So one of the local NOLA stations was all gooey this morning over about interview w/ Steven Tyler for the New Orleans American Idol auditions and right now, the New Orleans American Idol show is on nationally. Now, just think this through for a moment.... It's NEW friggin' ORLEANS!! The birthplace of jazz. One of the musical capitals of the world! What do they need American Idol for? If you want to see and hear undiscovered talent, you don't have to hold Hollywood auditions, just walk down the damn street. Within two blocks, you'll hear a dozen performers with more talent and more guts than anyone on these manufactured shows. And there's something for everyone in New Orleans. It's possible to make a living as a musician just playing in N.O. The only thing they don't have a place for is the sub-Mariah rubbish that Idol presents. Can't we keep one place above that?
Seriously, if you're from New Orleans and you need Steven Tyler and Simon bloody Cowell to give you a break, you ain't trying hard enough.
The American version has been around for something like 10 years. My understanding is that the winner of the show is supposed to become the next big thing. So why isn't anybody from those 10 years famous?
ReplyDeleteThey're immediately overshadowed by the next round of the soap opera. As far as I can work out, the winners of the first seasons did reasonably well for themselves, but I haven't heard from any of the winners since. While I am not especially hip to what young groovers are currently jiving to, I would think that if one of the recent winners had set the world alight, I might have heard it mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI do know that the winner of the second Australian series has already been on a "Where are they now?" type program. Something of a record, I'm sure.
We've all heard of Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, the Jonas Brothers and all those temporary trends but I can't name a single Idol winner.
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