American Phenomenon

It almost seems as though you’d be living in a bubble if you haven’t at least heard of American Idol. This rating juggernaut was something I tried to avoid for one reason or another but have found myself smitten by this years cast of singer hopefuls.

From the beginning of the show season I was checking out the hopefuls from the different cities. I guess what captivated me most about this portion of the show was the awkward and brutal way Simon would violate these contestant’s confidence when they couldn’t “bring it” when they had their chance. Thankfully there wasn’t a “William Hung” guy in the show this time around, it’s cheesy enough that he actually had an alblum and we don’t need another…please.

The following 2 rounds after the city search leave something to be desired really, it’s just a waiting game until you get to the real meat of the show. The big stage as it’s been billed is the better part of the show since you’re saved from hearing karaoke renditions of songs you once thought were good, but not so much anymore because you can’t look at it in the same light after watching the show.

It is rather interesting to see the big stage in full effect mainly because the “idols” can train with some of the world’s best singers and for the most part it does show. Some of these idols can actually sing pretty well and it’s enjoyable to see those you feel did well succeed as well as hearing those who didn’t up the ante get ripped for not leaving it all on the table. It makes for a good show and the elimination factor does put an edge to the “must see TV” moniker.

I typically don’t buy into the hype and just watch what I enjoy watching. Now I don’t know why I didn’t really enjoy watching Idol before, perhaps it was the fact that I didn’t care to watch it that made me indifferent to the show. Needless to say I’ve changed my tone this year and find a good amount of entertainment in watching.