Is American Idol Real Talent?

"American Idol" is halfway through choosing the top 12 finalists from the list of 36 contestants. In week one, voting fans chose the top three singers eliminating the singer Simon called "an utter drama queen." This week, the voters again chose singers and avoided the karaoke comedy routines; although that choice was in question since host Ryan Seacrest continued the drama until the last moment leaving rocker Adam and comedian Nick to the very last. In the end it was the rocker who got spot number six.

The top six of four guys and two girls - Alexis, Danny, Michael, Allison, Kris, and Adam - have all displayed musical talents without resulting to a variety of gimmicks.

Next week the final 12 contestants will perform and three more finalists will be selected via the American public's vote.

For the first time some details have been released as to what will take place in the wild card selections. The judges will pick the group who will perform for a chance to fill the last three spots; at which point the competition will begin in earnest.

From the singers chosen so far, things should prove to be rather interesting during the various theme weeks. While the winner of "American Idol" choose the musical genre that best suits them; the singers must first perform in a variety of themes. The winner will be the person who can best adapt during each of these themes by "making the songs their own" as the judges repeatedly say.

I must admit that over the past seven years there have been few contestants on "American Idol" that impressed me enough to actually buy anything they recorded and even fewer of those were the winners. So far this year I have not heard anything that I would consider adding to my vast musical collection. Admittedly there is one more week of 12 singers, but from what I have seen so far, I am not holding out a lot of hope. I am not one of those people who watches "American Idol" from the beginning, I wait until they get to Hollywood, and this year one show of Hollywood week was more than enough. I watch the show for the singing not the theatrics that seem to inundate the early shows. I am a fan of music - good music. Watching "American Idol" reminds me of an open mic night, sometimes there is a good act worth hearing among the rubbish.

Judge Randy Jackson is fond of telling singers that they were pitchy, but most viewers don't even know what that means, they only know what that it either appeals to them or not. But considering what is being played on the radio these days and the records that are topping the charts for sales, I can understand why some of the singers are getting the votes while others, who are better performers, end up being voted off; rocker Chris Daughtry is such an example. Daughtry finished fourth yet his debut album is still on the Billboard Top 200 Album Charts.

It will be interesting to see the developments that occur as Season 8 of "American Idol" continues and whether or not the best singer actually wins the competition as the show professes.