Once again our television sets are being invaded by the annual showing of — you guessed it — “American Idol.” It is hard to believe this show has lasted all the way until its 11th season. It has gained and lost several judges, including the star criticizer, Simon Cowell. Currently the crazed “reality show” is hosted by Ryan Seacrest and judged by “yo, dawg,” Randy Jackson and his two new costars, beautiful Jennifer Lopez and out of this world Steven Tyler.
This show is anything short of entertaining. I’ll admit early on I would spend countless nights on the couch with my family watching the audition episodes of “American Idol.” This is my favorite part of the show. I love listening to the people with talent get up there and show off all they’ve got while wowing the judges. However, I’m not sure if I would still tune in if there were not a “William Hung” on the show.
I mean come on, admit it, not many would watch that show if there weren’t terrible singers every now and then. Honestly they don’t even have to be that bad, they just have to be awkward as anything, and you’re hooked. For some reason we find so much enjoyment in others making absolute fools of themselves.
 I may have watched “American Idol” in the first couple years’ runnings, but one thing I would never do is be part of that show. It has been rumored for years that the show is a complete hoax. Personally, I agree. Because I think the show is not exactly what it portrays itself to be, I decided to do some research to see if I could find out more Information. First I tried to find people I knew who might have been sucked in and auditioned. I talked to a few friends who have auditioned and knew people that had as well. They said they never even got to the round with the famous judges.
This is a rumor I have heard. Apparently there are several rounds of people you have to go through before you actually get on TV. I’m sure this doesn’t surprise many of you since you may know there are thousands who attempt to audition at each location. To think that all of them went in to the real judges would be ludicrous.
I was also curious to figure out how accurate the voting polls were once you get to Hollywood. An article written by Colleen Smith unearths some not-so-tolerable truths. According to Smith’s source, “Woody,” the executives behind the show are actually making the decisions on who should go on. It all really comes down to record sales. Basically, the execs think they know what is going to sell better than the American public does.
Smith explains that in one instance there was an audit on the messages sent in to the show. The records showed Latoya London was gaining the most calls from viewers but was voted off of the show in one of the later rounds. That year Fantasia won the competition, but the numbers did not agree with that verdict. So for all of you who got a few extra texting charges to send in a vote or two for your favorite singer, maybe they’ll cut you a chunk of the earnings.
I’m sure none of this will deter you from watching “American Idol,” and I would definitely hope not, either. My hope is that you would all become a little more educated on what is actually going on and calm down. Truth of the matter is even if the contestants sing like angels right out of heaven, it may not mean a whole lot if they aren’t pleasing the producers.
Please, American public, stop being ignorant. Obviously this show is rigged; otherwise your taste in music would be so much better because people who could actually sing would be getting famous.