American Idol: the Singing Contest that Isn't

An interesting phenomenon has taken place over the course of a couple years without anyone really noticing. American Idol, arguably the premiere global television talent show, has turned from a show about singing into just another reality show. While the show is still billed as a singing contest, the judge's remarks and the celebrity mentors the show has employed this year have strayed off course.

More than once this season the judge's panel has become embroiled in a heated debate over a contestant's choice of outfit. One week, then sixteen (now seventeen) year old Allison Iraheta's choice of attire and hairstyle set the table on fire. Randy said he didn't know what she was trying to do with her look and Simon just said look was a mess. Neither judge (nor the two ladies) said much of anything about her performance, vocals, or choice of song. Adding to the irony, viewers watching from home were only privy to shots of Allison from the waist up as she sang and only got to see her full outfit when the judges were commenting on it and the cameras pulled back.

Another contestant (now eliminated from the contest) that drew the wrath of the fashion handicapped Simon Cowell was Anoop Desai. Cowell repeatedly bashed Anoop's style as being that of a frat boy and said repeatedly that he just didn't have that star quality. It's quite a change from what Cowell told a recent contestant on his other talent show. Indeed, in response to some photos that appeared in a tabloid style magazine, Cowell urged Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle not to change her look anymore than she already had because "nobody cares what [she] looks like." Cowell urged her to just "sing beautifully."

The judges have always been quirky, to say the least. It's a part of the show's character and to be expected. However, Idol has always provided it's contestants with top-drawer talent for guidance and in seasons past international superstar Gwen Stefani, country music legend Dolly Pardon, pop princess Mariah Carey, and genre-busting Neil Diamond have lent their years of expertise to the young hopefuls. This season however, the talent pool seems to have dried up.

This season's mentors have included Quentin Tarantino and Jamie Foxx, neither of whom has enough experience in the music industry to be considered an expert. Tarantino directed one or two excellent films over the course of his long career but his track record is far from stellar. True, his films do rely heavily upon their soundtracks but most of his comments to the Idol crew related to their showmanship and the physical techniques of their performance rather than their musical quality.

Jamie Foxx did win a Grammy. But he did so playing Ray Charles in a movie based on the superstar's life. His efforts in the hip-hop industry since have mainly been limited to collaborations with hip-hop royalty and the singles he's released have relied very heavily on electronic "assistance" in the form of distortion, quick edits, and lyric-drowning bass beats. He may be a multi-talented performer but he hasn't yet come anywhere near the status, experience, or longevity of some of Idol's previous musical mentors.

So why has Idol ground its gears into this new, looser format? Only the producers know for sure but ratings must play a role in the decision. Even Idol judge Randy Jackson made a comment on Tuesday night's performance show about Idol still being a "singing contest" and that nobody should pay attention to the other aspects of a contestant's performance, only their vocal abilities. It feels as if the show has decided to groom its hopefuls to become pop princes and princesses exclusively rather than support their true individual musical identity.