"American Idol": Same As It Ever Was
(Update: Next week is the music of Neil Diamond.)
Every year there comes a point when the "American Idol" votes favor an undeserving contestant over better singers. You can trace the line from Nikki McKibbin to Sanjaya Malakar. And every year, when that happens, someone mutters about the show having turned into a popularity contest instead of a singing competition, even though popularity is crucial to mobilizing voters. Every year, we see someone who suffers from a passion gap — being good but not exciting enough in some way to make people believe I absolutely must vote for this person every week as many times as possible.
So it was on Wednesday night. Carly Smithson went home even though she was good while Jason Castro gave a truly horrible performance and Brooke White had to stop and start her song a second time. (And let's put aside this "Idol" nonsense of saying that's the first time it happened. I've rewatched the video of "Every Breath You Take." It's not as a big a restart as she had on Tuesday, but it's a restart nonetheless.) For the second week in a row, a good performance was not enough to save a singer.
So, if this is the way "Idol" goes, why am I still ticked off?
Well, for one thing, because I become as invested in this show as any other viewer. I want to hear good singers, and I want them to succeed, and I don't want to sit through garbage. To a lesser extent, I also come to care about the people, at least as far as I can gauge them from the events on the show.
So I listen again to Carly and Syesha Mercado, who was in the bottom two with her, and am far more impressed with their performances. (And I'm wondering who backstage was responsible for that tacky switch to a shot of Carly and Ryan talking to each other while Syesha sang.)
Neither has had a perfect run, and this still feels like a competition that's headed toward a two-David final. But if you judge people on a given night's performance — instead of on the cume of a season's worth of songs — no way did either deserve to go home before Brooke and Castro. Of course, Kristy Lee Cook did not deserve to go home a week ago based on her performance, but that's how "Idol" works.
Then there's the personal thing. Brooke at least had the good taste to look stunned when she was safe and Syesha was in the bottom two. Syesha, for that matter, shared a final hug with Carly that went on so long, it wasn't just for show. But it seemed that Jason's surviving while Carly went bottom two had no more emotional effect on him than, well, anything else in life. The guy's not getting by on personality, because he barely has one. He's getting by on a cuteness that appeals to some young and speed-dialing demographic that will vote for its guy no matter how inept he proves to be.
Of course, there's a Sanjaya parallel to be drawn here. Sanjaya was notorious for going his own way even when it didn't make musical sense, and on Wednesday night Andrew Lloyd Webber made clear that JC didn't listen to any advice Webber gave. Neither is much of a singer, although I might rank JC a little ahead of Sanjaya. But, while I'm not in the habit of giving Sanjaya any praise, he had a personality. I don't know what JC has. He can barely speak. His song selection for Webber week made clear he's no thinker. He's no more than a passable singer — putting to lie all that nonsense about this being the most talented "Idol" crop ever. He has the goofy smile (Jeff Spicoli redux), the dreads, the big eyes — maybe it's that he's the most relatable contestant for voters who aren't all that articulate or adept themselves, or who dream of being with someone who looks pretty on the couch but will never challenge them, or himself.
OK, so now I have ranted. I hate myself a little for doing so. In its seventh season, "American Idol" should be viewed with cool detachment. But I get invested. And, after a week like this, I feel cheated on my investment.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:19 am
[...] cd [...]
April 24th, 2008 at 8:24 am
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
April 24th, 2008 at 8:45 am
I feel a little cheated too: I know life's not fair, and especially reality TV, but I want to watch and know every week, the contestants have been given the opportunity to be their best and the decision is based on who's best was the best (starting to sound like that Nike commercial…). ALW theme was bad from the word go: the kids in the mosh pit don't know any of this genre, nor would they go out and willingly purchase it.
My mom made a good point yesterday: just what is the "American Idol" supposed to be? Maybe a revisit to that definition is in order. Is this a popularity contest? Are we selecting the most marketable contestant? Does actual talent fall into the equation? Are we giving someone who would normally not have the opportunity to get a record deal the chance to secure one?
I wasn't gung-ho on the former contestants who had record deals, but quibbiling over all the points above made me realize that it shouldn't matter.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:15 am
You have just said everything that I have thought about Jason Castro all year long. While obviously there have been bad singers this year (KLC, Amanda Overmyer), and the ones that are poised to "win it all," (the Davids), Jason Castro is just nothing to me. Up until this past week my wife loved him, but every time I asked her why she couldn't give me a reason! Tuesday night seemed to end the love affair, though.
And as for Brooke, obviously she also belonged in the bottom two this week as well and somehow managed to escape, which makes me think she may have received somewhat of a sympathy vote. At least to me she seems very genuine and real in her emotions (more so than some of the others), and I'm wondering if maybe that is getting through to some voters.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:54 am
[...] rheldenfels wrote an interesting post today on "American Idol": Same As It Ever WasHere's a quick excerptEvery year there comes a point when the "American Idol" votes favor an undeserving contestant over better singers. You can trace the line from Nikki McKibbin to Sanjaya Malakar. And every year, when that happens, someone mutters about … [...]
April 24th, 2008 at 10:05 am
[...] Tuned In - TV Blog - Television Reviews - James Poniewozik - TIME wrote an interesting post today on "American Idol": Same As It Ever WasHere's a quick excerpt"American Idol": Same As It Ever Was April 24th, 2008 Every year there comes a point when the "American Idol" votes favor an undeserving contestant over better singers. You can trace the line from Nikki McKibbin to Sanjaya Malakar. And every year, when that happens, someone mutters about the show having turned into a popularity contest instead of a singing competition, even though popularity is crucial to mobilizing voters. Every year, we see someone who suffers from a passion gap — being g [...]
April 24th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Ha ha. I still like Jason, who seems lovably goofy when not singing, but CAN be very good with songs that suit his unique style. For better or worse, he has remained true to what he does best (as seen on YouTube in the cafe with "Crazy" and with his unforgettable "Daydream"). He'd better pick a winner with Neil Diamond's tunes; there are certainly a lot of great choices; should be a killer week for David Cook.
Who knows how singers like Reuben and Taylor Hicks (aack!) win this competition? Makes it seem like middle-aged women are doing the voting [surely no teens would speed-dial for those two]. Which could explain why Carly and her very shouty performance got axed this week. That song, in particular, was not a wise choice in appealing to midwest traditional voters.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:12 am
It seems like it's always the singers in the middle - not the leaders, not the failures - that end up going. Americans love the underdog and really vote the heck out of dismal performances. I said it somewhere else, how could Brooke ever headline her own tour if she can't even make it through one song (in front of a very supportive audience) without stopping, twitching or weeping? She can't win. Syesha has been skating near the bottom and may go home next. Carly should take heart that Jennifer Hudson only made it to the top six - and she's done alright for herself.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I think we can all agree that "American Idol" is a popularity contest, and no declarations to the contrary should be believed. No question Brooke gets sympathy votes. In fact, she traffics in them; does vulnerability almost nonstop. That said, Ryan Seacrest encouraged sympathy votes for Jason this week when he raised the whole how-should-you-vote question on the performance show. As for the voters, there's no question that young voters can drive choices for a long time; when we get to the finals, with just two contestants, I think it skews middle-aged and traditional.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Rich–Agree with your comments. But I still wonder how Jason managed to get to the top 12 or even top 24??? Didn't the judges see that coming? Or were they blind-sighted by the "teeny-bopper" mindset??