American Idol: ubiquitous, shameless, but it deserves your respect
Thu. March 27, 2008
Author: Elliott Hurst
Ok it's now 7 years running and showing no signs of slowing down. What started as a curious, ambitious talent show is now the worldwide gold standard of its genre. Survivor? Come on. Big Brother? Who cares. Bachelor/Bachelorette? Stay single. Fear Factor? Keep puking up bugs. AI is the shit.
AI declares the next superstar in music and most times it actually happens. That is power. That is something that deserves respect.
Pure capitalism, they just keep pushing the envelope. Simon Fuller, the show creator, God bless him, fits more commercial time in his show than anyother show, including the Super Bowl. Ford is the official car sponsor with Idol contestants elevated to star spokesperson status by performing in their commercials as quasi-music videos. When AI realized they could charge people to text message for their votes, they made millions on the voting mechanism, in addition to the commercials (and eventual recordsales). When AI realized that "taxing" their viewers to participate was counter productive to the show's goals (more votes means more everything, why make it a purchase decision?) they got AT&T to sponsor the voting and made millions more. Now, in the age of digital music, they are pimping out iTunes and making even more money."Wow, look at that, this is so cool!" titillated contestant Carly Smiths on giggles when she discovers her face, title of song, and song download displayed on her iPod screen for the viewers.
And check it out: AI songs on iTunes aren't allowed to be tracked in the top 10 because they are free cover songs. But if they were, 5 of the top 10 would be AI contestants, according to host Ryan Seacrest. People, this is power....
Indie bands. New music. Live shows – Supernova.com
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