'American Idol': At auditions' end

And so the understated audition tour glides to an understated final stop in Miami. In interviews, Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe dangled the very specific number three as the quantity of unmistakable earth-shattering talents we would meet in the pre-season.

Though admittedly, this critic is more of a theater gourmand than a licensed arbiter of musical abilities, I nonetheless am not quite sure of which three he was talking about. I feel that along this audition trail we have met a good number, as many as 20 or so, of very credible talents with great growth potential (not to mention tear-jerking back stories).  But I can’t say I’ve had the “Oh My God” moment that I remember when first gazing upon Katharine McPhee or Melinda Doolittle. 

Then again, both of them lost in respective seasons, and I have little to no memory of the first visions of Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks or Fantasia Barrino. I remember Taylor Hicks’ first audition all too clearly, but for different reasons.  Kelly Clarkson’s audition wasn’t aired during the Season 1 tour, proving that the fates can be capricious to the producers’ attempts to construct an orderly narrative out of this vast, sweeping process.

In truth, as one more drawn towards the spectacle of the "Idol" experience, the audition tour is not my favorite part of the journey; ultimately, I appreciate the drama of those moments of truth, but I find too few moments of real suspense during the auditions. It is too easy for the judges to hand a golden ticket to those with any talent and the fates of those without are all too clear.  The producers insist that without the magic of finding the raw talent in the midst of the masses, the rest of the journey would be incomprehensible, and I believe that.  The discoveries of a McPhee or a Doolittle are incomparable moments.  But it would be nice if we could feel a bit more stakes during the six-stop tour. 

Perhaps the problem is that half the auditionees, the weirdos, are being brought forward just to be discarded.  Perhaps "Idol" needs to consider that it is not doing enough to harvest every bit of potential out of this end of the contestant pool.  Perhaps a more dramatic, and fair, way to move forward would be that rather than using the auditions to merely sort the wheat from the chaff, they could send every auditionee to compete in one of two parallel competitions.  On the top end, the traditionally blessed contestants would continue on to "Idol" as we know it, but on the lower end, the rejects could go head-to-head in their own season-long sing-off, competing for the William Hung throne.  I  propose that this solution would not just be more equitable and more dramatic, but more efficient -- wringing every ounce of entertainment potential out of "Idol’s" masses.  No singer left behind in ’09!

Another interesting phenomenon in Season 7 is how nearly every auditionee walks in the footsteps of a previous "Idol" luminary. ‘Twas a time when "Idol" was new that the contestants aspired to be Mariah Carey and Celine Dion.  But now the shadow of past seasons weighs heavily over the long lines of Bo Bice clones, Kelly Clarkson fanatics, country girls who often seem more Kelly Pickler than Carrie Underwood and Kelly Pickler, hard rockers drawn to walk the Daughtry trail, and in Miami, one devoted Jasmine Trias acolyte.

At the conclusion of the Season 6 auditions a year ago, I wrote: “Every season’s first episode brings a lurch to the stomach. We see these 24 unformed, rough talents and the question looms heavy in the ether: is there a Kelly Clarkson among this crowd? Can the next Clay Aiken be hanging over that railing before us?

And at first glance, the answer is generally, absolutely not. There is no way that these wild, untamed beasts of the singing jungles can rise in one song, in one episode to the stature of the giants of entertainment.”

At that time, the group stepping forward from the auditions seemed too impossibly small to follow in the footsteps of McPhee, Daughtry and Pickler.  In time, of course, Sparks, Jones, Lewis, Doolittle and Scarnato became icons in their own right.  Going into this season,  I must say I feel more optimistic than I did a year ago. Though no automatic favorite leaps out at me, we’ve seen enough charismatic, high performers that one has a general sense there are the makings of a strong 12 in there somewhere. 

Of course, on the first day of Hollywood week, every single one of those potential stars might be swept away.  But then the season, Season 7, begins.

-- Richard Rushfield

(Photo courtesy Fox)

Comments

[John]

This audition portion of the show is completely choreographed and edited for "entertainment" value. The worst contestants are obviously thrown in for shock value, laughs, contempt, whatever. No one believed they actually had a chance with the judges. Don't take it so seriously.

[GTR]

Based on what we've seen, the 2008 American Idol season finale will result in no winners.

[Quan]

I always fast-forward through the bio pieces. The show needs to cut back on (or eliminate altogether) the freaks. Showing self-delusional people is one thing but the inordinate amount of time spent on wackos detract from the fact that the show is a singing competition.

[Spider Pig]

Confidence is a good thing. Delusion isn't. Where the two meet, American Idol gleefully wallows in the mess. That's what I thought as I watched the first round of auditions, always my favorite part of the AI process thanks to the combo of hilarity and schadenfreude. Watching the parade of confident but clueless contestants who were convinced they had world-class talent, I couldn't help but agree with the judges who asked, "Has no one ever told you that you can't sing?" Apparently not.

Far be it from me to crush peoples' dreams -- isn't it better to have wildly unrealistic fantasies than to have none at all? -- but it seems a generation of parents has taken the self-esteem mantra to frightening extremes. Yeah, support your kids. Yeah, encourage them. But maybe you want to inject a dose of reality into those dreams and explain to your teenager that they ought to develop other talents -- academics, athletics, ANYTHING -- because their garbled, tuneless ramblings won't be their golden ticket out of a life behind a deli counter. People sometimes need to hear the word "No."

PS-What’s up with the ever increasing numbers of contestants who insist on singing "just one more song" after they've already been nixed by the judges? It's sort of like going double-or-nothing on a bet you know you're going to lose. Does this ever work?

[Carol]

It's almost a shame that the phenomenon that was Season 2 happened so soon for this show, because there's never going to be another season like it. With all that talent, and the Clay vs Ruben finale. Even though the real winner came in second (we all know it) we had week after week of the morph of Clay into pure gorgeousness and his gradual comfort level on stage. The talent was always there, but he absolutely got better and better each week. (Which continued, by the way. You should see this guy perform live now--classy, fabulous, funny, witty interaction with the audience. He's the best I've seen, and I've seen them all! ) There's no way to match this again. Clay is one in a million. I sorta kinda like him a lot!

[Louise7]

I am loyal fan of Melinda Doolittle and want spread the wonderful news about her album.Louise7 Mon, Aug 11, 2008 at 09:44 AM EST

This past week Melinda finally finished the vocals on her CD! All of that happens quickly then we can expect to see her CD on shelves this Fall! Also, keep your eye out for her first official single that should be hitting airwaves in the coming weeks. Melinda is going to be throwing a lot of music at us in the coming months so get ready!
New website to support Melinda Career and album. www.mdstreetteam.com Melinda have her own topic there so she can keep in touch with her fans (backup) that she like to call us. Come join us.

[Louise7]

Melinda Doolittle's Debut Album Coming Back to You Drops 2/3/2009 - Listen to her Single “It’s Your Love” at http://myspace.com/MelindaDoolittle

A release date has been set for her upcoming album. Coming Back To You will drop on February 3, and it promises to be an eclectic mix of blues, classic R&B and jazz.

The first single, “It’s Your Love” will be released to radio soon.
Keep updated about Melinda's career at melindasbackups.com

Coming Back to You by Melinda Doolittle (Audio CD - 2009)

Available for Pre-order. This item will be released on Jan 27, 2009. At Amazon

[Louise]

Melinda Doolittle's Debut Album Coming Back to You Drops 2/3/2009. It promises to be an eclectic mix of blues, classic R&B and jazz. The first single, “It’s Your Love” is available for purchase on iTunes.
You can pre-order the entire album at http://www.MelindaDoolittle.com and some of the proceeds will go to Malaria No More. Also check out the great videos Melinda has posted for her fans at http://mdoolittlesblog. blogspot.com/.

Keep updated about Melinda's career at http://www.melindasbackups.com which is a web site owned by Melinda Doolittle. Melinda’s Backups™ is a non-profit supportive association inspired by Melinda and authorized by her to operate this web site on behalf of her fans.

I am one of her backups (fans) and can truly say that not only is Melinda hugely talented but she is also exceptionally kind and gracious