Words I’m starting to despise (because of American Idol)
So I was watching AI8 performance show this week, and I realised that the judges’ comments are irritating the heck out of me this season. I’m beginning to hate hearing these words and phrases:
* package (artist)
* relevant
* type of recording artist
* who you are as an artist
* not a perfect vocal BUT… you made me feel
* wrong song choice
Not that these comments are not valid, but the repetition of these over and over again takes away from what I used to love about American Idol… that you have contestants with great vocals, and that contestants are urged to strive for that. That’s what made AI unique and compelling.
Now, everything is muddied so much by the seemingly high weightage given to whether the contestants have the right image, whether they can meld into the contemporary pop market, whether contestants have personality. All of which may be important in the broader music market. But really unimportant to me who just wants great singers who make me enjoy their music.
TV Themes on Emmys? Sure makes me think of Clay Aiken…
I’m definitely majorly biased, but I think Clay has the perfect personality and voice to carry off a TV Theme medley.
TV Theme medley from Clay’s concert in 2007:
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et-Oi0_Onq4
NEW Clay Aiken Bio on his Official Fan Club site
Clay Aiken – Biography
Full bio at: http://www.clayonline.com/biography
Excerpts:
He has toured nine times, written a New York Times bestselling memoir, sold more than six million albums, produced and hosted television programs, starred on Broadway, and devoted considerable energy and resources to improving the lives of children all over the world. He has done all of this while maintaining an enviable humility and down-home charm. Appealing to both kids and parents, Aiken is that rare find — a celebrity with integrity.
In just a few short years in the public eye, Aiken has released five well-received albums.
About On My Way Here:
For his current album, On My Way Here, Aiken selected songs that he believes will resonate with anyone who has endured the trials of growing older and growing up. He chose songs that not only spoke to him, but mirrored his own experiences of learning who he is as an adult and where he belongs in the world at large. As he sings on the stirring title track, “I’ve seen the best, I’ve seen the worst, I wouldn’t change what I’ve been through. I’ve touched the sky, I’ve hit the wall, but I did what I had to do.”
With On My Way Here, Aiken is hopeful that listeners will identify with the message and the singer. “I would like to have signature songs,” he explains. Of how he selects which tunes to sing, Aiken says simply, “I like songs that hit me right in the gut.”
About his book, Learning to Sing:
Prior to his latest accomplishments, Aiken wrote a 2004 best-selling memoir, detailing the path his life has taken thus far, paying special attention to his spiritual development. Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life, detailed his formative influences, telling the story of his childhood through his rise to fame in candid and revealing language that offered an unfiltered peek into Aiken’s private life. Readers and critics embraced his style and his message, making the book an instant New York Times best seller, a prestigious spot it occupied for seven weeks.
About UNICEF and other causes:
While all of these successes matter to him, what gives Aiken the most joy is his activism on behalf of children. As he has often explained, “My music career has allowed me to do the same thing I was doing before — work with kids. It has just given me a bigger stage, so I can enact change on a grander scale.”
In April 2007 he returned from Afghanistan where he toured schools and marveled at the resilience of the children he met there. His experience prompted him to launch the “$100,000 in 10 Days” campaign to continue offering lifesaving support for kids in that country. The campaign ended up netting $250,000 in fewer than five days.
And I particularly like this part:
“It makes me thankful for my life,” says Aiken of all his work abroad and with children in need. “These kids, many of them struggle with unimaginable hardships and yet they have positive attitudes. They don’t feel sorry for themselves. Kids who suffer the most never do. You see that, and it keeps all your own nonsense in perspective.”
American Idol — the beginning of the end for the Cult of Simon?
The most noteworthy moments on American Idol Season 7 occurred during the top 2 performance and finale nights — when Simon Cowell declared a knock-out in favour of David Archuleta on performance night; then did a complete about-face the next evening, and actually apologised to David Cook! hah!
I did think David Cook started off a bit shaky on the first song, but he was fine with his second and third songs. From where I was sitting, I thought his second and third performances were not that much different in standard from past performances where he’d been praised as brilliant.
So why was Simon so harsh on David Cook on Top 2 night?
I think it was because David Cook refused to play the game. He made a point of saying at the top of the Top 2 performance night that as far as he’s concerned, the competition’s over. I remember thinking then: uh oh, you’ve cooked your goose. Simon will be mad, especially since he just said that he wants the final two to perform like they hate each other. Sure enough, he was over-the-top harsh on David Cook.
Of course, when he found out that David Cook had won (I definitely think that the judges had some idea who had won before the results were read), he had to save face.
Such a dramatic turnabout, If people don’t realise what a snake oil salesman he is after this turn of events…
Not that I have anything against Simon as a person, mind you. I just dislike how he’s so sure he can manipulate the public every time he steps onto the Idol set.
