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"AMERICAN IDOL": MUSIC TO WHOSE EARS?
May 13, 2005
These are interesting times for "American Idol," to say the least.
The hugely popular televised talent show now faces challenges on two fronts. First, we have the claims of season two contestant Corey Clark, who says that "Idol" judge Paul Abdul not only secretly coached him and helped pick his songs, but also snuggled up with him under the sheets at night. ABC's "Primetime Live" special that exposed the alleged affair last week was cursory, one-sided, and altogether icky, but Fox is right to take Clark's claims seriously and further investigate the alleged relationship. "American Idol" is as big a family show as you can find on Fox, and a seedy sexual fling between a 20-something wannabe and judge Paula could cause quite the nasty stench.
Honestly, if "Idol" producers were smart, they'd just use the scandal as an excuse to dump Abdul from the show entirely. In the early seasons, she was the nice, bland judge who served to balance Cowell's scorching criticisms of the "Idol" contestants. Now, she's just a nuisance, what with the standing ovations and the crying and the way she always tries to shut Cowell up by talking over him. Each week, she looks like more of an emotional wreck, and it's high time she went back to being the has-been she was before "Idol" put her back in the public eye. Thanks to the scandal, Fox has the perfect reason to yank her off stage left while minimizing public outcry.
While Clark's tales of backstage misbehaving earn daily headlines, another challenge to "Idol"'s ratings crown lurks not in the shadows, but instead warbles from center stage, right under those hot lights. Fox may promote them as the next big pop sensations, but the kids who made up this season's finalists were awful with a capital "A." Almost all of the final eight were tone-deaf, listless, and downright embarrassing. Now, being a fan of honest-to-God rock music, I've never much cared for "Idol"'s karaoke pop anyway. But, seriously … Scott Savol and Anthony Fedorov make Clay Aiken look like Bruce Springsteen. Season one "Idol" Kelly Clarkson compares favorably with Aretha Franklin once you figure season four duds Carrie Underwood and Vonzell Solomon into the equation.
The only somewhat respectable contestant still alive (as of press time) is Bo Bice, the generic rocker guy who at least seems to know what to do with a stage and a microphone. But even he's stuck in a catch-22. If Bice loses, he gets upstaged by a wussy, no-talent chump. If he wins, any rock 'n' roll street cred he ever hoped to possess becomes an impossible dream. After all, how rockin' can you get when you're branded an "American Idol" winner?
If the show's ultimate goal is to create bona fide pop stars, then the quality of it's product this year is horrific. That can't be good for the long-term viability of the show, which so far has withstood voting controversies and the Great Paula Scandal, but may not be able to live down the flaccid, so-called musicians it's serving up for the ears of America.
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