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Idol Reborn
When American Idol first aired I actually stumbled into watching it by accident. I was home on a Tuesday night, many years ago, and surfing through the channels for something to watch when a curious sound caught my attention. There was a young woman standing before a table of three people, singing her heart out, though unfortunately quite poorly. At first I thought this was some sort of prank, or joke, but soon discovered instead that this was an open call talent show, searching for the next big American pop star. The girl did not handle the polite critique of the first two judges very well, but completely lost it when the snarky British judge made some less than kind comments about her lack of ability. And by lost it I don't mean broke down in to humiliated tears, as I feel certain I would have. I mean exploded into a furious frenzy of self-denial.
And with that, I was hooked.
I soon came to know and love all three of the Judges. There was Paula, the slightly kooky yet good-hearted one; Randy, the jovially, politely honest one; and Simon, the bitingly sarcastic British one, who seemed to have a witty comment to cover failures of all kinds. I watched followed the show fanatically, not missing an episode from the first time I discovered it straight to the finale where Kelly Clarkson was named the first American Idol, winning out over Sideshow Justin (what ever happened to that clown anyway?).
When the second season began I was just as excited, and followed just as enthusiastically. I was a little disappointed when Ruben beat out Clay in the closest final vote ever (let the conspiracy theories begin) but still enjoyed the season as a whole.
After that, things went downhill. The judges became caricatures of themselves, rather than sincere. Simon's put downs seemed forced, Randy's honesty lost its politeness and Paula, well, she just seemed crazy. And the open call auditions seemed to focus more on humiliating the social awkward, somewhat delusional people who believed they had talent than they did on showcasing the potential talent of the show. One of the things I had loved to this point was falling for, and ultimately rooting for, singers right from their first audition. It was what kept me coming back; I wanted to follow their progression through the show. But every year there seemed to be less and less focus on the people with real talent in the first weeks of the show.
Ultimately to me, I felt it became a slightly sadistic exercise in cruelty. I was no longer amused by angry divas who weren't quite as talented as they thought they were. Instead, I found myself pitying the awkwardly clueless kids who truly believed they were being given a chance to shine, when ultimately they were being set up to be the butt of one of Simon's cruel jokes. Maybe that's funny to some people, but for me, picking on the weak has never provided much in the way of entertainment.
And so ended my affair with American Idol. Or at least that's what I believed.
Years went by, shows came and went, and I never really found myself missing Idol. But strangely last night, again on a Tuesday, I found myself searching for something to watch and I landed on American Idol. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the changes I noticed. The most obvious is the departure of Paula - I guess the American public had grown tired of her constant mental breakdowns and inane ramblings because I did know she had not been asked back. In her place were two new females. One was Kara, who I know joined the show last year. The second was this week's guest judge, Posh Spice herself, Victoria Beckham. The gender balance at the judges' table offers a slightly more appealing dynamic, and there seemed to be more sincerity to the judges' reactions than in the past. Most importantly though, there seemed to be a shift back to a balance between the talented and the not-so talented auditioners. I once again found myself falling for a couple singers (my favourite was this sweet guy in a green shirt with a very nice voice and just such an obviously kind personality - I wish I could remember his name!) and now I want to see how they do in Hollywood. There are still a few too many jokes at the expense of others and some unnecessary cruelty, but I guess that's what happens when you pander to the lowest common denominator - this is a Fox show after all - but it didn't seem to be the sole purpose.
It's still no Glee, but I'm willing to give it a second chance.
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And with that, I was hooked.
I soon came to know and love all three of the Judges. There was Paula, the slightly kooky yet good-hearted one; Randy, the jovially, politely honest one; and Simon, the bitingly sarcastic British one, who seemed to have a witty comment to cover failures of all kinds. I watched followed the show fanatically, not missing an episode from the first time I discovered it straight to the finale where Kelly Clarkson was named the first American Idol, winning out over Sideshow Justin (what ever happened to that clown anyway?).
When the second season began I was just as excited, and followed just as enthusiastically. I was a little disappointed when Ruben beat out Clay in the closest final vote ever (let the conspiracy theories begin) but still enjoyed the season as a whole.
After that, things went downhill. The judges became caricatures of themselves, rather than sincere. Simon's put downs seemed forced, Randy's honesty lost its politeness and Paula, well, she just seemed crazy. And the open call auditions seemed to focus more on humiliating the social awkward, somewhat delusional people who believed they had talent than they did on showcasing the potential talent of the show. One of the things I had loved to this point was falling for, and ultimately rooting for, singers right from their first audition. It was what kept me coming back; I wanted to follow their progression through the show. But every year there seemed to be less and less focus on the people with real talent in the first weeks of the show.
Ultimately to me, I felt it became a slightly sadistic exercise in cruelty. I was no longer amused by angry divas who weren't quite as talented as they thought they were. Instead, I found myself pitying the awkwardly clueless kids who truly believed they were being given a chance to shine, when ultimately they were being set up to be the butt of one of Simon's cruel jokes. Maybe that's funny to some people, but for me, picking on the weak has never provided much in the way of entertainment.
And so ended my affair with American Idol. Or at least that's what I believed.
Years went by, shows came and went, and I never really found myself missing Idol. But strangely last night, again on a Tuesday, I found myself searching for something to watch and I landed on American Idol. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the changes I noticed. The most obvious is the departure of Paula - I guess the American public had grown tired of her constant mental breakdowns and inane ramblings because I did know she had not been asked back. In her place were two new females. One was Kara, who I know joined the show last year. The second was this week's guest judge, Posh Spice herself, Victoria Beckham. The gender balance at the judges' table offers a slightly more appealing dynamic, and there seemed to be more sincerity to the judges' reactions than in the past. Most importantly though, there seemed to be a shift back to a balance between the talented and the not-so talented auditioners. I once again found myself falling for a couple singers (my favourite was this sweet guy in a green shirt with a very nice voice and just such an obviously kind personality - I wish I could remember his name!) and now I want to see how they do in Hollywood. There are still a few too many jokes at the expense of others and some unnecessary cruelty, but I guess that's what happens when you pander to the lowest common denominator - this is a Fox show after all - but it didn't seem to be the sole purpose.
It's still no Glee, but I'm willing to give it a second chance.
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