Why I Still Like American Idol

3/17/05

By Diane Sprague

I did something unspeakably wicked last week. Well, not really. It just felt that way. As an avid Clay Aiken fan, I set up a special folder on my computer filled with the wonderful treasures of all the best downloads of Clay's music, performances, and appearances. It was full of him exclusively. But last week, after hearing Anwar singing What a Wonderful World , I decided it was worthy to take its place within my precious musical vault, and after doing that I decided to sneak in Moon River too. It felt a bit like some kind of betrayal, but since it's worth questioning all the silly rules we set up for ourselves thinking they must be followed, I decided it truly wasn't such a dastardly deed after all. It just surprised me. American Idol continues to surprise me too.

By the end of the last year's season, I became very bored with American Idol. Once the outcome became obvious, it turned into an instant yawner. The beginning of this year's season was also tedious and dull. The stretched out scenes of devastated egos and sneering judges were far too mean spirited and redundant to be entertaining. Still I watched because there were a few singers who caught my attention and I knew that soon the focus would be turned to them. Once again, I got caught up in the fun of forming my own judgments of their performances, picking my favorites, and berating the judges for their constant stupidity. It was enjoyable once again.

One of the aspects of human nature that American Idol calls forth is our fascination with our own opinions. We love forming opinions, defending them, and watching to see if others agree with them. It's interesting to explore what we like, what we love, what we hate, what bores us, and what we would have changed. When it comes to religion or politics our tendencies to form and defend our opinions can become ugly really fast. When it comes to music, it is a little more relaxed because most of us realize it is hard to come up with definitive arguments for our own tastes. I know I cannot say much more than, "Well, I liked it or I hated it and Simon is an idiot, so there!" And when one cannot come up with brilliant demonstrations as to why one's opinions are to be respected, then it's easier to let go and just embrace the mystery of where our tastes come from and why some singers capture our imaginations and others do not move us at all.

What's especially intriguing is when singers go beyond just being good to where their voices belong in that special place inside us where music is magical and new again. Everything Clay sings belongs to that place for me and when Anwar sang last week, his song followed me for days with a charm and freshness that was unexpected. I really never anticipated to be more than entertained by American Idol and the fact sometimes singers appear there that go beyond this amazes me and keeps me watching every week.

That is not to say I don't have my complaints. I am really looking forward to the day that one or two coherent, meaningful sentences come out of any of the judge's mouths. Perhaps some instruction in basic English might be in order. I also would love to take those responsible for the torture they impose on the contestants on elimination night and force them to sit in a wet, cold basement where they must repeatedly listen to songs by William Hung and watch those dreadful clips of Simon trying to kiss Paula... eeeeyyooo!

But it is still fun. And what is even more fun that having opinions is making predictions, so I am going to end with my own predictions. I predict that Anwar will be the best singer to come out of this season; Clay will come out with an album soon that will knock everyone's socks off; Ryan Seacrest will go bald; Nikko's hat will develop a mind of its own; and the three judges will turn into baboons and nobody will notice the difference. You heard it from me first.