Posted on 04/15/2009 11:21:48 AM PDT by OL Hickory
I'm stunned.
I'm saddened. We have become the American Idol nation.
"I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there, for a day, without a book, without a magazine, without a newspaper, without a profit and loss sheet or a rating book to distract you. Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland. You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons. And endlessly commercials — many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you'll see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, I only ask you to try it."
-- Newton N. Minow on May 9, 1961:
We have done nothing but go downhill since then.
Ahhh, I thought there was something a little off about her but couldn’t put my finger on it. Perhaps this is why she is unemployed.
I am so glad she has this opportunity. She sounds like she is alone in the world ...I hope someone is watching out for her because she has stepped into a media storm in an industry filled with Snakes.
It is a stunning performance, and will bring tears to your eyes.
Not to mention many millions of CDs sold. Not bad from a show that has not discovered any rough diamonds.
I know what you mean, though. The talent itself, while hugely commercially popular by any standard, does not meet your definition of how you define talent.
I somewhat agree, but you can't deny the success (as opposed to talent perhaps) the show has brought the contestants.
Susan is a true talent with a gift from God.
I happen to agree with you!
Oh well, there is always a scold nearby.
Well, I’m getting old and cranky, but I really do hate single digit television with a passion. It’s beyond a vast wasteland now — IMHO, it’s toxic.
Sorry, but Clarkson and Underwood would still be singing in dive bars if they didn’t have a PR campaign that’s called IDOL pushing them. Sorry, but the true natural talent on that show for the most part is mediocre.
There is a huge difference between discovering a rough diamond and passing off cubic zirconia as diamonds thanks to a well funded and choreographed publicity campaign.
Not one, not a single one of any of the contestants on Idol, any season EVER could compare to the pure true God given talent that Potts and this woman have shown, not a damned one of em. Lets not forget, this is the same show that allowed Hung or whatever his name is to make a living for a few years singing...
Idol exists to basically make money, its a PR dream, before any record is out you have built up a fan base that has a vested interest in the individual... what more can you ask for? Generally record companies have to spend tons of money to put over a band or singer, here they actually get to do that AND get paid in the process... its brilliant marketing. However, for discovering and giving truly unbelievably naturally talented vocalists a platform... American Idol is a joke.
that may be true... but that does not mean they are not talented nor worthy of their fame... i think Kelly Clarkson deserves to be recognized... she is from Idol season one when fewer people tried out, and she is still around...
a lot of singers with God-given talent are not famous, yet are more talented than some who are famous...
I didn’t say they had no talent, I said they had at best MEDIOCRE talent. FAME and TALENT in american pop culture are very often diametrically opposed concepts. Not one single competitor on American Idol could pull off what this woman did, or Potts before her, or that 6 year old that was in the show the same year as Potts.
There is truly great talent in the world, talent that can stand up and perform in front of strangers, and in some cases entire audiences of hostile strangers and absolutely blow them away and win them over. And in all the years of American Idol, not one competitor, not a single one, has had remotely the pure raw talent to even come close to such a feat. And what little of the show and its competitors I’ve seen over the years, most of the competitors don’t have enough truly raw talent to whipe the arses of folks who do.
I don’t begrudge the record companies for the PR machine that is Idol, I don’t begrudge the contestants for playing their parts in the little game and getting their checks for it. However, the idea that American Idol is a show that finds truly undiscovered great vocal talent is laughable on its face.
The youtubes all total more than 20 million right now and growing.
BOOKMARK
I thought Melinda Doolittle was the best I’ve seen on Idol...3rd place a couple years ago. She was IMHO by far the very best, but I believe in the end it was rigged against her because she didn’t “look the part” of an “idol”. IMHO though, she sang beautifully; I looked forward to hearing her every week.
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