sob stories
The first year of "American Idol," I wanted nothing to do with the show. "Oh, it's so great," friends and family would rave, but I wouldn't listen. Kelly who? I wasn't interested. Reality TV -- who needs it?
The second year, I found myself saying, "God, is that show coming back? Why?" And people went crazy for Clay and Ruben. My parents-in-law were crazy about the show, but I always rolled my eyes when we visited. I just didn't get the appeal.
But the third season sucked me in. I said to myself, "Okay, I'll watch the early auditions and snicker at the wannabes. Once it gets into the uberdrama of the later rounds, I'll tune out."
How wrong I was.
As soon as Fantasia Burrino walked in and belted out her audition, I said, "That girl's going to win this." And if you've read my Golden Globes blog entries, you know how much I like to be right about that kind of thing. So I stuck it out, even rushing home from dinners out to make sure I didn't miss a minute of "Idol" all season. I was hooked.
And so it has been since then.
But last season, I was disappointed with the show, especially in the early stages. It had become more about making fun of the hopefuls than anything else. They followed around these poor candidates and told us their heartbreaking stories ... and then mocked them mercilessly.
Whenever I have to watch some clueless, talentless, tone-deaf nonsinger pour his or her heart out to the camera, gushing about how "Idol" is "everything to me, my whole life -- if I don't get this, I have nothing" ... I hold my hand over my heart and sigh.
I feel so bad for these people. It's almost too much. I'd rather just see their pitiful attempts at singing without all the melodramatic backstory -- that way I can laugh at more contestants (and marvel at their lack of self-awareness), since there won't be so much time wasted on specific unsuccessfuls. And I won't have to feel so bad for laughing at them.
Yeah, it's great to hear them talk back to Simon -- espcially the ones with huge (unwarranted) chips on their shoulders. It's funny as all get-out to listen to the indignant, incoherent rants after they've been told they're no good at singing.
But listen, Fox: I don't want to see any more people mocked for their appearances. I'm sick of Simon harping on girls for their weight. I was appalled at this week's extended scene pointing out a single girl's braces as if she were some kind of freak.
And it's interfering with my enjoyment of the show. So please, "American Idol," before you lose a viewer, be just a little nicer to the fools who're making you all that money. Show us more of them, but let their voices and behavior speak for themselves.