'American Idol' deep in the heart of Texas

DarAug 8th, 2007 - 19:57:03

I was there on Monday with my son. It was by far the worst thing I have ever done.The standing in line from 4AM to 8AM was expected. The fact that we were in Texas Statium from 8am to 7pm in 100 degree heat and blinding sun..paying $3 dollars a bottle for water was not. The website said bring snacks and drinks because you could be there all day. Everyone did bring snacks but were made to leave them in huge piles of waste outside the stadium because it was not allowed inside. I ask you ..would you charge dehydrated and suffering people $3 dollars for something to drink? Many people passed out from the heat or just left because they didnt have the money to stay alive and wait for the promised 15 seconds...it was actually more like 8 seconds. We were lucky , we had the strength and the money to stick it out. The whole thing started with us being forced to sing a doobie brothers song over and over and over and over and over... until the producers felt they had a good enough take for the show..then they made us all say 'everythings bigger in Texas' like a bunch of redneck hicks they assume we all are. Then the auditions started..after after 11 hours of blistering heat (only half way through the auditions)and $60 in water...my son got his 8 seconds and was told that they were looking for someone who could record an album tomorrow not just someone who could sing well. During the 11 hours we were there 9 people made it through the second round..I know this because they brought them up to the still full side of the stadium and filmed the pre audition interview. Those people were told to pretend they knew the prson next to them, pretend they were still nervous and had not made it yet...it was all so Hollywood. One thing good came out of it though...my son came out of the audition waving his hands and yelling (not Im going to Hollywood) but....'IM GOING TO COLLEGE'

Report this comment

Charlene, MalaysiaAug 9th, 2007 - 03:32:26

That was a great post!

Reality shows are not always what it is cut out to be. I myself have experienced the same here in Malaysia.

I like the way ure son came out of the audition - in the end, AI has already decided what they want and most of us 'normal' people, don't fit into it. Your son, stood tall and he proved that we dont need AI to define us or make it seem like 'they're all that'.

When will people get tired of AI...Fox has been making way too much by making fun of ppl. I think that it is only those who actually went through the experience, who can really understand what it feels like.

Cheers!

Report this comment

C. Ikehara (ikeharac20044@yahoo.com)Aug 20th, 2007 - 08:56:18

Whatever happened to 'talent'?

by C. Ikehara

- Ed Sullivan will be around as long as someone else has talent. (Fred Allen: Comedian Allen died in March 1956; Elvis debuted on the Ed Sullivan Show in Sept. 1956; the Ed Sullivan Show went off the air in 1971.)


The news that the 2008 American Idol auditions have begun brings to mind the following comment made this past season by contestant Sanjaya Malakar:

- It takes a lot more than an amazing voice to make it on 'American Idol.'

I am reminded of Benjamin Franklin's words ('Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve') because although they seem to have no lack of resolve, I have come to wonder if the younger generation these days have any idea as to how they ought to be performing in order to achieve their goals.

Whenever I've watched the preliminary rounds of 'American Idol', the only doubt in my mind is whether 'good singing' is the last thing on some of those auditioners' minds or if it has simply become a meaningless concept. And after Fantasia 'sang' 'Summertime', I thought she had all but ruined her chances to win the contest. (Gershwin deserved better. Lot better. Make that a WHOLE lot better.)

Being forced to listen to traditional vocal ideals being sacrified (slaughtered?) all in the name of self-expression made me realize that many of those wannabe's have become preoccupied (obsessed?) with doing something (anything?) that will make them as conspicuous as possible:

- Don't try to be different. Just be good. To be good is different enough. (Arthur Freed)

If I were Simon, I would be tempted to say to such contestants whose only talent is to stand (stick?) out in the most ridiculous way:

- To paraphrase your President, I would say that you have 'misoverestimated' your abilities.
- Should I report you to Mr. Guinness? Or to Mr. Ripley?
- Was your voice teacher Fran Drescher?
- Maybe you should go into business and open up a shop called MUZZLES 'R' US .

And what if someday soon, those early rounds of 'performances' get higher ratings than the later rounds featuring the finalists? Sort of like a Vocal Gong-Show filled with the likes of William Hung who are just as determined as the finalists to establish 'successful' careers? (If you can believe it, he has followed in the footsteps of Marilyn Monroe by having been crowned Castroville, California's 2006 Artichoke King [she was the Artichoke Queen in 1947]. And if by chance you need a magnet, go to his Wikipedia webpage to see what a Hung magnet looks like.)

All this reminds me of the motto of Massachusetts' Museum of Bad Art :

- Art too bad to be ignored.

Someday, what if the 'Guiness World Records' book swells to become thicker than thick not only because of more records being broken, but because of new categories being added that noone (at least, for the present) could ever have thought of before?

I, for one, might be curious to know what the world's tallest freestanding structure on land is (it's the CN Tower in Toronto ) as well as who is the highest earning female singer of all time (that's Madonna).

But would I ever want to know who broke the world record for--ironing? Just go to Guiness' Wikipedia webpage to see a picture of the 'winner' who did it for over 55 hours.

According to the 'Guiness World Records' official website, new categories added earlier this year include:

- Most concrete blocks broken in a minute,
- Most slices of meat cut in an hour,
- Largest parade of Ferrari's.

Does that have anything to do with 'talent'?

I recall a recent article about companies having contests where the entrants create a commercial with the company's product or service. That article concluded with what a young hopeful said about his self-made Heinz Ketchup commercial: “I just thought to myself, 'What is the single strangest thing I can do with ketchup?' ”:

- Kids want to be famous. They don't want to be good at anything any more. (Ronan Keating)


(C. Ikehara is a freelance writer: 'It might be well said of me that here I have merely made up a bunch of other men's flowers, and provided nothing of my own but the string to tie them together.' [Montaigne])

Report this comment