Idol Thoughts - February
3
As I
have been watching the past 3 weeks of American Idol, I
am noticing a disturbing trend. It has to do with the
singers that we all laugh and make fun of. Its not this
group, which this year is particularly off the wall.
Its not about Randy Jackson making fun of them. Its
not about Simon Cowell
making fun of them. Its not even about the groups that
are going after Simon Cowell
for making fun of them.
Its
about the fact that some of them, as bizarre as they
have been, are getting tickets to go to Hollywood.
In
Idols defense, Im sure that they have a powerful Top
24 that they will be showcasing in front of us in a
matter of weeks. It shouldnt be that hard to find 24
voices that are good enough for us to judge. Out of the
thousands and thousands of people who have auditioned,
they should have found 24 good people
or have they?
According to the numbers, only 175 people got a ticket
to Hollywood. And you can cut that number even lower
than that, as people have been booted due to felonies,
contracts already in place with other music companies
and other violations of the standard American Idol
agreement. The 175 is the second lowest number in the
history of the American version of the program only
the 117 in Series 3 was lower. They had 200+ in the
first 2 seasons, and last years number was 195. None of
those 195, by the way, included people who talked to
animals.
Obviously, all 100,000+ potential
wannabes dont audition in front of the judges.
Perhaps only 1,000 and change do. The rest of them are
all screened in advance by the producers of the show,
and they only allow the people who they think are the
best (or in many instances, the worst) to audition in
front of the judges. Those people get to sing for the
judges, and those judges not only decide who gets in,
but they also decide the total number of people to do
so.
Of
course, you cant invite everyone to Hollywood, but why
are the producers only sending enough to the judges that
not only less than 200 get in, but in certain cities,
less than 15 get in? Im not buying that there are only
12 good singers in Austin, so lets look for another
reason. Every year, the people who audition and who
dont get past the producers (and yes, we speak
to many of them) have their
own theories. One of which is that the producers arent
looking for the best singers; just the more marketable
ones with a better storyline and charisma. Another is
that they are looking for raw talent and not a polished
voice so they can mold them. Yet another reason is that
they want to get the not-so-savvy people to sign
ridiculous contracts. A fourth reason would be that
people that sound too good would have a ridiculous edge
in the Top 24 or they would never get that far, and
after they get their free publicity would pull out and
pull a Mario Vasquez.
In
most years, I would discount those theories, but this
year, I may not. The producers have been creating more
of a backstory for people
than they have in other years, as they are trying to
connect the singers with an audience early. It seems
like in many of these cases that its the back story
thats getting the singers in and not the singing
itself. Im not saying that they cant sing most of
them can. However, I am not getting that American Idol 2
vibe, where I thought Ruben
Studdard great voice for a big guy from the
South, or Clay Aiken nerdy guy but wow can he sing.
For the first time, I remember these people because he
is a mortician or he talks to the animals and with the
exception of Ann Nesby,
Mandeesa Hundley and Ricky
Hayes, I couldnt begin to tell you how they sound.
Thats not how you want to market your talent show. Even
with the forgettable Idol 3, I could give you
a good 8 or 9 voices that I
loved hearing, but Im hearing less melody line and more
story line.
Of
course, Idol still has another grouping of shows where
we can find and fall in love with the talent, but they
have a lot of ground to make up. I want to know the
personalities of the top 24 singers, and I hope that
American Idol is savvy enough to realize that the last 3
months of their show (including the lucrative May
Sweeps) is all based on their ability to convey that to
us. As of right now, they have failed to do so.
Miserably. They still have
time to showcase their talent properly, but we will be
returning to this topic again if they cant do so.
There
was another topic that I was reflecting on this week. As
we all know, Clay Aiken has been accused of having sex
with a man in a hotel room as his life has been exposed
for all of us to read on page 6. The news has exposed
us to a volley of emotions from the people who are
disgusted by his actions, to his fan club who are
disgusted with his accuser. No one really knows how or
if it will affect his sales, but it does make us look
at ourselves as a country.
How is
homosexuality taken in the American culture? In some
areas, its considered a sin. In another section, its
considered a disease. Some people consider it as
something that they were born with and deal with on an
everyday basis. In another place, its a matter of
choice. Where I was growing up, in Greenwich Village in
NYC, while working at my fathers nightclub The Bottom
Line, it was just there. People were gay, and I wound up
working with them while working for my dad during the
summer. Big deal. It didnt
matter much to anyone on a sexual preference people
were people, and when artists of various sexual
preference were performing at The Bottom Line in NYC,
whether is was a big name straight group like Bon
Jovi, an all-gay band like
Gotham or an ambiguous group
such as a troupe led by Richard OBrien, it didnt
really matter what the preference was. If the music was
good, then it was good. People bought their CDs, and
where the origin of the person who sang it was
irrelevant.
Most
places, however, arent NYC. You hear about gay crimes
in various parts of the country (and yes, NYC included)
on a daily basis. You see music stars brought down and
their shine diminished after any sort of gay expose. How
many Top 40 hits has George Michael had after he got
caught with his boyfriend in a public restroom?
Plenty in the
UK,
but none in the US, the land thats always been
conservative in their religious views.
Lets
take it one step further and put ourselves in the eyes
of Clay Aiken. Lets say that you were a famous person
who liked people of your own sex and now add to it
that you are living in one of the
most staunchest areas of
conservativism. Youre not in LA anymore youre
in North Carolina. And youre single. And youre
probably very, very lonely. In order to continue to live
the quality of life that you have been living and
enjoying, you have to make the ultimate sacrifice you
have to sacrifice being yourself on a 24/7 basis. Many
gay people stay in the closet to begin with, but this is
someone who by coming out, can not only
lose millions and millions of
dollars but can also wreck any chance of occupational
wealth in the future.
Then
one day, you see someone who you are attracted to and
you decide to take a chance that this person will not
only see you for who you are, but will also gain your
trust enough that he wont expose you for who you are
and cause your world to shatter around you.
Unfortunately for Clay, the chance blew up and he ran
into someone who in a premeditated fashion tried to
exploit the situation that he found himself in.
I am
not saying that what Clay Aiken did was smart. I thought
he was very, very foolish. However, I can understand why
he did it and I can feel sympathy for what he is dealing
with. I believe that at least 15% of you agree with this
as well. Why 15%? In many different demographic reports,
Its been reported that
approximately 15% of people who regularly watch game
shows consider themselves gay. Im guessing that with
American Idol, with its
roots in the entertainment business (a business that has
always been a gravitational magnet to gay people), that
number is probably going to be significantly higher.
In
this column, I traditionally like to finish it with what
I think should happen or what people should do. For this
topic, however, there is no easy answer. I cant put
myself in anyones shoes or try to project my beliefs
based on how I was brought up. We always end WLTI with
the phrase Spread the Love, and we always welcome
readers to our site and ask them to be comfortable with
us, regardless of orientation. I cant tell you who to
like or hate, but all I can do is attempt to show you
how it feels to put yourself in someone elses position,
and I hope that this column has done that.
Spread
the love.
Gordon Pepper would like for you to have him be
remembered as a kind caring individual who can bowl a
235.
E-mail him at gordon@gameshownewsnet.com. |