American Idol – What Reality TV Should Be About

Well, it’s nice to be back talking about American Idol again. From responses to my last article, I find it interesting that so many people who support the “free-thinking, rebellious” ideas are really quick to play the boycott and censorship cards. I haven’t seen such devotion to the cause since Rik on The Young Ones. But I digress before I even begin.

I loved American Idol. There, I said it. I loved the songs. I loved the singers. I loved the judges.

I didn’t love everything. I hated the hosts (although that got much better as it went along… but still not great). I hated the stupid skits. And I hated, HATED, HATED… well, let’s just say I didn’t like all of the singers.

I am in complete agreement with the lovely and talented Dana – Simon Cowell rules. He may have been a bit rude at times, but we’ve all been guilty of that. Most importantly, he always backed up his opinions with logic. If I were REALLY a geek, I’d say he must be Vulcan.

A lot of people complained about Paula. Me, I couldn’t stand Randy, Randy, Randy. I’d rather see a Paula Abdul stand-up routine than hear about RJ’s initials again. His comments were generally as superfluous and inane as Joe Theismann’s NFL color commentaries.

I mean, Joe just mentioned how Kerry Collins’ fumbles last year weren’t all his fault. Huh? How can it not be your fault if, duh, you drop the freakin’ ball?

Perhaps the biggest disappointment in the round of 30 was Adriel. I was looking forward to seeing what he could do in the top ten, and it was one of the crimes of the series that he wasn’t included.

RJ (Hey… he has the same initials as Randy Jackson!) never really impressed me, but I really thought he improved a lot. In the right situation, I think he could be the surprise success of the show. He still has that annoying “Whoeoeoeoeeeooe” thing, whatever the hell it’s called, though.

As for the final, two-hour episode, I really enjoyed it. I’ve never liked the ‘recap’ format, but I enjoyed them showing the highlights and lowlights of the series. Yeah, it was cheesy, it was an excuse to sell more ads, it gave more exposure to the Briyans. But it was a lot of fun.

I disliked the two songs immediately, but I’m the type who (usually) needs a few listens to start to like a song. I’ve decided that I kinda like both songs. I don’t hate ‘em, I don’t love ‘em. They’re OK. Kelly really had a lot to do with making me like them, I think.

Ah, Kelly. Sweet Kelly. Just like Maven in the first Tough Enough, the producers had to be absolutely ecstatic that they found her. When they pictured their winner earlier in the summer, I can’t imagine them visualizing such a beautiful, humble, GOSH-DARN likeable girl.

But would I buy the CD? I’ve always had a “three song rule” with any CD. Unless it’s one of the very small group of automatic-buy artists for me, I won’t buy a CD unless I know there are three songs I like on the disc. I’m sure I’d buy the American Idol CD, provided that Kelly, Tamyra, and Justin have singles. I can always skip over some of the other artists.

I’ll definitely buy the single, though, if for no other reason than to support the concept. Hey, I didn’t care about this show when it started. The only reason I started watching was because Dana was doing the recaps, and I became hooked by the kids, dreaming of becoming Stars.

This is the sort of thing Reality Shows should be about. The winner should actually GET something out of it rather than a local news slot. It’s a lot more interesting watching someone try to achieve their life’s goal than seeing bitchy people act like jerks for a few hundred thousand bucks.

And if I have to endure some bad singing along the way, so be it.

Mike DeGeorge is an accountant from St. Louis. You can reach him at: mikmaria@earthlink.net.

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