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American Idol is a disgrace

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Steven J. Gross

Steven J. Gross

Well-Known Member
I have to vent about the popularity of this insipid program. The shameful hype of this program and its no talent judges and contestants is an embarassment to talent that knows that years of hard work and real talent rarely deserve the title of "idol". It looks like a real bad junior high talent show.
The dumbing down of America is alive and well. God forbid they allow a comic or instumental act- only Mariah Carey wannabees.
 
Consider an alternate spelling....American Idle. :)

Harry
...who's never seen a single moment of this 'show', online...
 
I agree that the show amounts to little more than an endless parade of Mariah Carey wanna-bes. My biggest beef with the show - despite the constant barrage of bad Karaoke - is that they deliberately avoid letting the contestants show off whatever little musical credibility they might have. You never see any of these people play instruments (even though many of them DO play something). You never hear these kids singing original material. (And I'd find it hard to believe that, of all the people to ever appear on this show, not ONE of them has actually tried writing a song.) (These kids rarely get free rein on what they sing, either - they're always under some kind of guideline. "Tonight, you must pick a song written by ...". "Tonight, you must sing a country song ...")
Not that people who don't write their own material or play instruments can't still be very talented, but when a show is regularly handing over record deals to contestants without actually giving the slightest shred of a care to whether any of these people actually have any musical talent beyond just being able to sing decently at a Karaoke night, you really have to wonder at what a complete waste this show is. Some of these kids could possibly have whole albums' worth of decent songs inside their creative selves or be an incredibly gifted pianist or guitarist or what-have-you, and we'll never know, and no one involved in the show seems to give a darn.
While you mention "no-talent judges" ... really ... who are these people to judge musical talent? Paula Abdul made a few slightly-decent singles in her heyday, but, come on ... stellar vocalist, she's not. Is Paula Abdul being one of the three most famous judges of vocal talent in the nation a prime example of irony or what??? And I'm STILL trying to figure out what Simon Cowell's credentials are beyond producing Westlife. Which isn't much to brag about.

Jeff F.
... glad that at least the "American Idol" winners' labels have some decent taste in songwriters ... there ARE some surprisingly good gems to be found on the Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken albums ...
 
I don't (and won't) watch that show...but I'm hearing that it is more of a popularity contest than anything. The contestants are voted on by phone, are they not?

Bring back the Gong Show.
 
Rudy said:
Bring back the Gong Show.
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Actually, it's funny you say that 'cause, not too long ago, my family was watching "American Idol" and I remarked off-hand, "You know, what they REALLY should do is put a gong behind the judges' table. :tongue:

Steven J. Gross said:
It is amazing that it was not cancelled after its 1st show. But I kinda felt that way about "Friends" too! :twisted: (still do).
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Agree wholeheartedly! Absolutely no one in my family has ever been able to make the least bit sense of why people make such a big deal out of that show. I just don't get it. It's one of the most generic, least original sitcoms I've ever seen in my life. (Although, ironically enough, one of my favorite shows is the BBC version of "Coupling", which makes no attempt to disguise the fact that it's modeled after "Friends.")
 
For my money, the real talented musicians are not on AI but on Nashville Star. They write, and they play, and as in this season's winner, Brad Cotter, he's certainly paid his dues. (One of the contestants was already a professional, as a backup singer in Nashville. She was just trying to break out on her own.)

Just heard one of Brad's songs on the radio in California. He's finally made it, and he deserves it.

American Idol can be fun, but unfortunately it's representative of the lack of originality in today's pop music scene. I miss the days of A&M's heyday; most of the time if an act was on such a label, they were worth hearing once, at the very least, Now, with very few exceptions (The Corrs come to mind) nothing catches my ears. No wonder my radio goes between classic rock and country...

Dave
NP: Claude Bolling's Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano
 
Where's Chuck Barris when you need him??? :) I'm sure he may be kicking himself somewhere for not producing American Idol...

There's another thread going on right now about the popularity of Whipped Cream if it were to be issued today. I think the existence and popularity of American Idol pretty much answers any question about where TJB music would rank in popularity today...
 
"Idol" can be hokey- but every once in awhile there's a real gem found.
Case in point- this season's LaToya London.
(Somebody sign her fast!)

Mark
 
LaToya should have been in Diana's place on final night; It would have been an even tighter showdown.

I like Fantasia, but LaToya had a bit more variety and finesse in different styles (such as "Broadway"). That Fantasia won by less than 2 million votes shows that there is definitely a lack of musical taste in the general (voting) public. It should have been a landslide for Fantasia, given who she was up against. The voting was not a reflection of musical quality or talent.
 
venturenut said:
For my money, the real talented musicians are not on AI but on Nashville Star. They write, and they play, and as in this season's winner, Brad Cotter, he's certainly paid his dues
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I agree! "Nashville Star" is everything that "AI" SHOULD be but isn't. The "Nashville Star"s actually have some real musical talent.

venturenut said:
The voting was not a reflection of musical quality or talent.
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It wasn't. But then, not like that's really the show's point. I mean, if the show really cared for the voting to reflect musical talent, they'd knock it off with all the constant behind-the-scenes nonsense and the insanely cheesy pre-filmed video biographies of the contestants. They spend way too much time trying to make viewers fall in love with these people. If they kept the show to a strict, "Puttin' on the Hits"-ish 'have 'em perform, get 'em off the stage, and vote' format with no melodramatic get-inside-the-contestants interludes, then we'd be far less likely to be subjected with votes more reflecting of "who's the more cuddly or lovable" than "who's the more musically gifted".
 
IMO, the show is not about musical talent or ability at all.

Rather, it is all about appearances, promotion, and hype. Quite consistent with the overall content of today's pop culture.
 
Captaindave said:
IMO, the show is not about musical talent or ability at all.

I remember watching Conan O'Brien when Simon was a guest on the show, and Triumph The Insult Dog opined that Simon teling someone that they had no talent was..."Like poop telling vomit it stinks..."

Rather, it is all about appearances, promotion, and hype. Quite consistent with the overall content of today's pop culture.
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Have you seen a "reality show" that wasn't?


Dan, whose idea of a reality show is BIOGRAPHY and BEHIND THE HEADLIGHTS...
 
American Idol is fun to watch in the beginning while the really crappy singers sing and make a fool out of themselves, while they think they're the best singers in the world. But when it gets down to the end, its just a bunch of crappy boring preformances with the crappy dull insane extremely horrible pop/contemporary music. Singing in my opion is the least form of talent. Mostly everyone can sing. Just some people can do it very good. It's like sports and music. Playing sports is easier than playing an instrument. You can get a neighborhood baseball game going with ordinary poeple who will never play baseball professionally, and who have no training or practice with it. But, can you get a neighboorhood jam session going, with people who have never played before?

I HATE SINGING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsdn:
 
AMERICAN IDOL Is A Disgrace!!!​

Yes, I wish it had at least a more variety of musical styles. Seems as though EVERYBODY wants to play Today's Icky Synthesized Crappy Pop!

No bands! No musical instruments! Not even a good rhythm section! Just people who can "half-@$$" SING! Or THINK they can!

Oh, and No Strings or Brass (Horn Section), either!!! :thumbsdn: :shake:

Now how old do you have to be to get on it? I would have had to get in The Music Biz "The Old Fashioned Way"! :twitchy:


Dave

...recalling another AMERICAN IDOL Thread in For Animals Only...
 
Marty said:
NO ME GUSTA LA AMERICAN IDOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsdn:
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Eh, me neither. Only bringing this topic back 'cause there's a song sample of "Don't Cry Out Loud" (yep, the Melissa Manchester song!) that plagerizes (at least to me!) the original! :mad:

BRRRAAAAAAHHAHH...!!!:winkgrin: :twitchy:​


...er, that's the sound a GONG makes... :freak: :laugh: :D


Dave

iiNo me gusta «America's Idle», también!! :yawn: :baah:
 
I don't watch it myself, or any of the "off-shoots" of it that have surfaced. The one judge I have a beef with is none other than Paula Abdul. Reason being: it's ironic that a washed-up artist from the 1980s who hasn't had a hit song in like 14 years has the audacity to judge up-and-comers. :rolleyes: Simon Cowell is another. There is a difference between constructive criticism and outright cruelity. Senor Cowell offers the latter.
 
My aunt is the executive director for Hospice in her city and she got invited to Rosalyn Carter's (Jimmy's wife) for a caregiving gala.

Anyway, Clay Aiken was the highlight performer of the event. He sang Invisible, The Way, and Bridge Over Troubled Water (with the choir). She said that he didnt sing but he screamed in the microphone.

They should have put this gala event on the Daily Show with John Stewart.

Now Watching: The Graham Norton Effect
 
While I can't understand American Idol's popularity, I do have to salute William Hung for doing what he's done. The guy's CD is selling pretty well in Asia and I've seen him on billboards in three countries so far. Hopefully the poor guy can afford a toothbrush and toothpaste now (and maybe a visit to the dentist).

--Mr Bill
 
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