Thoughts on the Evening: American I Dull 4
Hey Soul Mates,
whew. It's been a rough few hours. First, I was thoroughly dulled by American Idol 4 and then I didn't win a couple of auctions on eBay for vintage microphone gear. Shrug. The gear, well, I'll just keep on pushing and try to get it sooner or later. The TV show. Ugh. I don't know anymore. I was a fan the first two seasons. Even went to the finales. But now the show is beyond mean.
I'm beginning to believe that the good people at FOX have an agenda. This season more than in previous years they are giving lots of air time to black contestants who suck. Yep, they stink... and are very flamboyant. This program has never been kind to gay contestants (with one major exception, but he's white and middle America loves him). They are providing minstrely entertainment quite unwittingly. I learned a thing or two about the audition process last season from an acquaintance familiar with the production. They said that all the contestants are screened and have to introduce themselves and sing to non-celebrity judges (read: producers). That means the show's producers purposefully allow wretched "talent" through to be lambasted by the regular judges. These tragic figures are for our amusement and ratings, ratings, ratings. Romans were kind enough to simply kill those who weren't strong enough to outlast the competition. We know these people aren't up to the challenge, yet AI shows us their heartbreak.
You may recall last year's voting fiasco over the ousting of several more talented black singers for non-blacks. The final 3 should have been 3 black women with wonderful voices and personalities. This year there appears to be some sort of backlash. I'm concerned that too many of the black contestants are being made to look like fools. Granted these people have chosen to audition and their lack of talent is their fault. But FOX can choose how much of an audition to air and tonight they aired in their entirety 5 black male auditions; one was baseball hall-of-famer Ozzie Smith's kid who was superlative. The other 4 were cut. 3 of them were downright embarrassing as "singers." I know I'm beating a dead horse and of course, I'll watch again next week. But damn... it's a trainwreck. Last night's show featured another number of pathetic gay, black contestants, particularly the poor dude who tried to sing "Tomorrow" from Annie. Come on. The screeners shouldn't let in people who are going to do show tunes first of all. They know that these kids aren't going to make the cut. It's that simple.
Which leads me to the show's main problem: delusional people. There are people in the world who cannot cope with reality. Too many of them are showing up on AI. They are certain that they are talented; or lovable; or are meant to be the next American Idol. Huh?! Tone deafness and obesity are not becoming, but the schizoid nature of some contestants is frightening. Our society mocks those with mental illness too easily. Saying "they're crazy" or "loopy" or "insane" simplifies an actual dis-ease. Putting them in humiliating situations doesn't help. Frankly, I'm surprised there haven't been any AI related suicides or homicides. These kids don't need to be on TV, they need counseling.
Finally, AI is a reminder that people think that succeeding in music can be done with a wish and no hard work at all. I, for one, don't mind hearing the judges tell the majority of these people to shift the focus in their lives. But on that note: if you have a dream, strive for it. Just be realistic about your talent. Hopefully, my next blog will be more entertaining.
Love, Power, Peace
whew. It's been a rough few hours. First, I was thoroughly dulled by American Idol 4 and then I didn't win a couple of auctions on eBay for vintage microphone gear. Shrug. The gear, well, I'll just keep on pushing and try to get it sooner or later. The TV show. Ugh. I don't know anymore. I was a fan the first two seasons. Even went to the finales. But now the show is beyond mean.
I'm beginning to believe that the good people at FOX have an agenda. This season more than in previous years they are giving lots of air time to black contestants who suck. Yep, they stink... and are very flamboyant. This program has never been kind to gay contestants (with one major exception, but he's white and middle America loves him). They are providing minstrely entertainment quite unwittingly. I learned a thing or two about the audition process last season from an acquaintance familiar with the production. They said that all the contestants are screened and have to introduce themselves and sing to non-celebrity judges (read: producers). That means the show's producers purposefully allow wretched "talent" through to be lambasted by the regular judges. These tragic figures are for our amusement and ratings, ratings, ratings. Romans were kind enough to simply kill those who weren't strong enough to outlast the competition. We know these people aren't up to the challenge, yet AI shows us their heartbreak.
You may recall last year's voting fiasco over the ousting of several more talented black singers for non-blacks. The final 3 should have been 3 black women with wonderful voices and personalities. This year there appears to be some sort of backlash. I'm concerned that too many of the black contestants are being made to look like fools. Granted these people have chosen to audition and their lack of talent is their fault. But FOX can choose how much of an audition to air and tonight they aired in their entirety 5 black male auditions; one was baseball hall-of-famer Ozzie Smith's kid who was superlative. The other 4 were cut. 3 of them were downright embarrassing as "singers." I know I'm beating a dead horse and of course, I'll watch again next week. But damn... it's a trainwreck. Last night's show featured another number of pathetic gay, black contestants, particularly the poor dude who tried to sing "Tomorrow" from Annie. Come on. The screeners shouldn't let in people who are going to do show tunes first of all. They know that these kids aren't going to make the cut. It's that simple.
Which leads me to the show's main problem: delusional people. There are people in the world who cannot cope with reality. Too many of them are showing up on AI. They are certain that they are talented; or lovable; or are meant to be the next American Idol. Huh?! Tone deafness and obesity are not becoming, but the schizoid nature of some contestants is frightening. Our society mocks those with mental illness too easily. Saying "they're crazy" or "loopy" or "insane" simplifies an actual dis-ease. Putting them in humiliating situations doesn't help. Frankly, I'm surprised there haven't been any AI related suicides or homicides. These kids don't need to be on TV, they need counseling.
Finally, AI is a reminder that people think that succeeding in music can be done with a wish and no hard work at all. I, for one, don't mind hearing the judges tell the majority of these people to shift the focus in their lives. But on that note: if you have a dream, strive for it. Just be realistic about your talent. Hopefully, my next blog will be more entertaining.
Love, Power, Peace
posted by Norman K at 10:30 PM
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