Miley Cyrus American Idol Mentor

Miley Cyrus is appearing on American Idol as a mentor. That's right great talented singer/songwriters like Crystal Bowersox and and Siobhan Magnus are going to be mentored by a teenager under the thumb of the disney corporation. Of course Miley Cyrus is a talented singer and a success story in the pop industry, but does she really fit the bill for a mentor?

When someone like Elton John comes on American Idol it lends a certain amount of music cred to the competition with an experienced performer guiding the young singers. When a "mentor" isn't old enough to vote it raises some questions about whether the role is really that of a music mentor or just a product placement using American Idol for self promotion. The show will likely be one long advertisement for the new movie staring the one and only Miley Cyrus. Perhaps, even if Miley on American Idol is just a marketing move, she will contribute something valuable to the contestants.

It's hard to imagine what benefit the American Idol contestants could get from Miley mentoring. Are polished old school soulful performers like Crystal Bowersox, and Siobhan Magnus going to learn something from a teenage pop star? Will Andrew Garcia learn a better way to fail at covering a pop song? Will Michael Lynch party in the U.S.A? The most likely to benefit from working with Miley Cyrus would probably be Katey Stevens. Stevens is clearly the most "pop' style singer this year, and the most likely to follow a Miley Cyrus esque path to stardom. It's unlikely that any of the rocker or soul people are going to become Disney pop stars, but it will be interesting to see the culture clash when cookie cutter pop meets indie uniqueness.