American Idol:Public Enemy Number 1

I hate American Idol. There, I said it. I really hate that show. It’s been going on for far too long and more importantly it’s what is really wrong with America. I won’t go as far as to say that it’s all reality shows that are to blame, but we sure do have a lot of them.

It started with The Real World, on MTV, a Show that I still somewhat enjoy watching. At least it’s the original right? But even this has gotten predictable. The formula is pretty much the same every show. There are 7 people of a mix of different races; one is perceived as naive or inexperienced and from a small town or conservative background, one is the party girl, party boy, gay person, opinionated judgmental girl, normal/boring guy, and then the person with anger/drug/family issues. There are a couple variations to that formula but I think my description is fairly accurate. The Real World pretty much created this genre of television and also went un-imitated and un-expanded upon for quite some time. And then came Survivor, which was fairly successful for the first 2 or 3 years and has dropped off. Then Big Brother, then the amazing race and then “Who Wants a Shot at VD: Bus Tour” and so on. (OK, so I made that last one up big deal. It’s a combination of a couple of shows out there right now)

Now it seems like all that is out there to watch on TV besides my beloved sports are “reality” shows. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why there are so many reality shows on TV; they’re far cheaper to produce than scripted television and the economy is in the crapper right now. NBC will soon be moving Jay Leno to the 10pm time slot, Monday through Friday thus replacing 5 1-hour scripted television series and saving the network millions of dollars even when they pay Jay an obscene amount. Now take out Jay Leno from this equation and put in a bunch of no-names that want to be famous that you don’t have to pay much if anything and you have a great formula for profitability. Throw on top of that the advertising revenue these shows generate because of the number ofpeople that watch and now you’re really cooking with gas. (Who says that? My mom, that’s who) I understand the economics of the situation, it’s not hard to understand, but this has got to stop. I can’t take it anymore. Why won’t these shows just die? Not only are they lacking in entertainment quality but they are ruining the country in which I live. The main perpetrator is American Idol.

American Idol has been on for 8 season now, which is increasingly hard to believe. Every year we have to deal with Fox shoving this show down our throats, giving Randy Jackson a chance to remind us that he is indeed black (How many times do you have to insert “dawg” in to a sentence, Randy?) and all of the “contestants” that sign up to embarrass themselves on National TV. (Don’t get me wrong here, I love seeing people make asses out of themselves.)Are some of these people good singers? Yes. Are some of them more talented than people that already have record deals? Absolutely. Do they have star quality and relevance? In most cases, no they do not. But that isn’t the problem I have with American Idol. My problem with this show is that it gives countless untalented dolts a tiny ray of hope that they can be just like what’s his face that won last year or the year earlier. All they have to do is audition, show us all how great they are and win their recording contract with whatever record label that sponsors the show. Done and done, you’re famous now. You don’t have to go back to working at Waffle House tomorrow, you’ve made it!

Wait, what now? That doesn’t happen. Only one person can win and that legitimately has talent and in most cases some sort of “star quality”. All that American Idol does is install a false sense of hope in these people. They see the show as a way out of their current lives and they treat is as a ladder in which they can ascend in to celebrity, leaving behind their grease-stained aprons and hair nets. Instead of just trying to better themselves, maybe getting an education and a “good job” they hold on to this false hope that they can be like whoever it is that won last year and be a millionaire. In many ways American Idol is worse than the lottery. I know plenty of people that have good jobs, family life, etc but will still plunk down a couple bucks a week on a lottery ticket.(I do it sometimes too. It’s, in a way, fun.) Do they really think they’ll win? Nope. Do they stop working at perfecting their craft? Again I say, no. No they don’t. How many contestants on American Idol can say this? Not many. They truly believe that they are the next big thing and this is why they’ve been put on this planet. (I would argue that they’re just here to annoy me, but it gives me something to write about. So, thanks?) Putting all of their “eggs” in the American Idol “basket” is just like someone quitting their job to play the lottery professionally.

Let’s not forget that a good percentage of past winners have gone on to have their contracts rescinded and have had to go back to the life that they previously left because no one really wants to listen to the pseudo-pop “music” that most of them put out. (I’m looking at you Clay Aiken and Company) The most successful American Idol winner would probably be Kelly Clarkson and let’s be honest here, do you know anyone that’s actually seen her in concert or paid for some of her music? I sure don’t.

Is hope for a better life a bad thing? In most cases I would say no. If you’re out there working towards your goal of becoming the sales leader for your company, getting that promotion, or earning partnership in a law firm it’s not a bad thing, it’s a great and admirable thing. Hell, hope has even gotten someone elected president. (I will reserve judgment until a later time, President Obama) Hope for the future is a great thing to have and a terrible thing not to have. Some would go as far as saying that if you don’t have hope for the future then it’s not really a life worth living, but isn’t have a false hope worse? Having hope is different than having goals. It’s a popular phrase in the business world that “hope is not a strategy”. Hope is hope, nothing more and nothing less.

This is why I urge you to stop watching American Idol. American Idol stands for what is wrong with this country; people who continue to cling to a [false] hope and do nothing to take action and be accountable for their lives and actions. In many ways American Idol is like the financial bail out that never materializes, or another stimulus package that does no good. So please, I’m literally begging you here, stop watching American Idol so people can start living in the real world and stop annoying all of us.