Here’s how the American Idol routine plays out for me; I’m glued to the T.V. for the first couple of episodes, the bad audition episodes. Even though I know it’s all staged, that every one of the unwittingly horrible performances has already been played out in front of another panel of “judges” before they get to Randy, Paula and Simon, it is compelling viewing. It does make me wonder how much the pre-judges are egging these poor souls on. That part makes me sad for them but, I still look.
Then, when it gets down to the real contestants, I will half-heartedly watch a few shows and think; “If I had the chance to produce one of these kids, who would it be? Who could make a good record?” And, I will pick one from the herd, root for them and look in on the show from time to time during the season. My pick always gets the elbow somewhere about mid-way (this year it was Carly Smithson). At that point my interest wanes but, I usually make it a point to watch the last couple of shows to see who wins.
I did get to see the last half of the show last night.
Was I entertained? I actually asked myself that question while driving back to the Winnebago last night. I kind of got a kick out of seeing ZZTop up there, kind of but, just for the fact that it seemed so goofy. And, for some reason, I found the Graham Nash-Brooke White duet on “Teach Your Children” to be touching. But, those were fleeting moments containing entertainment value. Mostly the show was the spectacle of the hard sell.
Lisa de Moraes got it right in the Washington Post.
And what an infomercial it was! Only four minutes in, the Idolettes are already shilling for the Fox network’s summer series “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Not coincidentally, Janice Dickinson is seen in the audience, shouting, “I love you!” at some poor unsuspecting Idolette onstage, by way of plugging herself and her Oxygen reality series, “The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency.”…
By 8:13 p.m. they are shamelessly hawking the Paramount flick “The Love Guru,” who, Seacrest insists, is the official “American Idol” guru…
The Two Davids are handed the keys to Ford Hybrid SUVs because, Seacrest says, they got great feedback on their starring moments in this season’s Ford Music Videos…
Last year’s winner, Jordin Sparks, is living the “Idol” dream, we’re told. “But why should I have all the fun?” she asks from Disney World. We agree…
And on and on and on…everything is a plug, everything is an ad.
This is from a Nielsen press release I saw this morning.
During season 6 (Jan. 16 – May 23, 2007), American Idol featured 4,349 product placement occurrences. As of March 31, 2008, the number of placements featured during season 7 was surging — American Idol had already racked up 3,291 occurrences.
I keep hearing that Idol’s ratings are down this year but, everybody’s ratings are down. If they slip a few points in the Nielsen’s but show those damn Coke cups a few thousand more times, I’m sure they more than make up the difference.
In the end they crowned a winner, a “bartender”/”rocker” who will sell some records and have some type of career. Some do better than others, some gain credibility, some don’t but, they all seem to hang around.
The Idol franchise will roll on, placing products and making us look. That’s the real contest; making us look. It’s an advertiser supported culture and there’s too many distractions these days. Someday, the Idol franchise may reach the point of diminishing returns but, it’s not even close to that point yet. American Idol is still the undisputed champion of making us look.
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