American Idle
America has voted and Bo has been robbed. I should say, for the record, that I don't "watch" the show, but I have seen one episode (at a party where I was not in charge of the remote) and I did watch tonight because I am a fan of Bo. And I have never called in a vote for any American Idol contestant. What I didn't know until today is that when "America" votes, it's not "one person, one vote" it's however many times you can call and vote within the allotted time frame. Now this strikes me as disturbing. I don't know how long that time frame is, but my understanding is that it is at least two hours. I found this out today when a friend of mine told me that his girlfriend voted fifty-five times (and that was not even this week) in one session. WHAT? This is not about who America loves, or who deserves to be on that stage -- it's about the Americans who have nothing better to do than to sit for two, three, four hours and hit "redial" on their phones. Now I watched Oklahoma's darling sing a mediocre song tonight, then embarrass us all by grabbing BOTH sets of keys when the show gave her AND Bo each a new car, then tell her mother to "stay away"...what a nice girl. Her final performance started off fairly strong, but in the end she went repeatedly off key, voice cracking. I could attribute this to emotions running high with the announcement of her victory, but I have heard her sing before and it really was not that much different. As a resident of Oklahoma (albeit unwilling) I will be the first to say I didn't cheer her on. If America wanted a fantastic singer, Vonzell would have been the girl. If America wanted a fantastic rocker and showman, Bo was the pick. But Carrie? Well, America just wanted some midwest mediocrity. Or at least those Americans who had all that free time to sit around punching the "redial" key. Kudos to Bo who SHOULD have won, and who encited the crowd to cheer for Carrie when the winner was announced. We all know who the best man is...
posted by ET at 9:30 PM
11 Comments:
ET, You're completely wrong. Carrie had the most pure voice of the competitors in the entire season. I watched all but 3 weeks of the competition. I knew from the begining she would win. But if she lost, it wouldn't have been a big deal because she will sell CD's with no problem at all. Her voice is very good. Now as far as her grabbing the keys.. relax.. She was just being herself, and joking around.
Now, about Bo. I don't see it. He sang well, but the songs he sang through the whole season we're that hard to sing. Basically, he sounded like he was doing karaoke the entire season. I seriously doubt he'll sell that many CD's
Congrats to Carrie, another Oklahoman, who really is talented.
How many times did YOU vote?
Just what the world needs...another blonde who thinks she has talent. Well, at least she's an NSU girl. I would say we could be alums, but I doubt somehow that she will graduate now that she is a "big star."
The whole "stay away" comment: anything she did during the course of Idol doesn't compare to the controversy surrounding Bo with his coke/pot thing. See TSG's Rap sheet Might I also remind you that this is REALITY TV!!! Keeping that in mind, you are far too worked up about the whole thing. For the record, I tried to vote for the finals but after I called the requisite 50 or so times and it was busy, I stopped trying and called Doug instead.
My problem with Carrie is that she performs like a souless robot. And she's so vanilla and bland! Bo was a charismatic showman with a great voice.
They really should just do one vote per line, but I guess that wouldn't be impressive enough of a number to their advertisers.
Blech. I'm done with this show. I mean it this time. I could barely muster up the enthusiam to watch this season.
I called once, got thru. My vote counted toward the winning number. And, have you ever noticed they don't reveal the totals of the votes. If they have, I've missed it. Carrie may have been a huge winner the entire season. haha
Now as far as Carrie being described as a robot. I don't care. I listen to the voice on the radio.. I certainly can't watch them.. Besides.. Celine Dion hasn't moved in almost 20 years. Her voice worked.
Maybe this is the problem with this show. You watch all season (I mean you, not me) and pick a favorite based not only only looks, demeanor and song selection, but geography (that's where you live) and "sales" potential. If Bo won, what exactly would he sing, and what genre would he be in? Country? Not with that hair. Pop? Not with that voice. Rock? Not singing Skynyrd. Carrie is the milquetoast, middle of the road, won't offend anyone, bland, tasteless porridge that people will swallow and record companies will like because there's not enough personality there to offend anyone. Celine Dion is a perfect comparison. OK, she's sold millions of records, but I defy the casual fan to name three of her songs in 5 years (and that TITANIC one doesn't count. You can put those others like Mindy McCready and every other blonde "country girl" in this category as well.
Seriously, this is all about looks and marketing, 'cause if it was about talent, it wouldn't be on TV. And I would add that American Idol is more there for the humiliation of those who lose rather than celebrating the one who wins. If it was a talent show, then only the best would be there. Why have William Hung or those other losers on there except to laugh at them? Why do I even know his name when I have never watched the show? Because our culture plastered this idiot all over other shows and commercials. Why show those sad people at all? To amuse the audience. The same audience that demands complete mediocrity in their celebrities because in America, we'll worship you if you promise not to make us feel bad about ourselves, our bodies, our lack of talent, our wasted opportunites. If you do, scandals will occur, your box office power will erode and you'll wind up opening state fairs or on soap operas.
Entertainers are there to provide just that, entertainment; not to have opinions (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp) or take stands (Dixie Chicks, John Lennon, Ray Charles) or become president. . . oops, that actually happened. But what was Ronald Reagan except a mediocre actor who had more respect and clout as the president of SAG than for movies like BEDTIME FOR BONZO? So we actually DID get the real American Idol last night.
When LT refers to "you, not me" as the viewers of the show, I wish to point out that I did not really "watch" the show except for last night (and even then not all of it), so that "you" is you my readers, my lemmings who have all jumped on the American Idol bandwagon with a team of runaway horses headed for...well, who knows? Something bland and vanilla, apparently.
Rachel, I already knew about Bo's rap sheet. But he wasn't snorting coke on the stage. And clearly America doesn't care about cocaine use...have you seen the president?
I should have said the American Idol BLANDwagon. (Rachel, you're not the only one who gets to make up new words!)
Garth proposed last night, apparently. I saw something on a news show in the waiting room at the doctor today. He lives not too far from me. I wonder if he needs a wedding planner...
I find it rather insulting that I would accused of picking someone based only on looks and geographic area. I stand with what I said in an earlier posting.
"Carrie had the most pure voice of the competitors in the entire season. I watched all but 3 weeks of the competition. I knew from the begining she would win. But if she lost, it wouldn't have been a big deal because she will sell CD's with no problem at all. Her voice is very good."
Rob, I don't think anyone was accusing YOU in particular of picking based on geography...the whole state (myself aside, and I didn't vote so I may not even count) was obsessed with Carrie because apparently the idea that an Oklahoman could actually GET somewhere seemed like such a shock. Untrue. But the "farmgirl in the field" image (along with riding a horse to school and fighting Indians along the way) perpetuates a stereotypical image that does NOT help Oklahoma in the end, even if it makes for a good rags to riches story.
Get ready, because you'll never hear the end of it then... It's been a slow news time for Oklahomans for quite some time...
It's called showbiz.. which is silly in its own right.
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