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| Karen Rodriguez |
Hello, Friends!
There's plenty to be said about American "do good-ism." When I was growing up in Tuguegarao, the American "elders" from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did plenty in the community - catechism, outreach, etc. The actual physical church looked nice, I thought, like a rich family's very well maintained mansion. In dusty Tuguegarao, everything American always looked better. So I wondered why my parents never took us to the Mormon church. Instead, we'd hear Sunday mass at St. Peter's Cathedral, which smelt like bat shit and didn't have airconditioning.
As I grew up and learned more about the creepy histories of both the Mormon and the Catholic churches, I got turned off by organized religion all together. I do call on God from time to time and I know that He listens, but I don't need to thump bibles and proclaim that God speaks through my blog. Duh. I'm Asia's Most Hyperactive Gay Boy™, not Asia's Most Hyperactive Preacher. The Gospel of James is all about Love, Tolerance, and World Peace.
What was I saying?
Oh, yes. American Idol.
Americans have done an awful lot of good for the world. And this week, we saw it again when the AI judges raised a rallying cry to help victims of earthquake, tsunami and radiation in Japan.
That's all good - brava.
And yet, I'm not entirely sure that AI is doing any good for its contestants, to begin with.
Instead of having soaring careers after a stint on AI, a very promising act like Karen Rodriguez, for example, fizzles.
Exhibit A: Karen's Audition:
She's brilliant. And we said goodbye to her this week. I doubt that we will ever hear much about her ever again, but who knows. It's up to her to prove me wrong.
Same case with Bo Bice, Katherine McPhee, Elliot Yamin, etc. They're meant to be household names by now. Instead, they're still in that semi-celebrity limbo that just drains one's artistry instead of nurtures it. Fantasia Barrino had one, shining moment singing "Summertime" - that's it. Even Kelly Clarkson seems to be struggling lately. Carrie Underwood will always be a country superstar, and that's fine - good for her. The only AI alumnus who has true international appeal is Adam Lambert, but he's like Cher on Viagra, anyway, so he's dope on his own.
Same case with Bo Bice, Katherine McPhee, Elliot Yamin, etc. They're meant to be household names by now. Instead, they're still in that semi-celebrity limbo that just drains one's artistry instead of nurtures it. Fantasia Barrino had one, shining moment singing "Summertime" - that's it. Even Kelly Clarkson seems to be struggling lately. Carrie Underwood will always be a country superstar, and that's fine - good for her. The only AI alumnus who has true international appeal is Adam Lambert, but he's like Cher on Viagra, anyway, so he's dope on his own.
American Idol is a poison.
We're led to believe from the auditions that there's an embarrassing harvest of future superstars. These kids are good, it's the best season yet, there's more talent than ever, blah blah blah. And yet, even with the smokes and mirrors of big stage productions, even with the army of stylists and publicists at AI's disposal, the talent continues to fizzle disappointingly.
This week, everybody was terrible except Pia Toscano. But I scratched my head at her wardrobe choice. Why wear something that resembles a onesie? The judges praised Stefano Longone, but the boy cracked at the very end of the number. He sounded like he was desperately panting all over the place.
There wasn't a single "oh-my-god-that-was-so-good" performance this week despite the fact that many of these kids blew me away with their audition. Where's the magic? Was it all just false advertising?
It's sad.
While it's good to see that America and American Idol still sees itself as the saviour of the world - and that's fine, brava, thank you - perhaps it should look within and see how it might save itself first.
That's not a critique.
That's a dare.
With Affection,We're led to believe from the auditions that there's an embarrassing harvest of future superstars. These kids are good, it's the best season yet, there's more talent than ever, blah blah blah. And yet, even with the smokes and mirrors of big stage productions, even with the army of stylists and publicists at AI's disposal, the talent continues to fizzle disappointingly.
This week, everybody was terrible except Pia Toscano. But I scratched my head at her wardrobe choice. Why wear something that resembles a onesie? The judges praised Stefano Longone, but the boy cracked at the very end of the number. He sounded like he was desperately panting all over the place.
There wasn't a single "oh-my-god-that-was-so-good" performance this week despite the fact that many of these kids blew me away with their audition. Where's the magic? Was it all just false advertising?
It's sad.
While it's good to see that America and American Idol still sees itself as the saviour of the world - and that's fine, brava, thank you - perhaps it should look within and see how it might save itself first.
That's not a critique.
That's a dare.
James
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