(This is a opinion piece from me so warning it will be long)
What started out seven years ago as an inspiring and devilishly fun TV show that introduced us to some undiscovered talent (and some incredibly awful talent) has become a mega-business, and the corporate nature of this show is slowly strangling this show to death. Watching the singers creativity and joy in performances just doesn't have the same pleasure, because it's apparent that any of that will be beaten out them viciously and without mercy. We are seeing a huge decline in what singers are allowed to do and say. The end of wildcard weeks means they don't even get to sing what is in their hearts.
The result is that even the truest and happiest spirits like Brooke White and Jason Castro were utterly broken down by the machine this year.
Not only that but David Archuleta The Uber Product, looks like he will break down at any minute and Syesha is a emotional wreck.
This show has evolved from a competition to allow a few lucky people a chance at stardom and riches to become a farm factory for singing chattel. A golden goose to lay eggs for FOX that has now compromised itself, with overpimping, ringers, rigged voting, biased judging and impossibly tough expectations inflicted on the inexperienced, and even children for train wreck potential, with the added bonus of having the entire focus of the whole music business on the contestants every week!
The Urge to Sell, is what is killing this show. FOX is making the singers into pure commodities to be bought and sold in a marketplace, and what of artistry? Left behind as that would only get in the way of turning each and every contestant into a small niche package that they can use to sell to a demographic.
AI is so corporate now they need to mold the kids into products they can sell, and once they see a hook in them, they make sure they pimp that hook for all it's worth. There is no room for the creative sense of self anymore.
It's all about marketing to a demographic now, if "the country guy" sings a R&B song, on a non R&B night, they have to put the harshest critiques on that person to make sure they never leave their box again.
It's just good business. Nobody wants a Jack of All Trades anymore, we want the"insert music genre here" guy.
I mean want proof? Look at this F4! Rocker, Broadway/Soul girl, Tweeniebopper, Soft Rock. Never do they leave their box, unless they want to be ridiculed.
And what that means for viewers is week after week of unchallenging, boring work that occasionally but all too rarely these days reaches into greatness. Or sublime badness. But even train wrecks are getting old and when mistakes outnumber triumphs then you can't be a true music show, you are more of a freak show, displaying pain for our pleasure at that point.
How do we wrench ourselves away from this nightmare? AI needs to become less focused on product and more on performance.
Here is my solution. They need to remove the record deal and turn it into a money prize and the singers can pursue their own interests. AI just needs to make a deal where they get first crack at the cast, but they remain free agents after the show. Then there will be no more need to market the singers, they can judge them fairly and simply, no more pimpage. They also need to remove the theory that going outside the normal is bad, unique performances should get higher scores.
Bigger risks = bigger rewards.
If this is not possible with new talent. Lets bite our lips and wince and go with the depressing alternative. AI8 should be all stars. Look all stars sucks, but at least with them we have previous talent that will likely not crack under pressure and forget song lyrics.
We won't need to market them by pimping/anti-pimping because there is no product to sell in them, this is just their second chance.
We need, nay we must get the judges back to evaluating music for what it IS not about what the judges want it to be. We can have this, if we just change the system.
Not needing to sell anyone and throwing caution to the wind will make the show fun again. Because the producers won't have to pimp anyone out, they will feel freedom to not enforce building up the kids as product any more, then they can get way more creative with the show.
If we can wrestle control back from the corporate side and bring the creative side, the show will only grow in popularity even more and I feel like we will see the new age of American Idol and seven more years!
What started out seven years ago as an inspiring and devilishly fun TV show that introduced us to some undiscovered talent (and some incredibly awful talent) has become a mega-business, and the corporate nature of this show is slowly strangling this show to death. Watching the singers creativity and joy in performances just doesn't have the same pleasure, because it's apparent that any of that will be beaten out them viciously and without mercy. We are seeing a huge decline in what singers are allowed to do and say. The end of wildcard weeks means they don't even get to sing what is in their hearts.
The result is that even the truest and happiest spirits like Brooke White and Jason Castro were utterly broken down by the machine this year.
Not only that but David Archuleta The Uber Product, looks like he will break down at any minute and Syesha is a emotional wreck.
This show has evolved from a competition to allow a few lucky people a chance at stardom and riches to become a farm factory for singing chattel. A golden goose to lay eggs for FOX that has now compromised itself, with overpimping, ringers, rigged voting, biased judging and impossibly tough expectations inflicted on the inexperienced, and even children for train wreck potential, with the added bonus of having the entire focus of the whole music business on the contestants every week!
The Urge to Sell, is what is killing this show. FOX is making the singers into pure commodities to be bought and sold in a marketplace, and what of artistry? Left behind as that would only get in the way of turning each and every contestant into a small niche package that they can use to sell to a demographic.
AI is so corporate now they need to mold the kids into products they can sell, and once they see a hook in them, they make sure they pimp that hook for all it's worth. There is no room for the creative sense of self anymore.
It's all about marketing to a demographic now, if "the country guy" sings a R&B song, on a non R&B night, they have to put the harshest critiques on that person to make sure they never leave their box again.
It's just good business. Nobody wants a Jack of All Trades anymore, we want the"insert music genre here" guy.
I mean want proof? Look at this F4! Rocker, Broadway/Soul girl, Tweeniebopper, Soft Rock. Never do they leave their box, unless they want to be ridiculed.
And what that means for viewers is week after week of unchallenging, boring work that occasionally but all too rarely these days reaches into greatness. Or sublime badness. But even train wrecks are getting old and when mistakes outnumber triumphs then you can't be a true music show, you are more of a freak show, displaying pain for our pleasure at that point.
How do we wrench ourselves away from this nightmare? AI needs to become less focused on product and more on performance.
Here is my solution. They need to remove the record deal and turn it into a money prize and the singers can pursue their own interests. AI just needs to make a deal where they get first crack at the cast, but they remain free agents after the show. Then there will be no more need to market the singers, they can judge them fairly and simply, no more pimpage. They also need to remove the theory that going outside the normal is bad, unique performances should get higher scores.
Bigger risks = bigger rewards.
If this is not possible with new talent. Lets bite our lips and wince and go with the depressing alternative. AI8 should be all stars. Look all stars sucks, but at least with them we have previous talent that will likely not crack under pressure and forget song lyrics.
We won't need to market them by pimping/anti-pimping because there is no product to sell in them, this is just their second chance.
We need, nay we must get the judges back to evaluating music for what it IS not about what the judges want it to be. We can have this, if we just change the system.
Not needing to sell anyone and throwing caution to the wind will make the show fun again. Because the producers won't have to pimp anyone out, they will feel freedom to not enforce building up the kids as product any more, then they can get way more creative with the show.
If we can wrestle control back from the corporate side and bring the creative side, the show will only grow in popularity even more and I feel like we will see the new age of American Idol and seven more years!
