Idol worship (American style)

American Idol is back and as great as ever. For those of you who haven't read all the posts on this site I will have to do a recap on a few points. For me American Idol would be what most people call a guilty pleasure except I think that the concept of guilty pleasures is bullshit and I'm not going to let anyone dictate how I should or shouldn't feel about things (and in this case pop music).

To re-iterate my points on pop music: You can only really hate pop music if you are confused by its motivations. But lets get it straight pop music is nothing but candy. It's overtly sugary, it offers no sustenance and too much of it will make you feel sick. It's unfair to complain about pop music by comparing to other forms of music because that's like comparing a healthy and substantial meal to a bag of lollipops and pixie sticks. Pop music has its place in the musical landscape but you cant live on it because you are in danger of dying of malnutrition.

Now that those points have been reinforced onto American Idol. I am a huge fan of music (all art really) and I think what I am drawn to primarily is truth and honesty. A lot of people tend to think that pop music and specifically American Idol have no merit and lack any type of credibility. But In the musical spectrum some people aren't meant to be songwriters. They are best suited as a singer/performer of songs. And just because someone doesn't write a song themselves doesn't mean that they are incapable of performing with powerful conviction and/or emotion. The singers that are truly great take the time to find something they can relate to in a piece and sing it sincere emotion. When a good singer sings a good song you can feel it. And although there are usually only a few truly amazing moments or songs per season of American Idol when it happens it is a great thing to see.

Ignoring the musical aspect of the show American Idol is completely in step with modern society. We live in immediate times where we want everything now! now! now! And generally don't care if it is disposable and forgettable. In this situation we want the product before it exists. This isn't a case where the end justifies the means. The means justify the means. Being a fan of the show doesn't mean that I would ever in a million years buy a CD from any of the contestants (or even be able to recall the names of anyone lower than the top 3 from the year previous). This doesn't even matter though. The album sales are nowhere near the millions and millions who watch the show but as I stated above we are buying the process not the product (and they make enough money on the show that they really couldn't care less if the artist is successful afterwards or not). Its like that show on the discovery channel where you see how stuff is made in a factory. No one (well almost no one) is running out and buying the stuff they see made at the end of the show but watching how it goes from raw goods to the store shelf is the fascinating part.

I just want to add that I predict at this early point that Paris Bennett will be in the top 12