I lasted 3.7 minutes

[the_siobhan]

OK, somebody out there explain to me, using very small words if necessary, why ANYBODY who wants a career in music thinks that American Idol is the way to achieve that goal?

Comments

[oonh.livejournal.com]

people have brains the size of helium nuclei?

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Amy Clarkson (wait, is that right?) would beg to differ.

But, let's face it, most of those people are just attention whores.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Who is Amy Clarkson?

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Having asked about the office, I am thinking of Kelly Clarkson.
She does that "Since you've been gone" song.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I don't know it, but I don't listen to the radio much.

[otheronetruegod.livejournal.com]

I've a friend who worked in talent management, and we used to watch AmI together. One of the things she said to me really resonated: there is no dearth of amazing singers in the world. There are far too many very talented singers, and not nearly enough very talented songwriters in the world. So, in most cases, unless you're both an amazing singer AND an amazing songwriter, or an amazing singer paired with a band which includes amazing songwriters, changes are you're going to be a very talented singing waiter or secretary or computer programmer or whatever.

AmI gives talented singers some modicum of chance that they'll get to sing on cruise ships and at special events in Bumblefuck, USA and otherwise make a living singing.

Yes, there are exceptions, but by and large, singers are not the commodity in the music industry.

[emzebel.livejournal.com]

That is a really excellent point.

Plus, if you actually do get on the show, it is a lot easier than trying to put a really good band together and get gigs and work your way up for 12 years eating ramen before you actually have a hit single.

This has been brought to you by a very talented singing lawyer. Or, so I've been told.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

But first they have to publically humiliated and probably rejected. It seems like such a slim hope to me.

I would think that if one wants to sing, actually doing it, with a band of one's own and performing one's own music, would be better than standing up in such a sterile environment and being told, "Piss off. Not good enough."

I'm hopelessly naive, aren't I?

[emzebel.livejournal.com]

Fair point. In theory, it would be better and more rewarding. For most mature, thinking people, it would be better and more rewarding.

But these are 16-24 year olds who in theory actually like the pablum they are singing.

This is a fast easy dream ticket to *something*. Playing in a band is a long hard slog. The people who take it *really* seriously do sort of scare me, but in all honestey, if I were 10 years younger, I would probably audition, just to have done it. Just for that minute chance of not playing in the back room of tiny bars for years for nothing but exposure. ;)

[digital-space.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you don't share my joy in laughing at the cripplingly narcissistic.

[panic-girl.livejournal.com]

I would like to point out the average age of the contestants as well.

[lil-m-moses.livejournal.com]

You know there's actually an imposed age limit of like 24 or 26 or something, yes?

[panic-girl.livejournal.com]

Yup. Which means they're more gullible and will agree to sign away a pretty large portion of ALL their future earnings.

[cusraque.livejournal.com]

Stupid Hope.

[king-tirian.livejournal.com]

My big question has always been why they have twenty-two year old singers performing in front of an eighteen year-old audience but singing thirty year-old songs.

I endured fifteen minutes of it because I was in the middle of a timed computer puzzle and couldn't get up to turn off the TV. Long enough to get the sense that everyone in the competition this year is going to have a dramatic backstory to go along with their satisfactory Celine Dion covers.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I guess the judges being 20 to 30 years older than the singers might be one reason.

We had it on because we were trying to get the station to come in clearly with the rabbit ears. I turned it off when I just couldn't stand it any more.

[siani-hedgehog.livejournal.com]

*shrugs*
scarily, the people from the British versions have actually got just that. they are constantly in the charts. what this says about the British public is, IMO, unprintable.

[amon-zero.livejournal.com]

Most of the British public.

[siani-hedgehog.livejournal.com]

yes. so long as you don't say some of the British public, i'll agree.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Really? The ones here seem to have a few commercials on late-night television and then fade into obscurity.

Or maybe I'm just not paying enough attention to the AM stations to notice them.

[siani-hedgehog.livejournal.com]

oh yes. really. they have CDs for sale in all the major outlets, prominently displayed, years after their appearances. it's really, really horrible. the British charts are really, really bad. and i mean compared to the US charts they're really bad, not just in general.

[raindrops.livejournal.com]

There is a reason why I do not own a telly.

[amon-zero.livejournal.com]

Indeed. HATE.

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

Because, contrary to all rational or aesthetic belief, several people from the show have actually launched careers in music from it.

And yes, the show pains me as well.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I guess my pop-culture hermitage is serving me well, because I honestly didn't know that. I just assumed they spent the rest of their lives working at MacDonald's and doing an occasional gig at CasinoRama.

[curiousangel.livejournal.com]

Only. If. They. Are. Very. Fucking. Stupid.

I may have to make an acronym of that somehow. :)

Simple....

[magman.livejournal.com]

...it guarantees success (almost) by clamping on the marketing and promotions efforts of a billion dollars and a really, really dumb public.

Re: Simple....

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

If they can make it through the competition.

I can think of a dozen really talented (and popular) singers who wouldn't make it through the qualifying round.