My Thoughts on American Idol

Most reality shows feature contestants that get their proverbial 15 minutes of fame and than presumably disappear off the face of the planet, or at least vanish from most people’s radar. Snap your fingers and they’re gone. Not American Idol, with American Idol, not only does every season’s winner get a lot of publicity and an almost guaranteed career, but virtually anyone who is in any way associated with the show seems to also generate a decent amount of buzz. For some reason American Idol remains from 2002 to present to be America’s guilty pleasure. People not only watch, but they actually care about the outcome. Year after year, thousands of people audition to be the next American Idol. Week after week, millions of votes are cast to narrow the contestants down to one. So, what makes this show so successful that it remains number one in its timeslot for both Tuesday and Wednesday nights finding talented singers that win Grammys, American Billboard Awards, American Music Awards, Country Music Awards, and even an Oscar? A lot of the attraction to the show is that people like to see the transformation of “regular person” to “superstar”, they like to feel a part of the process by voting (some people actually voting for who’s going to be the next American Idol, but not for who’s going to be the next U.S. President). People like to feed their own dreams by thinking, “that could be me on that stage.” Most American Idol contestants fall into one of three categories: “The Good” (Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, etc.), “The Bad” (William Hung, etc.) and “The Entertaining” (Justin Guarini, Taylor Hicks, Kellie Pickler, Sanjaya Malakar, etc.). With a variety of contestants continuing to represent each of those categories, American Idol will continue to attract a strong following of viewers. Also, with music nights that range from themes of “The Seventies” to “Songs From The Movies” to “Mowtown Classics” there is something to peak the interest of millions of Americans across different generations. This broadens the show’s fan base and facilitates the process of the featured contestants successfully selling records post their whirlwind American Idol experience.
What are your thoughts on the phenomenon that is American Idol?
And, what do you think of the new line-up of judges?
Tell us what you think!