Is American Idol Bad for America?

Is American Idol bad for America? Before I get started on my opinion, we should set one thing straight. It is just my opinion. I am sure I will get verbally crucified very quickly for it, but I don't really care. Anyway, now that we are clear on that, we can get to the meat of this whole thing.

American Idol, to most people, is a very interesting television show. To some, like me, it is a waste of television air time. A tele-fad that will be used on a VH1 special talking about the 2000s or whatever we are suppose to call these years. People will laugh at it the same way they laugh at Star Search now. I don't think there is anything wrong with people getting entertained by it, but to use it as a way to choose the "artists" you listen to is a horrible thing to do to the music industry. The fact is, the most successful people to come off of that show are the people who didn't stay on it long enough for people to remember. Look at how well Jennifer Hudson has done. She is way more talented than anyone else who has ever been on that show.

I was raised in Albemarle. I just moved out not too long ago. I know that a lot of people from Albemarle would read this and be pissed after I write this, but Kellie Pickler is a hack. Her whole personality that she tried to portray on the show was a sweet, dumb, shy southern sweetheart. In reality a lot people that knew her and others that were associated with her, said that she was faking. She's not innocent and not very sweet. I was around her briefly and she was snobby and bitchy to everyone nearby, way before American Idol. Anyway this isn't a Kellie bash and I wish her well, but it proves to me how full of shit American Idol really is. People take it way too seriously. People in Albemarle treat Pickler like a war hero when she comes into town. The men and women from town that are in the war get ignored.

I would rather watch intelligent non-political entertainment. There is plenty of that, and this isn't trying to convince anyone that American Idol is a bad idea for a show, but I think what it does to the music industry is horrible. It gives everyone the impression that someone with a voice has the need for a record contract. The fact is, a lot of people can sing, not everyone can be an artist. Not everyone can write songs and produce great bodies of work. Some can only do one song, and that's fine. American Idol takes some talented people, but they don't let them craft their style. They turn them into American junk-food, and America doesn't need more of that. That's why it is good to see Jennifer do her own thing and do it well. I can respect that. American Idol promises instant success, but that burns hot really quickly and goes out fast. Struggle and heartbreak makes a better artist. Always has, always will.

I understand that some people don't care, give them money and their fifteen minutes, and they are happy. That's fine, but don't put them beside the greatest artists of the genre. They don't deserve to be there. It would be like giving me an instant film career, then throwing me in the mix with Martin Scorsese. It just wouldn't work. I don't have the knowledge. I haven't been through the hardships and heartbreaks. I haven't struggled enough yet. Instant success causes many problems. It has never really turned out well for anyone.

I suppose part of this comes from the frustration of hearing so much about the talented but un-artistic Kellie Pickler. That is all you heard about in Albemarle, and the fact is, she has never deserved it, when the city has kids making a huge sacrifice in Afghanistan and Iraq, that have lived there or that still have family from there. The most they get is a small write-up if they die. They don't get a fucking sign, or in Pickler's case, several. It sucks. We could honor kids from other towns. Albemarle could have spent their money in a much better way.

In the end, I think that it will fade away and never matter. I think the show is fun for the people who watch it, and that is great, but Americans should celebrate it for what it is. People take it way to far, but it is American to take everything good way too far. We always step over the line, and sometimes it is a good thing. In this case not so much. We are still an awesome country where everyone can dream and some may just have the opportunity to achieve success. To be honest, I would probably take instant success if it was waved in front of me, but I wouldn't be a better person for it. I would be a normal human being. I don't know how I would cope being normal. I wouldn't like myself, no matter how much money I was making.