IDOL
MANILA, APRIL 18, 2012 (PHILSTAR) SOUNDS FAMILIAR By Baby A. Gil
(PHOTO - The hard fact is Jessica Sanchez got the lowest number because she
chose to sing for herself and not for the viewers who vote.)
There is only one reason why Jessica Sanchez was almost booted out of
American Idol. She got the lowest number of votes.
There are judges in the show but all they do is critique the contestants.
The voters from all over America get the final say. And last week, they said
that they did not like what Jessica did or should I say, sang.
Viewers out here and perhaps around the US have been reading racial bias on
what nearly happened.
Maybe. Take a look at the list of previous winners. Kelly Clarkson, Ruben
Studdard, Fantasia Barino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, Kris
Allen, David Cook, Lee DeWyze and Scotty McCreery.
After 11 years of nationwide searching by Idol, no contestant of Asian or
Latino ancestry has won the contest. So if there is indeed racial bias in the
voting then Jessica is in double jeopardy.
She is Mexican-Filipino. I believe though that race does not figure
prominently in the voting. Only perhaps in the subconscious at the very least.
So let us save that card for later.
The hard fact is Jessica got the lowest number because she chose to sing for
herself and the judges and not for the viewers who vote.
That was why the judges saved her. She was really good. But she chose to do
an unknown song Stuttering by a less-known artist, Jasmine Sullivan.
Viewers like being familiar with the melodies. They were not with Stuttering.
I at least got to bob my head to How Will I Know from the week before last.
This showing off is a common problem among singers who believe that making
such choices proves their musicality and sets them apart from the other
contestants.
It is okay to indulge yourself if you are doing a full set but not when you
only have two minutes on stage. In that case you had better get everybody to
your side on your very first note.
Now this brings us to what I think is the present Idol dilemma. Is it just
the singing or the total package? How big is the role being played by looks or
by likeability in choosing the winner?
Not much as per the judges who never fail to remind the audience that AI is a
singing contest. But if I could vote for contestant, I would vote for the one I
like, the one who entertains me. That is not necessarily the best singer.
I guess this was an Idol problem from the start but only came into sharp
focus these past few years. There are several reasons why this happened.
Declining ratings (need to shake things up in a big way), competition from
other talent shows (The Voice has been doing very well concentrating on singers)
and most of all, the lackluster results of the careers of bland pop Idol choices
like Kris Allen and Lee DeWyze.
I guess this was the reason why Idol served up a very good batch of singers
in Season 11. Take note, I said, singers.
Idol sometimes gets it right as in David Cook over David Archuleta. Is it
true that the TV series that the younger David did here was both a commercial
and critical dud? There have also been times when Idol didn't.
Think Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, Katharine McPhee and Adam Lambert who
lost out in the Idol race but bounced back as big stars. In some cases, bigger
than the winner.
If Jessica fails to get the right song this week then I am afraid she will be
in danger of elimination with no save from the judges. If Jessica goes, who do
you think will get the title?
There will surely be somebody. My problem is with only a few weeks to go, I
still do not see a stand-out among the finalists. I hear singers, yes. But where
is that somebody with the complete package of voice, looks and likeability that
makes a star?
Does this mean that American Idol is losing its touch? I hope not.
It would be very sad to find viewers checking the show only to check what
judge Jennifer Lopez is wearing and not watching the contestants.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
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