So that night, I watched the premier of American Idol in the hopes that Danny would be featured. He was not, either that week or the next week. What was featured were for the most part rejects that first week. They were being looked at by three record industry bigwigs, for which two I knew about (Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson) and one I had become aware of his reputation and his track record (Simon Cowell). It was hosted by two Los Angeles radio and/or stand up guys that I had no idea whom they were; although one of them looked uncannily like MTV personality Rikki Rachtman. In any case, the rejects were the highlight of the show.
There was the one female that was clueless of her rejection that she came back.
The kid named Derek that looked dejected and was told that he sucked by Simon and other people at the New York audition.
The one guy that wanted desperately to make it into the business; to as he put it "be somebody's product."
The African-American female that when rejected told off Simon.
The one guy who auditioned by singing Silent Night and forgetting the lyrics (Silent Night; I said a Silent Night)
The one young man that deadpanned American Pie that made Simon mention that the music (as it were) just died.
To their credit, it got serious as the weeks went on. Indeed, numerous celebrities became fans of the show; enough to fill the Dolby Theater for the season finale. More importantly, it was on Idol Season 1 that we were introduced to an artist that I think is perhaps the successor to Linda Ronstadt in her varied talents. That of course would be Kelly Clarkson; who has done extremely well in the 13 years since winning the first American Idol.
It was Season 2 which began in January 2003 and ended that May when American Idol hit its stride. That year, the rejected weeks were extended and were possibly even funnier than the year before. I mean, who could ever forget that one woman who tried to sing Unchained Melody as the seasons went by?:). More notably, it was the first year that I felt torn between who should win, as did many fans. Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken and Kimberly Locke were the top three that year; and any one of them could have won and there would not be an outcry. In the end, all three got recording contracts, and Ruben Studdard won the title of American Idol. This was also the first year when the non winners, namely Clay Aiken, made a greater impact than the winners. In fact, it happened again the next year. Fantasia won, and deservedly so. Yet, Jennifer Hudson became the Oscar winning singer and actress that shined brightest.
One year after that, American Idol introduced us to a highly successful artist in Country Music. Arguably, Carrie Underwood has had along with Kelly Clarkson the greatest success of any Idol winner. To do that while basically sticking to a field of music true to her core was and still is rather ballsy and brave. That was in 2005. 2006 was I think the start of things getting rotten. While that year brought artists such as Katherine McPhee and Daughtry to the forefront; the winner that year was Taylor Hicks. Hicks basically copied Joe Cocker move for move; an idea which I was not personally interested in. Taylor Hicks also became the first Idol winner to not entirely have that great of a success as the years went by.
The next year, Jordin Sparks took home the title of Idol; and for that year, she was the best. In 2008, American Idol had one of its best seasons; David Cook won that year in one of the more closely watched seasons for finalists. I think 6 of the top 10 went on to get recording contracts and enjoy comparative success. Personally, I felt David Archuleta was more deserving; yet I have no complaints.
2009 I think was the last great year for American Idol. I along with many others became impressed and instant fans of Adam Lambert; definitely one of the best performers and showmen to grace the stage of the series. Much of the top 12 were pretty darn good themselves. And while I was not too impressed with Kris Allen; he did alright for himself. Sadly, I do not think much of America were ready to accept Adam Lambert's lifestyle and theatrics at the time. That of course has since changed. This was also the year Paula Abdul left. That was quite a loss; I had like the banter Paula, Simon, Randy and Ryan Seacrest had going at that point.
I was not impressed with the following year. Many of the finalists seemed mediocre compared to past years. Though I really liked Crystal Bowersox and had hoped she would win. That of course did not happen. Lee DeWyze was the winner that year; a good singer who has done okay, yet it could have been a lot better. I knew Lee DeWyze would not live up to past winners when his ending signature song was a cover of the U2 anthem Beautiful Day. More importantly, Simon Cowell left after that year to focus more attention on The X Factor; as well as developing an American equivalent, producing the Got Talent series, leading his production company Syco, and becoming an innovative and on demand producer and talent manager. Artists like One Direction, Cher Lloyd, Susan Boyle, Leona Lewis, Jackie Evancho and Fifth Harmony got their starts from these Simon Cowell produced shows.
Not only did Simon leave, so too did Kara Dioguardi; who I thought made a damn good fourth judge. As well, Ellen DeGeneres left American Idol so as to not exhaust herself from her other programs. When that happened, American Idol changed. Probably not for the better.
The next year felt more like American Country Music Idol than anything else towards the end. Not a bad thing; I do like Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery, the latter of whom won that year. Indeed, McCreery has become I think the successor to George Strait in the new traditionalist mold. However, I am not much of a country music fan nowadays. You all know how much I loathe bro-country, so I will leave it at that. 2012 though was better; the year we were introduced to the rather interesting singer songwriter Phillip Phillips. He has done well for himself; indeed I think he was the first Idol winner to have his ending signature song be one he wrote, Home. Much of the time then and now, Phillip Phillips reminds me quite a bit of Dave Matthews. Yet, he is unique. That year though saw the departure of Randy Jackson. It was that departure that sank Idol into the abyss, I think.
So, the first 11 Idol winners and the many runners-up are well known. Since 2013; admittedly, who the heck cares. Not many in my family, myself included, were satisfied with Candace Glover winning. Caleb Johnson has done virtually nothing. And only time will tell if Nick Fradiani stands the test of time. Which brings us to now. Next year will be the 15th and last season of American Idol. So much has happened particularly since 2012 that has caused Idol to end, to say nothing of losing its relevance. This of course will need to require another weblog essay just to analyze why it is now ending.
The follow-up will come by tomorrow, I hope. Let me though say one thing: Kanye West and Arcade Fire, to name two different artists, broke through also around 2002-2003. They did not need American Idol to become amongst the best artists of their time. Heck, neither did this band.
Talk to you tomorrow,
Robert
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