Whatever morsel of interest I had in this new season of “American Idol” dissipated last week. This was when Jimmy Iovine, Interscope chief and the head of the so-called “mentoring” process of the contestants on “American Idol” criticized how one of the younger performers- Holly- was dressed “too old.” Well, you’re half right, Jimmy. She was dressed like Celine Dion ‘cos she was singing a song as old as Celine Dion. And this is the problem of all these television talent shows: They are fucking old-fashioned when it comes to the music these naïve contestants perform- and what their “wardrobe mistresses” pick for them to wear.
Sure, they “decide” on the songs they perform but these “decisions” are based on the songs made available- and the deals and approvals from Music Publishing Houses. As “Idol” contestants record the songs they perform on the show and which are then sold immediately on iTunes, copyright clearances can become an expensive- and time-consuming- business and which is probably why contestants are stuck with thirty and forty-year- old “current hit” probably taken from a pre-cleared list of songs. All of this means is making young talent look and sound like cabaret artists or some hokey hotel lounge singers. Yes, there is the television audience to think about who might freak out if a contestant performed ”Lotus Flower” and danced like Thom Yorke, but as long as these shows are judged at home by middle-aged Mums and a few Dads and some kiddies, the music will always be stuck and the contestants- no matter how original- will be forced to “play the game” and look far older than their years.
Watching a young talent like Jessica Sanchez scream her way through “Turn This Beat Around” dressed like her Mum or Aunt, made me cringe. There goes originality, I thought and here’s a girl who has been around as a child talent being turned into a “young Whitney”- another one and where in the Philippines, they are everywhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huaUDwEo_AM
Sorry, but kids singing karaoke versions of things like the Lionel Ritchie Songbook is doing nothing for music. It cuts music off at the knees through its total lack of even attempting to be contemporary. And the less said about the song and performance by Demi Lovatto on “Idol” next week, the better. Let’s just say that it was bloody awful and a horrible reflection of the state of music coming outta the States. And that’s being kind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OwhFxT2nbA
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