Written by Jeff McGinnis | | jmcginnis@toledofreepress.com
I had never watched “American Idol.” Unless the Andrew Z Show asks me to reprise my role as Ironic Idol Reviewer next season, I probably never will again. So why am I so saddened by the results of the finale?
We’ve all heard the commentators discuss how the runners-up on “Idol” often do far better than the winner. The name Adam Lambert has been evoked multiple times. This is correct. So why does it offer little comfort right now?
We’ve heard from Crystal Bowersox that she felt that Lee DeWyze was going to win, he deserved it and she was very happy for him. But why does it still hurt?
It hurts because Bowersox’s efforts on “Idol” were clearly more than just one contestant on some silly reality show. Commentators who criticized the area and its media for becoming so fixated on one entertainer were right, in a way, but also missing the point.
Sure, there are more important issues than Bowersox. But what means more to any of us than our dreams?
We saw this kind-hearted, humble woman from Elliston take to the stage and wow judges who had seen it all. She stood there and defiantly refused to be anything other than what she was. She picked songs that spoke to her. She sang with a voice rich with power and emotion. She owned a stage that most others look as though they’re only borrowing for a short while.
Then on the night of the performance finale, she clearly bested opponent DeWyze in every round of singing, climaxed by her stirring “Up to the Mountain,” coming on the heels of his strained rendition of “Beautiful Day.”
She was the best performer on the show. She won. Until she didn’t.
Who among us can’t relate to that? Who hasn’t felt that bitter disappointment when what you fought for — what you had earned — was lost, for reasons out of your control? Bowersox didn’t lose because she wasn’t talented enough or because she choked or because her opponent was just better. We can only assume she lost because the swing voters picked the cute guy.
It’s unfair. But what isn’t? When I was in college auditioning for shows, a truism among actors was quoted frequently: “Life is unfair. Theater is less fair than life. Humans submit themselves to nothing less fair than the audition.” And what is “Idol,” but the longest, most arbitrary audition ever?
So when Ryan Seacrest announced the winner that night, who among us couldn’t feel the sting of disappointment? This wasn’t just about an artist from our area on that stage. This was about everybody who had ever given it their all, and been told it wasn’t good enough.
That hurts. Hurts like hell. And no amount of consolation or warm wishes can really help that. And in a way, that’s a good thing. Because now, the fake competition is over. The real one has just begun.
Now, Crystal faces an opponent more formidable than DeWyze and the whole panel of judges combined: The marketplace.
We all have heard people defend DeWyze’s victory by saying that, even though Bowersox was more talented, DeWyze was the proper winner because his style is more in tune with what consumers buy, they say. Even if they’re correct, this argument says more about the declining state of American music than anything else.
But there’s no doubt Bowersox faces an uphill climb in reaching out to a wider audience post-“Idol.” She’s unique. She doesn’t fit into a cookie-cutter mold like so many who have come through the “Idol” factory. She already knows who and what she is, and I hope she’ll never change that part of herself.
The most important votes we can cast come now, as fans and consumers. We can get her single on iTunes, as well as the album’s worth of studio recordings of her songs from the season. We can get the full album that will follow. And when the “Idol” tour comes Sept. 2, we can show up in droves, and vote with our hands and voices for who really won.
That’s why the hurt her supporters are feeling can be good. It’ll remind us of the disappointment of that one moment. And, I hope, keep inspiring us to help her prove them wrong.
No comments:
Post a Comment