So, now that the Memphis show has aired, I can share my opinion of the American Idol audition process. We all know Idol is the television phenomenon of the moment. The audience grows each season literally making it the Super Bowl of regular prime time entertainment television. This season's premier, the show's sixth, had more than 80 million sets of eyeballs watching. Idol draws wannabe stars by the thousands to show up in various cities hoping to earn the coveted yellow ticket to Hollywood and possible stardom. And it is this audition process that makes me wonder, "just what are they looking for?"
WACH-TV, the FOX affiliate in Columbia, SC, hosted its annual Palmetto Idol contest last year and the winner received an all expenses paid trip to Memphis to audition for producers of the show. Crystal Garrett won and was very excited about the opportunity to audition for American Idol. We, at the station, all felt she had a great chance of making it to the Hollywood round only to learn that she was turned away well before Simon, Randy, and Paula got a chance to hear her beautiful voice. Here's the clincher. She returned to Columbia, grateful for the opportunity but a bit disenchanted, and shared the story of how somebody who couldn't really sing but was dressed like a clown, was advanced to the next audition level.
All you have to do is watch a few minutes of one of the audition episodes and you know that plenty of "clowns" make it through to waste the time of the judges. I readily admit, it makes for entertaining television. Remember William Hung? But, as much as I love the show, the competition, and thought Hung was hilarious, I have a problem with the notion that someone with true singing talent is turned away while some "clown" is passed through.In our local competition, someone who clearly can't sing doesn't win. We're not going waste our time and money sending a contestant who can't legitimately compete to a guaranteed audition. At the very least, American Idol could do its affiliates the courtesy of guaranteeing that local winners will get to audition for the Simon, Randy and Paula. Crystal tells us the producers who cut her couldn't have been much older than she. Crystal is 20.
Tens of millions of viewers watch Idol each week and love it. My humble opinion likely means little, if anything, to the show's producers. They know they have a winning franchise. And, American Idol's impact on entertainment is abundant. The success of Kelly Clarkson, Rueben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry, and others speaks for itself. But it's hard to take the competition seriously when so many non-singers get farther in the process than real singers.
Oh, Good Evening!
2 comments:
I am amazed that an affiliate station can't open a door for 3 minutes on this show (Especially since Crystal seems to be the total package). A telling moment was when they told one girl before her ouster that she sounded like a lot of today's vocalists. So what!!! If she can sing, she should be considered. By the way, does Crystal have a famous sister? Someone dropped that one on me.
Absolutely! The idea is find good singers, put them on stage, and let the viewers decide. Lately, I think the judges have picked too many "project" singers-- folks they can mold into what they want-- to advance to the part of the competition where the viewers start deciding fates. I'd rather just see the best singers get whittled down to a winner.
As for Crystal, I don't know of any famous sister. In fact, I think she's an only child.
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