Ever since the first season of America Idol I’ve only watched the first couple of episodes to laugh at the auditions. This season was different. When I watched Chris Daughtry audition in Colorado I started to become intrigued about how far someone with actual talent might go on the show without being voted off by 14-year-old girls who run up their daddy’s phone bills with text messaging. So I started watching every week (not the whole show, usually just Chris’s performances, then I’d do something else or change the station). None the less I became one of those people – an American Idol viewer.
I was shocked to see how far Chris actually made it. He went to the final four this week. Hmmm, I thought, maybe America isn’t so stupid and tasteless. But tonight my suspicions were reconfirmed. Either 25 million American Idol viewers are nothing but stupid and tasteless, or the voting is rigged by the producers (I doubt this as I am not quick to become a conspiracy theorist). And here’s the real kicker: I actually tried to vote last night for the first time. But after 12 busy signals I figured that I’m not as good at it as the 14-year-old’s with tools like DialIdol running on their PC’s to slam the phone lines. And that’s what it most likely came down to. The type of audience that Chris appeals to was just to lazy or indifferent to push the limits of trying to get a vote through.
If anyone claiming any experience in the music industry can explain to me how Katherine McPhee’s performance was better than Chris’s then I will concede my position. But the truth is the girl just sucked last night. If I’d paid for her performance I’d want my money back. And Taylor Hicks is no more than a novelty item. He’s funny to watch, like a drunk wedding singer (as Simon described it). Elliott Yamin redeemed himself and probably deserved to move on even if the boy is hard to look at. But do you honestly see yourself paying to download Taylor Hicks or Elliott Yamin MP3’s off Napster or iTunes?
Chris on the other hand will probably go on to make more money in the recording industry than all of them combined. Just as Clay Aiken made a joke out of Ruben Studdard’s Idol win Chris will be remembered six to ten years from now while Taylor Hicks is out looking for another gig in a piano bar or celebrity wedding.
I will leave you with this: It’s argued that in general American’s are smart and George Bush is President.