American Idol

American Idol is a hugely popular show, a phenomenon, really. Someone by the name of Chris Daughtry was voted off the show and it actually made the national news on networks other than Fox, which airs the show. I know this, even though I don't watch the show.

Why don't I watch? I've seen a bit of the show, usually when I'm visiting my mother and I'm a captive audience. I find it to contain elements in all that is wrong with American culture. It is really a glorified Karoake contest, and encourages the bland music that now seems to be popular across the land. I'm sure the singers that do well on the show have talent, but their route to stardom is a bit of a cheat. None of these performers who have hit it big since Idol seem to write their own music. Imagine if Bob Dylan had been a contestant if the show were around in 1962. He would have been laughed off the show by the supercilious Simon Cowell.

I might enjoy watching a battle of the bands kind of contest featuring unknown rock acts, with the requirement being they perform their own music, and points would go for distinctiveness and creativity, beyond just the ability to hit notes or be charismatic. But American Idol, to me, is just a battle of wedding singers.