More like “American Idle.”
May 17th, 2007 | by Scott Jennings |You know it breaks my heart to say it, but American Idol is just plain awful this season. (I’m not talking about the lovable sort of awful that endeared me to the show in the first place, this is the unwatchable and boring sort of awful that forces one to ponder the possibility that, after six years, this country is all tapped out on waiting in line for days to sing.) And now that we’ve slid into our inevitable Jordin-Blake finale, there’s no amount of American Idol production magic gonna save us now. Blake is just terrible on so so many levels, and Jordin comes closer, but still well short on my giveashitometer. And after the horror show that was Taylor Hicks, America needed something stronger than this to rally around. I feel bad for us all.
I never could get behind any of the other copycat talent-reality shows because they never challenged American Idol’s true monopoly — the tragedy of the shattered dream and the drama of the rising star. And the story works best when the tragedy is epic and the drama is compelling, and this year, we went 0-for-2. For the first time this year, I didn’t believe that most of the contestants wanted it. I believed Gina wanted it, and her departure was the closest thing this season came to a “moment,” but aside from that, it was a whole lot of “this is fun, but when it’s over I’ll get back to my real life.” (And that whole Sanjaya thing.) Was anyone surprised when Melinda went home last night? She’s not a star, never came close. Does anyone believe that Blake or Jordin will clear the lofty bar set by Ruben Studdard? I’m sorry for 2004, and now I’m sorry for 2007.
I don’t know if this is a failure of talent or production, but for a show that just last year gave us the single best minute in television history in a season that ended up not making us proud, I’m inclined to start with the producers. Did the whole “Idol Cares” thing shift too much focus away from telling the tragedy and the drama of the contestants? (Yes folks, I’m ready to indict charity.)
Whatever it was, American Idol needs to go back to basics next season: good pop music, people who sing it well, people who honestly think they sing it well but aren’t quite good enough, and production. I’ve said time and again that this show proves that pop music is 85% songwriting and production, 15% talent — put a well-written song and a great producer with any singer with chops, and you’ll get pop music. The same ratio goes for the show about pop music, and this season was a mess.
Please wake me gently for The Search For The Next Great American Band (working title). This has potential.
