American Idol: Is it Helping or Hurting?
Most of us have at some point seen an episode of the Fox TV reality show American Idol. If you haven’t seen an episode, you’ve probably heard a song on the radio by one of the contestants that were on the show.
While many of them are really good, there are many other artists out there that are just as good and sometimes better that are playing shows and putting in tons of hard work and lots of hours travelling, playing, and working at their career. Does that discount the talent of American Idol contestants? What do you think?
Look at Aerosmith. Whether or not you like their music, you cannot argue the fact that they have been making music that people like since 1971. Did they get on a plane to do an audition and then perform on TV for the country before being signed to a record label? Not exactly. It seems today that some people believe they can “get their break” by going on a reality show. Whatever happened to gigging three nights a week after your 9-5 job, connecting with your local fan base, and making yourself visible to people that might be able further your career and showing them that you’re serious about yourself? Sure, American Idol can help you get there faster. But is it a respected avenue to success?
How do other musical artists look at those that take a “short cut”?
Will American Idol artists have the same longevity in their career as those artists that came up on their own?
If you’re an artist, would you take the opportunity to be known as an “American Idol” if it meant it could fast forward your career?
These are just some things I’d love to hear your thoughts on. My apologies for the recent silence on the blog. I’ve been slacking in the writing department. Thanks for reading!
I love american idol. Winning the show does not mean they are the best in the country, but many times it has taken an individual and put them to the top instantly. The dramatic life change is awesome. anything can happen, any time.
AI is awful for the expansion of the music industry. The contestants are not doing anything original; it’s all covers of stuff that’s out there. There’s no outlet for new, original musical content. Additionally, it focuses on a lead vocal only; no instrument development, vocal mixing, band chemistry. It’s karaoke and nothing else.
Unfortunately, it has become THE AR for labels. Not sure at what point you are owned by the house AI house label, but it seems like there are a lot in the top 10 that get picked up.
Going back to an earlier discussion, it feeds the monotony of popular music by providing more already “proven” audience acts with a formula-driven sound.
Until ratings start to fade, it appears we’re stuck. That’s a universal “we” as it really doesn’t effect me as much as I don’t follow it or top 40 radio.
As an audio engineer and producer, what do you think about the mixing and engieering on the show? Personally I think it’s horrible, and seems to get worse every season. I know it’s a live show, but they have nearly unlimited resources to hire the best of the best. The audio mix is almost always off…by a lot.
Trevor, I haven’t always been overly impressed with the broadcast mix that we hear in our living rooms. The onsite live mix might be amazing, but that’s neither here nor there. The engineers mixing for broadcast should be able to get a decent mix that translates well to our TVs. And I would probably agree with you that the mixes have gotten worse over time. Even the new show, “The Voice” has a lot of ground to cover in terms of getting a well balanced mix. I liked the show, but not the mix. Thanks for the comment!
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