REALITY CHECK:

POLITICS:
If you want to change the tune, shouldn't you be speaking to the organ grinder instead of the monkey?

American Idol's Guilty Pleasure

Is Cruelty Part Of The Show's Appeal?

by Roland Kriewaldt

American Idol markets itself as being a show that will discover the next musical superstar. But is that the whole story, or does it offer a guilty little pleasure that no one dares admit?

At face value, the show seems innocent enough. Contestants must sing famous songs for a mom, pop and sis viewing audience while three "expert" judges tell them, according to their own personal biases, how good or bad they are. Ultimately, one singer wins and gets to make a record which the viewers can buy. And then, a few months later, a new season begins.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, gifted musicians must perform in dingy old nightclubs, mostly for drunken regulars. This is how they learn their craft and perfect it; not by singing into a camera for three minutes on a Tuesday afternoon.

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