The Horrible Trials of Becoming an American Idol Contestant

The guts and talent that it would take to even audition is more than most people would even begin to have. I wonder when watching the initial weeding out of those in the stadiums how they go about picking those who get to try out? There are literally thousands of people in the stands. I can't imagine that all of those in the stadium actually audition. Maybe they do.

Let's just say that you have the talent, personality, looks, and guts to actually try out and you do become a contestant, what then?

Watching them try out over the last 2 nights I was really impressed by the ones that they actually put through to go to Hollywood. I also felt bad, but not too bad for most of those that were rejected. I don't believe in humiliating people, but you have to actually wonder just how they could not know how bad that they are? Unfortunately it makes for entertainment. I didn't say good entertainment, it actually can take on a form of bullying.

An example of one of the rejects was Gabriel Franks.

The sad fact was that he actually could sing. If he would have down played it instead of over singing I believe that he actually had talent. The horror of it was the facial expressions that he made. He went from not being too bad looking to really unattractive. To become popular it takes more than talent, it also takes charisma and looks.

What I started out to say though was how hard it would be to be chosen.

The high would be incredible. Every week would be a roller coaster ride. Assuming that you would make it week to week, what would it be like to have to take the criticism every week? If like David Archuletta, you were young, vulnerable and one of the favorites, how would you deal with one week being America's sweetheart, to being criticized horribly by one or all of the judges the next week? David sang " Imagine" by John Lennon that was a masterpiece one week, and then several times he got blistering criticism from Simon Cowell. This is just one of the examples that I see of how horribly difficult that it would be to be an American Idol contestant.

I wish them all good luck.

I have picked out my favorites from the ones that have been picked already from the New Jersey and New Orleans auditions, which I haven't written about yet. I know that it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude and talent to put yourself out like that to be praised or booed by the whole world.