Kelly or Justin?

Tonight, America finds out who it's next "Idol" will be. We've voted; we've mouthed off; we've fretted and speed-dialed. It's all democratic, all-American, all-terrain fun and frivolity... and yet another way to lift people up onto a pedestal they'll never be able to live up to, up to a height they won't be able to escape. Why do we do this? I mean, I like the show alright (I'm even into Big Brother 3, but don't tell anyone). But the reality is that these "reality" shows are all about making celebrities out of "ordinary" people "like us," but we want them to fail, don't we? It feels like all of this is feeding the same appetites that keep us watching NASCAR and Puck on the Real World San Francisco.

Don't start with me. You know it's true. We get our kicks from vicariously living through the lives of others we like, and in watching "real people" we don't like get theirs in the end. While creating a new American Idol, the show is opening with the thousands of auditions, basically laying out a whole line of American Failures and Laughingstocks. We can't have one without the hundreds of others, can we?

Will Kelly win? Does Justin stand a chance? Both of them are very talented, and they will both go far, win or lose (I read that in Britain, all three top finalists had #1 albums within a year). But with a little incentive and hard work, they could've gotten discovered anyway. There's still alot to prove, and the public is fickle. What they've done is provide ratings success - nothing more, nothing less - and given themselves a fighting chance, to the dismay of alot of people who just tried out, too.

Maybe I'm too crass, or trying to hard to paint this in a bad light.

I hope it's Kelly 8^).
- posted by Rick @ 20:22