After these past two weeks of having the “best top 24 ever” crammed down my throat I finally had to stop and think about it. The final straw may have been when Ryan Seacrest announced Sony/ATV Music Publishing (a merger of Sony and ATV, which was owned by Michael Jackson) had given the go ahead for a Beatles night based on the “strength” of this year’s contestants.

Are we really supposed to believe this? It’s only the second week. Are we really supposed to buy that it’s possible this all happened after the first week of performances? I’m sure these negotiations have been going on for a while. In fact I know they have because there was a Beatles medley in last the finale last year, and The Beatles were the catalyst for the British Invasion theme last season. Though we didn’t actually get to hear any Beatles songs then.

I’m sure whoever was doing the negotiating with Sony crammed “the best top 24 ever” down their throats too.

So do we really have the best top 24 ever? Not in my opinion. It’s true that this is only the third season of the show I have watched, but I can say just going off that limited knowledge that season 5 had an all around better group of contestants. I will also venture to say that there is no one this season that can touch Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood.

So why are they saying it? Why do they have to say it so much? The answer to the second question is probably because it’s not true, but if they say it enough people will believe it. I have heard people repeat it around my office and message boards about the show, as if it’s true. That’s how marketing works.

The top 24 is already down to 16 and is anyone lamenting the loss of Colton Berry or Amy Davis? In two weeks most people probably won’t remember who they are. Simon even told poor Colton that he should give up singing and get a real job. So if he’s one of the best singers the show has ever had, then why would Simon say that?

In fact Simon’s comments have been the same, if not more cruel, as they always have been. “That was ghastly,” “you’re boring,” “that was like some horrible wedding performance,” “it’s old fashioned,” etc etc. Simon certainly doesn’t seem to believe it’s the best ever, so why should we?

Simon has only shown real enthusiasm for one contestant. He seems to like Carly Smithson a little, but not as much as David. Simon says David is the one to beat, and he doesn’t seem to care about anyone else even being in the competition. As David White from The Advocate writes – David Archuleta is the only male contestant I have any reason to be writing about. And unfortunately that seems to be true.

It’s like the show is already gearing up for a Carly Smithson/David Archuleta finale and the rest of the contestants can slowly get eliminated one by one without a second thought. Maybe the rest of the contestants aren’t really as strong as the show purports them to be, and perhaps the “best top 24 ever” is just a smokescreen to get the show to it’s final intended destination.

Am I saying the show is fixed? No. But marketing is a powerful tool, and it can be hard to see around it. The viewers have the ultimate power, but Simon knows whose word matters the most. His.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Description
Features the best and worst performances from the 1st four seasons of the pop cultural phenomena American Idol. Worst: Includes outrageous performances from William Hung and a collection of some of the most unreal performers. Best: Features the hottest talent to come out of the show: Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Fantasia (single “I Believe” hit #1 on the charts), Diana Degarmo (single “Dreams” hit #2 on the Billboard charts), Constantine, Clay Aiken (first single was #1 with 400,000 sold first week), Ruben Studdard (platinum artist whose album was in the Top 10 for 6 weeks), and Kelly Clarkson (double platinum).Amazon.com
Many millions adore it, many others probably wish it was illegal, but there’s no denying the magnetic pull of American Idol on television viewers. Maybe it’s that we can’t avert our eyes from the train wreck that comprises about 90% of the contestants, or that we appreciate the heart and soul of the ones who are genuinely talented; or maybe we just love to hate house villain Simon Cowell and his caustic put-downs. Good, bad, or whatever, American Idol really is the phenomenon it claims to be. And with some ten hours of material spread out over three discs–there’s so much stuff here that even the bonus features have bonus features–this overview of the first four seasons will surely satisfy even the most ardent fans.

Disc One, The Best Of, takes us from the first step in the process (the cattle-call try-outs so popular they need stadiums to accommodate all the hopefuls) through the initial auditions and interviews with judges Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul to the performances seen on the telecasts themselves–including those by eventual winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, and Carrie Underwood, as well as runners-up Bo Bice and Clay Aiken, among others. In other words, nothing unexpected. Indeed, for many viewers, Disc Two (The Worst Of) will likely be the favorite. For it is here that the set focuses on our fascination with the profoundly clueless, those utterly untalented folks who make us squirm with their outlandish self-delusion and willingness, nay eagerness, to humiliate themselves on TV (epitomized by William “She Bangs” Hung, the so-bad-he’s-good sideshow that’s depressing on so many levels), only to then find themselves genuinely astonished and angry when they fail to make the cut. Finally, Disc Three includes an interview with Abdul, “homecoming” footage featuring Underwood and Bice, and additional interviews from the fourth season.

If American Idol has a dirty little secret (aside from Abdul’s personal life), it’s that the show hasn’t produced a single artist with not just a good voice but an original one–a Norah Jones, an Alicia Keys, a John Mayer, someone can play and write as well as sing. But then, that’s not what the show is about; we’re frequently reminded that this is “a singing competition,” pure and simple. Which brings us to what may well be this exhaustive (and perhaps exhausting, too) set’s defining moment: When a particularly awful “singer” begs to do another tune, Cowell says, “There’s only so much punishment a human being can take.” Replies the contestant: “No, I can take a lot more.” –Sam Graham

American Idol – The Best & Worst of American Idol

Bookmark It

Hide Sites