I came across a pretty funny posting where a website compiled some YouTube videos of Adam Lambert fans and their reactions to Kris Allen winning this season’s American Idol. And as hilarious as they are to watch–the screaming, the shocked expressions, all the jumping up and down–what I found most bizarre about this whole thing is that so many people had video cameras rolling while they watched the AI finale. Weird? Yes? No? I think yes.
Ok, I get filming your kids, the pets, events, vacations, etc. But putting the camera next to your TV, watching you while you watch TV. What??? Am I missing something here? Are we so obsessed with reality television that we want to know what it feels like to be filmed doing just ordinary boring things like watching…reality television. Really? Please, someone, enlighten me.
(unless of course, these are staged reactions, and people just replayed their DVRs or whatevs just for the hell of it…if that’s the case then my alternate soap box comment would be: get.a.life)
Anyway, below is one of the YouTube videos (warning: put the sound on low before pressing play) click here to get to the original compilation.
Alert the botox reserves and increase the AMEX limit, ’cause Bravo’s Real Housewives is taking over! First we had Orange County, then New York City, then Atlanta; they just launched Real Housewives of New Jersey and now the producers are scouting the nation’s capitol for another batch of……of…………I once heard a saying that if you can’t say anything…..nice…then don’t say anything at all…………………………………………………a batch of……………………………………
Well, anyway, I’m convinced Bravo’s hit series will not stop until every major city/metropolitan area, upscale mall, exclusive country club, yacht-stocked marina and plastic surgeon has been exploited by the ridiculous antics of extremely annoying women who claim to be “housewives.” Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
In the meantime, if you are glutton for merciless punishment then please feel free to indulge in the premiere season of RHONJ, check Bravo’s website for listings. Below is a clip from the show…warning, do not watch while holding a sharp object, as you may find yourself struggling to keep it from your eyes.
For the most part, I have always considered American Idol to be an entertaining reality/competition show, with a few highs (Simon Cowell’s brutal honesty) and a few lows (those cringe-worthy audition outtakes!) , but when it dwindled down to the remaining two this season, I felt the show had potential to actually be groundbreaking. And of course I’m referring to Adam Lambert. He raised the talent bar so high that it might as well have been outside the Nokia theater, and well above the golden-gray smog line that hovers gently over scenic Los Angeles. Every week, the care, thought and originality that he put into his performances–the costumes, special effects, and that range/voice/signature scream. To a lot of us out there, and I think I’m primarily speaking on behalf of the critical AI viewers, Adam was truly an artist, what a musical idol could and should be, and a tribute to good old rock and roll that you just don’t find/hear/see/experience anymore.
Unfortunately, the majority of those who voted Tuesday night didn’t agree with me, and instead went with the cute, cuddly and instrumentally-talented Kris Allen. Was it the blue state/red state thing? Was it the glam-boy vs. the boy next door thing? Who knows, who cares…Kris is safe, he’s nice, and apparently he’s what the majority of America wants right now. His music I’m sure will be…nice. But I predict he’ll do his one-year American Idol dog-and-pony show and then eventually fade into the vast Adult Contemporary/Country Music landscape.
And Adam…yes, well, Adam will be fine, he will be more than fine. He’s already made a huge splash in the music industry and I’m sure there are a lot of record execs thrilled that he didn’t win for two reasons 1) No AI contract frees him up and 2) They don’t have to comply with AI when marketing/promoting him. He’s a free agent with the world in the palm of his shimmery black-nail-polished hand.
So, we’ve seen hints in the past that the American Idol machine turned out to be irrelevant (see: Ruben Studdard/Clay Aiken, Academy-Award winner Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Hicks/Chris Daughtry, etc.), but this year brings it home because it is so clearly obvious even before any contracts have been signed or tunes cranked out. The fickle AI viewers may have made Kris Allen their first choice for this season, but the music industry and the true die-hard music lovers out there will make Adam Lambert #1 for many years to come.
…in awesome scripted programming on network television!!
Last night Fox premiered the first episode of Glee, a mostly-comedic series, threaded with moments of hopelessness and heartache, about the clique-y/awkward/glory days of high school, as seen through the eyes of the theater/musical kids, and OMG was it OUT-STANDING!
The writing is fantastic…earnest, authentic, with a refreshing energy lacking in most of what is currently airing on network television. The casting: superb and convincing.
What I think I’m trying to say here is YOU MUST CHECK OUT THIS SHOW! It has wide appeal, is highly entertaining and provides irreverent commentary on today’s society while highlighting America’s obsession with competition, fame and status.
Not only did Fox brilliantly premiere it after last night’s American Idol, but now they will have us salivating all summer long for more because the show doesn’t actually premiere until this fall! But don’t worry, you can go to Fox.com and watch the first episode as much as you want. And below is the trailer in case you haven’t seen it yet…
I came across a pretty funny posting where a website compiled some YouTube videos of Adam Lambert fans and their reactions to Kris Allen winning this season’s American Idol. And as hilarious as they are to watch–the screaming, the shocked expressions, all the jumping up and down–what I found most bizarre about this whole thing is that so many people had video cameras rolling while they watched the AI finale. Weird? Yes? No? I think yes.
For the most part, I have always considered American Idol to be an entertaining reality/competition show, with a few highs (Simon Cowell’s brutal honesty) and a few lows (those cringe-worthy audition outtakes!) , but when it dwindled down to the remaining two this season, I felt the show had potential to actually be groundbreaking. And of course I’m referring to Adam Lambert. He raised the talent bar so high that it might as well have been outside the Nokia theater, and well above the golden-gray smog line that hovers gently over scenic Los Angeles. Every week, the care, thought and originality that he put into his performances–the costumes, special effects, and that range/voice/signature scream. To a lot of us out there, and I think I’m primarily speaking on behalf of the critical AI viewers, Adam was truly an artist, what a musical idol could and should be, and a tribute to good old rock and roll that you just don’t find/hear/see/experience anymore.
