What "American Idol" May Be Telling Us

Quote of the day:
"There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham."
--Anna Sewell

OK, time to quit all the self-righteousness about American Idol. Of course, it is not a culturally uplifting nor musically serious program, so protesting or not watching on that basis is a bit silly. On the other hand, if you don’t watch it because it doesn’t interest you, good for you.

As you know, Merrie and I are unrepentant viewers of the show--see It’s Like Surfacing. I bring up the show again because it’s possible that something interesting is developing. It’s possible that someone with very limited singing ability will win the show.

If you watch, you know who Sanjaya is. If you don’t, he is a 17-year old who tends to sing softly, while having trouble carrying a tune. In spite of this, he was not even in the bottom three of the voting this week. The singer eliminated this week (Gina), was talented, personable and charismatic. While she was not the best singer on the planet, she was obviously much, much better than Sanjaya.

It seems two things are going on. First, there is an anti-American Idol movement that encourages voting for the worst person in the competition. Show producers say that these votes have only a slight effect on the outcome. However, this movement may be accumulating some influence after its three years or so of existence.

Second, Sanjaya comes across as sensitive, androgynous, smiling and charming. His natural appeal is to preteen girls--the same age group obsessed with marginally-talented teen idols of the past, such as David Cassidy.

Perhaps we have, simultaneously, a strong need for a teen idol and a lack of candidates at the moment. The preteen demographic (aged 8 to 12) is much more devoted than we realize. It may be that we are seeing their considerable influence.

Like it or not, American Idol may be telling us something about us.