The monstrous cruelty of American Idol

[Kurashu]

I don't know how long ago it was, but some hardcore kid tried out and did preformed a Silverstein song. It inspires me to get some spandex, a spikey armband thing and corpse paint and road trip to Chicago to try out.

If I got on the show, the havoc I could wreck on America's poor, poor highly influential teenagers. I wouldn't though.

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

How many contestants do you think try to "fake" being awful to get past the prelims, so that they can "shine" in front of the celeb judges?

 

[BLACKDIRGE]

How many contestants do you think try to "fake" being awful to get past the prelims, so that they can "shine" in front of the celeb judges?

A fair amount, according to my brother. He said there were quite a few people in costumes or acting so absurd that it had to be intentional.

BD

 

[Ranger REG]

I don't know how long ago it was, but some hardcore kid tried out and did preformed a Silverstein song. It inspires me to get some spandex, a spikey armband thing and corpse paint and road trip to Chicago to try out.

Now THAT deserves to be forever memorialized in picture and posted on Myspace.com. It ranks right there with William Hung's "She Bangs" video.

 

[Tiew]

Does American Idol seem like some sort of bizarre modernization of The Gong Show to anybody else?

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Hmm... the whole thing sounds a lot like the Masquerades you see at most cons...

 

[Aesthetic Monk]

A fair amount, according to my brother. He said there were quite a few people in costumes or acting so absurd that it had to be intentional.

BD

Except I think the people they *really* want are the "bad" ones who don't actually know it. That percentage has gone down in successive seasons, as the show has become increasingly "meta," but I expect there are still a few there.

As to the general workings of the show, I pretty much guessed that's how it had to work, but I appreciate hearing the inside scoop, even if it wasn't what one would've hoped.

 

[Kurashu]

Now THAT deserves to be forever memorialized in picture and posted on Myspace.com. It ranks right there with William Hung's "She Bangs" video.

Ugh. If I did that, and was posted on Myspace, I'd sue the guy for deflamation of character or whatever it is. My legalise is a little weak. Myspace x_X

 

[Ranger REG]

Does American Idol seem like some sort of bizarre modernization of The Gong Show to anybody else?

No, because The Gong Show is a modenization of your typical talent show. American Idol is just another incarnation of a talent show, just focused on making a pop music star.

NBC's America's Got Talent is smack of The Gong Show. Honestly they got some weird talents there.

 

[Mark Chance]

American Idol is just another incarnation of a talent show, just focused on making a pop music star.

Make up your mind. Is American Idol a talent show, or is it about making a pop music star?