I'll admit, because I worked nights back when the show first started coming on, I wasn't home to watch. I can recall being in the break-room one night watching the finale between Clay Aiken and Ruben Stuttard, but it was still nothing I just really got into. It was in 2004 while I was on maternity leave with my second child that I caught the last few episodes and the finale between Fantasia and Diana DeGarmo, and Fantasia won. Now, conservative folks like to downplay Fantasia's success, and when they mention successful artists who have come from American Idol, they never bother to mention her name. In their eyes, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Daughtry are the only successful people this show produced. I'm sure these conservative people only listen to country, pop, & rock music, so they wouldn't know that Fantasia has had not only a great singing career, she's also performed on Broadway in The Color Purple. Or Jennifer Hudson, who didn't win Idol, but went on to portray Effie in Dreamgirls and won all the top movie awards for that role; or Jordin Sparks, who had the chance to act next to the late, great Whitney Houston in the latest remake of Sparkle. It's these same conservative people and their attitudes that white is always right, who are probably responsible for the demise of the show.
Somewhere along the way, Idol got the notion that white guys with guitars were the ideal AMERICAN IDOL. The show turned into a pop/rock fest, rather than a singing contest. Of all the great auditions that I saw each season, 80% of who ended up making it to the top 12 were white guys and girls who all fit the same mold- blonde hair, blue eyes. Yes, there were contestants on the show of other races, but some rarely got higher than third place for a while. I think we all know by now that Idol was more of a popularity contest than a singing contest, and obviously what was deemed more popular were guys like Phillip Phillips, Taylor Hicks (I've never heard a song of his) and some guy named Caleb Johnson (I guess I don't know him because I stopped watching Idol a few years ago) Now, don't get me wrong, I actually liked Scotty McCreery (the adorable young country crooner with the voice like Randy Travis') and whether we liked Adam Lambert's flamboyancy or his singing, people know who he is now, but it's like a trend began and we started seeing more and more contestants who all looked and sounded the same. The best singers, in my opinion, either never made it past Hollywood week or were overshadowed by the wannabe rockers who fit the image of AMERICA'S idol. I'm sure some people will read this and think I'm playing the race card (conservative people's favorite words anytime it's pointed out that they're being racist), but even Elton John spoke out back during earlier seasons and said the viewer voting process seemed racist when the three best performers- one which happened to be Fantasia Barrino- (all three were black females) found themselves in the bottom three. He gave a statement that said: "These three girls would have the talent to be members of The Royal Academy or Juilliard," the British singer-songwriter told reporters. "They have great voices. The fact that they are constantly in the bottom three, and I don't want to set myself up here, I find it incredibly racist."
Two years ago, I was shocked when Candice Glover miraculously won over Kree, who was favored more among the viewers. That was the last season I watched, but I have never read so many racist and rude comments in my life, other than during President Obama's second election, after he was announced the winner. The public did NOT like the fact that this overweight black girl with the big, amazing voice, and who was being praised week after week by THE Mariah Carey, was being favored more than Kree- who sang well, but her stage presence was lackluster and forgettable. I could only shake my head and my mouth dropped open more than a few times as I read GROWN people call this young woman every vile, degrading name under the sun, just because her skin was dark and she was arguably the most talented performer that season. I just knew that they were all going to band together and call in reinforcements in order to place Kree on top; but thankfully, the right person won. But while Candice has one of those voices that make you sit down and really listen to her, her career is no match to some of the pop artists we see today such as Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor. IMO Candice could easily beat either of these two in a singing match, but her 'look' is not IDEAL to the American public.
Then, we have Phillip Phillips (yes that's his name). He's one of those white guys with a guitar that I mentioned earlier and he won America's hearts, even though he couldn't hold a candle to runner-up, Joshua Ledet, who SLAYED James Brown's It's A Man's Man's World. (See performance below)
In this article written by deadspin.com, the writer says: Indeed, recent seasons of Idol were most defined by viewers hellbent on keeping a particular, and somewhat archaic, strand of pop alive: those who would, through hell or bad reception, unfailingly text their support for the most Jason Mrazian of the bunch, which led to Lee DeWyze’s unfortunate season-nine victory and a string of white dudes vanquishing any women or R&B-leaning males who dared reach the Top 4; last night’s elimination of Jax, the Jersey girl who sang Paramore and Evanescence before being sent home, set up yet another mano a manofinale. To their credit, those dudes were at times mystified by their own success, but their worthier foes were unfairly vanquished all the same. (Crystal Bowersox, your earth-mother stylings and ability to stay on pitch will not be forgotten.)These singers got their very own acronym from Idol watchers—WGWGs, for White Guys With Guitars—and made the prospect of Another R&B Song Getting Covered In A Gimmicky, Overly Caucasian, YouTube-y Sorta Way grimmer and more inevitable by the week.
Whether AMERICA wants to admit it or not, this was just one of the many ways their sense of entitlement was brought to the public eye, and many people didn't like what we were seeing season after season. And if the truly talented contestants getting cheated out of opportunities wasn't enough to make a person lose interest, the cattiness of the judges sealed the deal. The original three judges were great. We had Simon- the mean one who found fault in everybody and even when he liked you, he still looked at you in a way that made you feel small, so you just never knew; Paula Abdul- the sweet, mother figure one who tried to see the good in everybody; and Randy Jackson- then the cool one who could go either way and even when he gave a negative critique, you still liked him. Somewhere along the way, Simon and Paula left and it was like musical chairs after that. They brought in guest judges who knew NOTHING about singing and music (sorry Ellen Degeneres). Then J.Lo was brought in, then she quit, then she came back again. However, she seemed to use the show as a way to sell her own mediocre music. Then, someone decided that Mariah Carey would be great. I thought, "Hell yeah! Mariah would be perfect, seeing as how she's one of the most successful female singers in U.S. history." But the season with her as a judge was overshadowed by her constant fighting with Nickie Minaj (I still don't know who, what, when, where, why, or how anyone thought she should be a judge). It was distracting, to say the least to see the constant eye-rolling any time one of them said something, or to hear the snide comments being made while critiques were being given to the contestants. Needless to say, they each only lasted that one season, but the damage was already done. People were over the show and the judges.
Anyhoo, I guess as the saying goes, 'It was fun while it lasted but all good things must come to an end.' To be honest, Idol should have ended seasons ago. The dynamic of the music world has changed. Many people aren't interested in good music anymore. Instead, they want people who come with gimmicks (i.e Lady GaGa and Rihanna) who look the part, but really aren't that great when you really look at it. Thank God for Youtube, I can always relive great singing moments there. Good riddance, Idol.
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