(04/28/04)
I was watching American Idol today (45 seconds was enough for me) and I realized that none of these finalists are any good. The whole premise of the show is retarded. I don't understand why it was popular enough to warrant 3 seasons (and possibly more). Probably because everything else on network television sucks more.
Are the contestants more talented than the average person? Absolutely. Does this mean that they deserve to be stars? Hell no. If you look at how Britney Spears can sell as many albums as she does, it becomes clear that talent is irrelevant to an entertainer's success. This is the industry that put out Nelly Furtado and Hillary Duff. Even so, vocal talent guarantees nothing because a lot of people can sing. Hell, that Ebay commercial has a decent vocalist ("diamond rings, organizer thing, nice bling bling" or something like that) and I don't expect to ever see his face again.
Most popular "musicians" today are the product of a marketing team. American Idol contestants are not the results of entertainment marketing projects, so you can't expect the winner to be any good. That fat black guy has a really good voice but his songs suck. I could say the same for Clay Aiken, that ugly dork. Winning this competition means nothing, except that you've made Fox a lot of money (that you won't see much of).
Simon Cowell sucks too. He's not funny. He tries way too hard to come up with unoriginal insults. And the show gives these insults too much airtime. I'm sick of his face.
The most fundamental flaw is that they have fans call in to vote. Unfortunately, any form of voting can easily be manipulated, and the American public is fickle anyway. The same person who votes for one contestant one week may vote for someone else the next. Make these losers send in demo tapes so they can keep their failures to themselves instead of parading around on national television.
If they have another season, it'll be their last. They'll realize that it takes too much work to sift through the initial screenings because more people than ever will try to get on television by sucking on purpose. And then there's William Hung who may outsell the eventual winner. Everything this show stands for pisses me off.
