can emerge as a polished talent and see their dreams fulfilled.<\/p>\n
Of course, the only ones who think that is the way things really work on the show are its’ youngest fans, many of whom would love nothing better than to appear as a contestant on the show and put their talent on display.\u00a0 It might be naive, but that ‘anyone can win’ spirit is one thing that has made the show a family favorite in our house – and it isn’t just us.\u00a0 During our recent move I was amazed at home many folks admitted watching it every week with their spouses, kids, parents, or whatever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I don’t think that most people really believe that the show is so open as the producers and judges would have you believe.\u00a0 Because while Simon feels the need to remind us week after week that ‘this is a singing competition … a talent competition’, that is only partially true.\u00a0 In reality it is a TV show and therefore is about driving ratings; it is also a show with tendrils in many other media that produce loads of money.\u00a0 The top couple of contestents get record contracts tied back into the show, so it is imperitive that the top few contestants are highly marketable pop talents; the top 10 go out on a summer-long tour, so it is important that they represent a diverse mix of genres and styles; and there is a cottage industry of merchandising around the show that would make Mel Brooks proud.<\/p>\n
So it should not come as a surprise to anyone that the judges and producers work hard to fill up the top 24 with singers who are likely to meet all of those criteria.\u00a0 Of course, at the same time they realize that many folks tuning in before the show hits the ‘top 10’ are looking for some clunkers as well as some brilliance.\u00a0 Therefore they put in a few contestants for ‘entertainment value’.<\/p>\n
That is how last season we ended up with Sanjaya.<\/p>\n
The best way to make sure that contestants will be able to handle what it takes to be successful is to push forward folks who have some professional experience but have never been all that successful.\u00a0 Having a backup singer like Melinda Doolittle works well, as it is someone that producers could be sure would be able to handle the pressure, and at the same time someone the audience could get behind as she ‘came from the background to the limelight’.<\/p>\n
The problem is that once the show gets\u00a0to the ‘phone voting’ stage, it is all about who people vote to keep on the show.\u00a0 And that is why I mention Sanjaya – it was extraordinarily clear last year that the producers wanted him gone way before going from 7 to 6 finalists (which we just hit recently for season 7 with the elimination of Kristy Lee Cook), and it was also painfully clear that they had no intention of it happening again this year.\u00a0 They cringe at the thought of sites like ‘VoteForTheWorst.com’ or programs like the Howard Stern show mobilizing thousands of calls to ‘game the system’ – because for the producers, it is all about money.<\/p>\n
And for the past couple of years, they haven’t been pleased with the money they’ve made.\u00a0 ‘Soul Patrol’ hasn’t made a big splash on the charts, MacPheever got dumped by her label, BeatBoxer doesn’t have fans beating down the record store doors, and … wait, who was it that won last year?\u00a0 Oh yeah, Jordin Sparks.\u00a0 And how do I remember that?\u00a0 Because she was being pushed HARD while appearing in a featured position on the show recently.<\/p>\n
That is another thing that the producers are doing – pushing the American Idol brand by trotting out a string of former Idol finalists week after week to push their singles.\u00a0 Not truly successful ones like Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood, but the second stringers I mentioned above as well as some others who could use a bit of a push.\u00a0 That makes sense and is actually in keeping with the purported spirit of the show to help undiscovered talents realize their dreams.\u00a0 The fact that it is largely self-serving and helps mask the fact that Sanjaya Malakar was the driving force behind the best ratings the show has had since its’ first two years is irrelevent.<\/p>\n
But what about those undiscovered talents?\u00a0 It is easy to look through the years and find finalists who have made attempts to build a music career and failed in the past.\u00a0 As I said, that they were able to then audition and have enough singing and performance chops to advance only makes sense – for many it has been seen as a last chance to achieve their dream.\u00a0 That plays well with audiences, who can get behind someone who has tried and been rejected only to get back up and try again.\u00a0\u00a0But\u00a0over the years the producers have increasingly played upon that by sending through ‘ringers’ while blocking out very talented singers with no prior background.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No season has been worse with that than this year – season seven is rife with people who have had performing careers for many years.\u00a0 And the reports of truly undiscovered talent getting sent home without a ‘golden ticket’ this year have been too numerous and coming from too many corners to dismiss as ‘sour grapes’.\u00a0 What has really come through is that the producers cannot see the difference between undiscovered and failed.\u00a0 Nearly the entire top 24 has some form of professional experience, many with other groups or as solo acts that toured and released recorded music at one time or other.\u00a0 Some have even had previous recording deals.\u00a0 Again, this doesn’t immediately disqualify them, but what is the likelihood that there would be such a sea change from ‘diamonds in the rough’ to ‘failures looking for a second chance’ in such a short time period.\u00a0 Exactly.\u00a0 So while the producers don’t like fans gaming the system, they are doing it worse than anyone.<\/p>\n
The poster-child for failure is this season’s Carly Smithson: she was pushed hard during the fifth season until her Visa expired and she had to leave.\u00a0 That pretty much got her a pass this year, and she was pushed very hard by the producers – she got loads of face-time on the early episodes, appeared in nearly every commercial, and even criticism from the judges is couched in praise.\u00a0 They will routinely say “you are an extremely talented singer who is better than tonight’s performance, and while you deserve to go to the next round you need to make better choices”.<\/p>\n