W…T…FFFFFF!?!
May 21, 2009
So I must admit, I have not watched American Idol since season 1. Let’s just say I had a bit of a falling out with the show and how it is produced… But being an American who is employed by a cable channel that specializes in pop culture, its pretty much unavoidable that I would be aware of the winners from season to season. Even though I haven’t seen an episode of A.I. since 2002, (don’t even get my started on my feelings towards what it has done to the music industry, and TV for that matter) I did actually watch last night’s finale from the comfort of an elliptical machine at the gym. Side note: cheesy reality TV shows, especially contest-based, are easily the BEST thing to watch while working out! Anyway, I was seriously left speechless from what I witnessed last night! What the F?! I was so flabbergasted by what I saw, that I don’t even know where to begin!
The fact that Queen, Kiss, Cyndi Lauper, the Black Eyed Peas, STEVE MARTIN and lord knows who else were present at the show is clearly a sign of the times. Just one more reminder that our economy is tanking – that famous icons of music (and comedy) need to appear on a silly talent contest (albeit one that a gazillion people watch) in hopes of selling more copies of their newest albums. Times are tough, huh? I have to admit I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry – the sound that escaped my mouth would attest – when the entire top 13 join Carlos Santana on-stage for a musical-review-worthy rendition of “Smooth.” I’m glad to see the horribly cheesy group numbers are still alive and well….
Another observation – the 2 finalist, while honestly talented, weren’t really as original as
the show was making them out to be. Kris Allen (the winner) sounded like the love child of Jack Johnson and John Mayer with perhaps Ryan Adams serving as god father. I think it’s pretty obvious when I say he is probably the most marketable out of the 2, and he’ll probably have a pretty solid career. He probably won’t soar to the heights of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood (lets face it, we like our winners with a massive pop sensibility) but he will be successful non-the-less. We love us some male singer-songwriters! Now the other finalist, Adam Lambert. Really talented, and yes he is certainly unique, but every time he let out one of those high wails I couldn’t help but think he sounded pretty similar to Jeff Buckley! Now I love Jeff , as I have mentioned many a time, so I don’t use the comparison lightly, but I would be amiss if I didn’t point out the vocal similarity. In fact I would love to hear him take on “Grace”, just to see what it would sound like! While time will tell what sort of music he will create, I think he could certainly do interesting things if given the opportunity. Actually, I think coming in second was probably the best thing for him. Now he isn’t tethered so tightly the the American Idol machine (you know those winners aren’t allowed any creative input till album #5, if at all!) and will have more control on the album he will release. He’ll have more freedom to create music that is closer to his own ascetic and not that of the Idol producers. Come on, you know I speak the truth here!
But long story short, last night I felt like I fell into the Twilight Zone of television! I’m not completely sure what it was that I had witnessed and I think I was more frightened than entertained, and find myself still recovering this morning.
