I have never watched an episode of American Idol. I don’t say that as a point of pride or anything… I’m certainly not one of those people who looks down on reality TV, or TV in general. In another scenario I may well have gotten hooked on the show like so many people I know.
That said, I’m glad to have escaped the juggernaut, mostly because it seems to require a time commitment akin to holding a second job. I have a hard enough time keeping up with the eight or nine shows I do watch on a regular basis, and that doesn’t even include The Daily Show or The Colbert Report.
Plus, the YouTube age makes it extremely easy to see the good stuff. Of course, I don’t generally care to watch YouTube clips of shows I don’t follow, but American Idol is an occasional exception because it’s based around musical performances, and I’m always interested in seeing worthy musical performances.
Take this Season One clip of Kelly Clarkson on “Big Band night.” I’ve never seen an episode of American Idol but I’ve watched this clip a half-dozen times, blown away by the effortless and sweetly sexy performance Clarkson delivers. I can’t imagine there was any doubt in anybody’s mind after this that she would capture the first title.
That I can enjoy this clip without having to sit through Justin Guarini and the rest of the cavalcade of losers is a blessing.
In a world by myself
Oh, where could my prince charming be?
But a man came along
Made my life like a song
And taught me these words of ecstasy…
Tenderly…
I want some huggin
And some squeezin
And some lovin
And some teasin
And some stuff like that there
I want some pettin
And some spoonin
And some happy honeymoonin
And some stuff like that there
I used to think that love was just a lot of rubbish
A mess o cabbage, a mess o cabbage
But now my attitude is only lovey-dovish
And baby you, you done it
Ooh
I used to think romance was bunk
A double-mickey a double icky
But all at once my heart was sunk
And baby you, you done it
I want some huggin
And some teasin
And some muggin
And some squeezin’
And some stuff like that there
I want some weepin
And some chasin
And some sweepin
And some pacin
And some stuff like that there
And when I get a certain feeling
I confess it
There’s really only one expression to express it
I want some huggin
squeezin
muggin
teasing
And some Stuff
I want some stuff like that there
Meet Me In Montauk 
I, too, have watched this clip a half dozen times, though I didn’t become an Idol fan until many seasons later. Still, everything in this clip demonstrates exactly why I do love the show so much. To be able to pick Kelly out during that Texas audition, anticipate each performance, root her on, vote for her, sweat it out during results night because others might not be as captivated by her as you are (after all Justin Guirani is still around). That is what makes watching the show so much fun.
Have you ever watched the clip when Daughtry was sent home? The shock and disappointment was so palpable in that room. Just a few years later, despite the fact that Daughtry went home in 4th place, his “Home” would be the song that accompanied contestants’ farewell video packages. Meanwhile, if you were there from the beginning (which we weren’t), you likely fell for him instantly, thought Simon was out of his mind for saying NO, were thrilled each week Chris proved Simon wrong, then were shocked when he went home too early.
And I love it ALL 🙂
Nobody had ever heard this guy’s voice before this moment:
And he had proven Simon so wrong by this one:
How can you not want to be in on it from the beginning when you watch something like that? 🙂
(oh, and tell Sophie that Didi Benami went home last night – she’ll be relieved; she didn’t vote for her 😉
Just love that performance, watched it twice!
To paraphrase Simon. I have to agree with……..Amy on this one.
AI is a compelling show for all of the reasons Amy stated. To see the transformation of nobodies as they walk into an audition room after being selected among tens of thousands—and then see the top 12 survivors continue to flourish, and sometimes bomb, is really must see TV.
I get that Clay may wear as some badge of honor (despite his protestations to the contrary) not getting into the number one show in America watched each week by 30 million people. To watch AI certainly means checking any Indie cred or counter-culturalism at the door– but I would again urge you to give in–surrender to it. You will ultimately be glad you did. And if you feel a bit dirty and sellout-ish after watching, just go listen to a couple of Fiona Apple songs and all will be good again:)
May as well get you up to speed on season 9. Here is the audition clip of two of our favorites – Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox (BOW-ER-SOX! BOW-ER-SOX!):
And Crystal during Rolling Stones week:
And Lee just this last (R & B) week:
By the way, I think there is a reasonthat we got into the show just four seasons ago, after Daughtry’s 4th place finish and just a single season before they changed the rules and allowed contestants to play an intsrument on the show. The show itself has evolved over the years, so now contestants like Jason Castro and Crystal Bowersox, artists who write and play their own music, are credible contestants who have a chance to go far despite the fact that they don’t have HUGE diva voices. Daughtry auditioned because of Bo Bice and David Cook auditioned because of Daughtry. Each year, there are new contestants because of those who have come before.
In one of the most endearing moments this season, Crystal, who had never seen the show before being encouraged to audition for it, said that it was pretty cool to perform for an audience of 3 million. When she was corrected and told that the audience was 30+ million, her expression was priceless 🙂
My point – artists such as Crystal Bowersox are allowing some “indie cred” into the AI universe, and the show is all the better for it.
Oh boy, look what I’ve started…
MamaSox just made it to the top 24! (and now she’s made it to the top 9. Stay tuned…)
To address Dana’s comment above… I don’t consider it a badge of honor that I don’t watch a show that’s watched by so many others. It’s just not something I want to do.
I still religiously watch Survivor, which was the American Idol of the cultural landscape 10 years ago, and I’m neither proud nor ashamed of that fact. It’s just a show I like watching.
I’m sure if I decided to watch Idol I’d get into it. Shows like this are very good at sucking you in… I’ve caught myself sitting through 25 minutes of that “build a really elaborate cake” show sometimes because I happened to hit an exciting moment while channel surfing.
Like all TV, it’s ultimately a matter of deciding what to spend your time on, and AI seems to require more of a time commitment than most. That’s why I rely on Amy to post the good stuff here. 🙂
Yes, you watch Survivor, and yes it had a season or 2 of being THE show Americans were watching—but it was never the all encompassing trendy juggernaut that AI has been for 9 years–AI is not only the number 1 show 9 years running, it spawns sellout concerts, number one hits, major artists like Clarkson and Daughtry–it is ubiquitous and omnipresent in a way that neither Survivor nor any show has been. And I just can’t help but think that you do, in fact, take pride not to have “drunk the kool-aid” of the show.
Is that cake building show you refer to Cake Boss or something like that? I saw an episode on an airplane a few months back, and I loved it. That (airplane viewing) was the way DesignStar sucked Maddie and me in a few years ago, too.
(oh, and I’m happy to oblige by posting the “good stuff” here) 🙂
Keep your Kool-Aid to yourself!
I asked the kids for suggestions of what performances they’ve like best. Their quick choices:
From Maddie –
David Cook covering “Hello”
From Daniel –
David Archuleta covering “Imagine”
Fitting that these performances are from the semifinals, and that the two David’s wound up fighting for the title. It’s also interesting how Maddie was a huge Arhuleta fan, yet was able to throw Cook some love when put on the spot. Meanwhile, Daniel rooted for Cook in the end, yet he opted for an Archuleta performance just now.
I’ll leave more “good stuff” for another day (or for a guest post of my own)
It takes some guts (for both Maddie and David Cook) to go with a Lionel Richie song. 🙂
Having watched all of these clips, I’d rank Clarkson as the clear #1 with Bowersox second and Daughtry and Dewyze (good Scrabble name) behind them.