American Idol 4
It's Not About the Talent
Commentary By Alisa
January 20, 2005
Where Are We Now?
After three seasons and multiple winners (I'm also talking about the successful runners-up), we have arrived at Season Four of the most successful program that FOX has ever had the good fortune to air. Somebody had his finger on the pulse when they sold the show to FOX. It had been a big hit in the UK and in Europe as well as other places but it was never bigger than it has been the good old U.S. of A.!
Things Change and Remain the Same
We're still fortunate to have our three judges: Randy, Paula and Simon. Whatever you want to say about them, and I've got plenty to say, there is a synergy that somehow works. Of course they are playacting most of the time. There really isn't a feud between Paula and Simon. Randy doesn't say stupid repetitious stuff-or does he? Paula isn't treacly sweet and supportive to balance out Simon's acidity. It's all part of their act. That's okay. It works.
This year they decided to add guest judges in every city and beyond. Mark McGrath was the first guest judge at the Washington D.C. trials and I don't really think anybody cared what he had to say.
Why did most of the contestants feel that they had to sing "America the Beautiful" and the National Anthem when nobody knew all the words? Most of them sounded like they were having their appendix removed without benefit of anesthesia. Once again, editing played a huge part. Let's face it, when thousands of mediawhores decide to camp out just to get face time on camera, they don't care how they get it. Most of the ones that we saw were horrific.
In the beginning, one or two mediocre talents made it through. They ran out of the audition room as if they had already won the full title of American Idol. Don't they realize that they will be cut as soon as the REAL SHOW begins? Apparently not. The friends and family hugged and jumped and screamed and generally acted like fools despite a very small victory with a long road ahead.
Ryan Seacrest didn't have that much to do yet. He talked in front of impressive backdrops in the nation's capitol and St. Louis, MO. But we are so familiar wit Ryan's shtick that it's okay. He's the paid monkey and the judges are the organ grinders. He does his thing and they do theirs.
The Freak Show
What was the real point of wearing a giant tomato outfit or cow costume? How seriously did these idiots even take themselves?
For the first time ever, I heard Simon call women obese. As acerbic as he can be, this has never been something that he mentions although there have been plenty of obese people on AI, but he chose to tell a few of them that they were too fat. Funny, that. How did Ruben Studdard escape all those remarks when he is bigger than my refrigerator?
The people that sang so terribly off key that they had to be aware of it auditioned as always. It seems as if the numbers have increased though. Anybody who camps out long enough can get to audition for the jaded judges.
Why I Hate William Hung
This talenteless idiot managed to lower the bar for everyone because he has made a few sorry bucks out of his lack of talent. If I am being honest, I have to admit at this point that Hung (who I'm sure is NOT!) was on key at least some of the time.
The people that auditioned with atrocious renditions of songs that they didn't even seem to know the lyrics to, made it a point to be off key without appearing to notice.
William Hung opened the door to this horrible experience. No one could have told these men and women who were sobbing outside after being rejected, that they even had a prayer of being selected for the show, much less making it to the final ten, or even fifty.
Maybe I'm wronging Hung, when I really want to blame the producers of this show who know that they have a huge hit (for however long it lasts) on their hands and allow this kind of crap to go through for our entertainment or their perception thereof.
Some people were so oblivious that they thought they even looked great for the occasion. Check out Melissa Considine. She gave a big speech about how it didn't require a lot of money to show class and style. The woman looked like a fat hooker before she even opened her mouth. When she actually got in front of the judges to sing, she was terrible. I'm not even mentioning her crazy story of how she got the scratches on her arm. Okay I will. She claimed to have tried on the dress in the dark because the store lights had already been turned off. Do you think I was born yesterday, you stupid woman? You probably shoplifted that piece of crap and crawled through thorny bushes to get away. You've got class. Sure you do.
Toni Braxton's Cousin Derek? Not by blood, I'm sure. This lamebrain who claimed his musical roots didn't have a lick of talent. His voice broke three cheap wine glasses in my neighbor's house. If he has such connections, why would he have to audition for American Idol? The answer lies somewhere in between reality and outer space.
Much of the same went on in St. Louis. At the end we see a lot of people that were accepted but we didn't even hear them audition. That's because the producers wanted us to have a few cheap laughs to make us feel better at our own lack of talent before we proceed on to the real thing.
What Will Happen?
Eventually, things will settle down and all of the losers will be weeded out while the good to mediocre talent will rise to the top.
I don't know what difference raising the age level to 28 will make. Maybe none. If you don't show talent by the age of six, you haven't got any.
For some reason, I still enjoy watching this part of the show, but I'm really looking forward to getting the ball rolling and discovering some real gifted performers.
American Idol has made it possible for singers to become big selling artists almost overnight within the television format and that's probably a good thing. No longer do they have to remain undiscovered or audition endless times only to be rejected. Here they can do it on national TV and believe that nobody will ever forget them.
Alisa loves the Ocean, granola and winemaking. When not busy with that, writing is her biggest thrill, well almost. She can be reached at california_girl100@yahoo.com
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