The Return of American Idol

Week One for American Idol season six is done. Like every season, besides the talents they discover, the show is filled with the usual untalented and/or freakish people. And just when you think that the weird ones that (will) appear on the current season won’t top the ones from the previous year, you’re always surprised. And what always surprises me about these strange ones, as well as the untalented ones, is the fact that they think they’re normal, or talented. They come in dressed as, say, Apollo Creed (the character played by Carl Weathers in the Rocky movies), and they expect to be taken seriously by the judges. And about the untalented ones? What surprises me about them is when they’d brag about their “credentials” (e.g. that they’ve been singing in a choir or what not for so and so years, is a vocal coach, can hit several notes, etc), and when they “let loose”, you’d go “wooaah!” -- and you ask yourself “how the heck did YOU become a vocal coach?!”, or something. And most of them are real sore losers. When they’re not given the “golden ticket” to Hollywood by Simon and company, they’d be cursing and saying how the judges don’t know what they’re talking about blah blah blah. Then there are the ones who always make up excuses for their lack of talent -- that they need water, they’re sick, blah blah blah. Of course, when they’re given water or take a bathroom break (IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR AUDITION), nothing changes -- they’re still untalented. But what does make me feel sorry is when the nice ones turn out to be untalented (e.g. this Asian stay-at-home mom who went to audition, even if her seems-like-a-dork-of-a-husband told her not to because she’s just wasting her time). It’s too early at this stage to tell as to who’ll be the next American Idol, but I just have to say that I was impressed by the attitude of this Indian kid who auditioned with his sister. His sister was pretty cocky and kept saying that she was the one who was more talented than her brother, which, honestly, did seem that way. Because, for one thing, her brother looked so sheepish and unhip and, frankly, didn’t look the least bit talented. Well, compared to his sister. So when she got in, I was worried. If he didn’t get in, man, THAT would have been awkward, especially given that their entire family was there. And I’m sure that he would never hear the end of it from his sister. So, to my delight, he DID get in. And what made me even happier about it was that, according to Simon, HE was even better than his sister (he didn’t exactly “jump out of his seat” when the sister sang and told her that there was nothing unique about her). But the best part? When Ryan (Seacrest) asked him who the judges thought was the better singer between him and his sister, he just politely smiled and said “I’d rather not say” (of course, his sister knew the answer to Ryan’s question, based on the look on her face when the camera quickly zoomed in on her for her reaction). Like I said – awkward…! That’s why I’ve always felt that siblings shouldn’t work together, shouldn’t have the same kind of profession, etc. Uh… but then again, this is just the way I feel, simply because my brother(s) and I can’t be in the same room together, have the same job, etc.
Something that my best friend Gwynnie pointed out about the show is how mean it can be sometimes, and that we (the viewers) are just as mean. That’s true. It’s human nature, whether we want to admit it or not -- we (or most of us) want or have the tendency to make fun of others. American Idol gives us “license” to do just that. Something we can’t do (or is ashamed to do) so blatantly out in public. It’s different when you’re at home, when nobody’s watching and nobody’s there to judge or criticize you. Of course, I’m not saying that we go out and make fun of other people, I’m just saying that AI also serves as a guilty pleasure if you will, in the sense that it satisfies the craving(?) to laugh at other people. Case in point : a guy named "Red" auditioned and he "sang" Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Randy and Paula couldn't help themselves from breaking out in laughter (and I was laughing so damn hard myself). Like Simon said : "It was... inhuman".
On to Week Two…
‘Nuff said.