Whether You Care Or Not
There’s so much I could write about. The queue of topics in my head is pretty endless, despite the lack of posts recently. Unfortunately, I’ve decided to let loose about a topic I never thought I’d write about in this space. Yep, I’m talking about American Idol.
I’ve put my foot in my mouth many times before. I once claimed I would never own an Apple computer (my primary machine is now a Mac Mini). I used to discount rap as music and then ended up listening to it extensively, albeit during my college days. Most recently, I’ve ranted about the ridiculous world of reality television (even in this forum), and I have specifically denounced American Idol. I was able to successfully skirt the show even though my entire family is obsessed with it. However, thanks (or no thanks) to my lovely girlfriend, I got sucked in this year and ended up watching almost every episode this season. Worse, I followed the season. After allowing myself this horrific fate, I will make two points.
First, I will never watch/follow a season of American Idol again. My mom claims she says this every year and then watches anyway. I will truly make an effort to not slip on this promise. I just can’t stand the insanity. Regardless of what anyone might say, I contend that it is true, pure reality television – fully producer-manipulated and likely fixed to some degree. That’s easy to get away with and it’s even perfectly okay (see: Quiz Show). Plus, hey, it makes great television…but that doesn’t mean I have to watch it. It’s just such exploitation. I mean the fact that the Top 12 go on tour after the finale, and that the finale is basically one giant publicity stunt to promote that tour just makes me sick to think about, let alone actually have to watch. (Not to mention the performances were painfully bad.) So, no more Idol for me, no matter what you say.
Second, I am going to discuss this year’s results. (Ironic, isn’t it? Denounce it, then discuss it. I’m sorry, this season was an anomaly.) In my opinion, the winner is essentially irrelevant, given that their success or failure in the music industry is yet to be determined. In fact, it’s entirely possible that the “losers” will be more successful than the winner in the long term anyway. Also, who’s to say that America’s votes aren’t entirely meaningless and not just a ploy to keep the viewers involved? We could all vote and then the producers could just determine who to send off anyway. Either that, or they could rig the phone systems. If we can’t even get an accurate count for our presidential election (see: 2000), then why do we believe the guy that comes out during the finale and “validates” the results?
Putting that aside, though, it’s clear that Katharine was a better singer than Taylor, but Taylor was clearly a better performer than Katharine. Over time, Katharine will almost certainly improve her performance skills and Taylor will likely improve his singing (especially with the help of computers in recording studios). The important thing to note here is that none of this matters. Many could argue (see: my sister and my girlfriend) that Katharine had the better voice and thus should have won the competition. I must admit I was sort of rooting for Taylor the whole time because I thought he was entertaining. However, Katharine is a fabulous singer, and she is incredibly gorgeous (one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen), so I could not have been upset if she won. However, either one of these people, including any of the Top 12, could score a huge hit single or album. It’s a total crap shoot. The point is, my sister and girlfriend obviously see this as a singing contest instead of what it truly is: a popularity contest. (Not to mention that someone from the south always wins because the people in the south who have nothing better to do with their time all sit and vote for them.)
You can see why this show is not for me. I’m glad I’ve let all of these opinions out so I can finally put this godforsaken show to bed. Man, I miss Arrested Development.
There’s a new look and feel folks! That’s right, this is the brand new Bryanfriedman.com, and it’s better than ever. Check out all of the changes:
Here’s some final notes about this blog since I know most of you know nothing about blogs:
That’s it for now. I’ll be posting stuff more frequently. Hopefully it will be a better mix of content…some deep thoughts, short essay kind of stuff like I’ve been doing, but also some more light-hearted, simple, perhaps shorter posts to keep you interested.
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