'American Idol': A very thin line

Each season of "American Idol" asks our nation not just to choose our champion, but to decide what kind of people we are. What makes us, American viewers of "American Idol" (as opposed to viewers of "Lithuanian Idol" or "Indonesian Idol" or any other franchise of the worldwide empire) unique? In choosing an idol, we say what as a people we aspire to be -– are we a whimsical beat boxing people or are we at heart a perky yet sincere balladeering people? The great questions of our age each year sort themselves out on the "Idol" stage.

This year, the preseason audition episodes force us to confront another question haunting society: Where is the line between deluded belief in one’s talent and actual mental illness, or sadder still, mental handicap?

This is the line that the audition episodes walk. We all as a society agree that it is wrong and not endearing to mock the disabled. We also as a society believe that it is impossible not to laugh at healthy-minded people who nurture catastrophic blind spots about their own abilities. The show by and large seems to recognize that line, saving its worst abuse for the merely misguided, while the truly, clearly handicapped receive gentler letdowns.

However, in this preseason, I find myself questioning whether this divide can be defined as neatly as we would like to think. The giant hulking fellow, for instance, who walked in circles talking to himself, protected his excruciating voice on the advice of Christina Aguilera and who reported, “I sing so well my dad would say, ‘I hate you,’ ” clearly seemed to have things going on beyond just acoustic overconfidence. Philadelphia’s glitter girl who lived with her mother in a one-room apartment and launched into borderline Tourette rantings similarly appeared to be driven by some larger issues. 

A less-clear question arose when it came to the Elliot Yamin singing park ranger: Is he just really nice or might he be, perhaps, a little slow? Could his impossible belief in his horrifying singing be a symptom of something else rather than the disease?  Although -- at least in his backstory reel -- he seemed completely functional, it's hard to believe there is not something more going on there.

And if one is going to go down that slippery slope, is the singing waitress who screeches to the cheers of her model boyfriend really just that out of it?  At what point does being that out of it become a problem that we should be worried about?

And what of that other demographic –- the people, like the “Guyshadow”-wearing kindergarten teacher, who seem to be consciously making spectacles of themselves in tragic bids for negative attention but who also still pretty much believe they are going to become the next American Idol. How can such a rich, multilayered denial coupled with delusion not be a sign of something more scary than funny going on (not that pre-homicidal-rampage scary can’t also be funny).

But at the end of an "Idol" audition episode, what the two hours really bring to light is just how fine a line our society walks every day. How often in each of our days do we stand beside people who wrongly consider themselves intelligent, beautiful, witty, brave?  Often it seems just about everyone we know (certainly everyone I know) is deeply, horribly deluded in some way or another. And in real life, Simon Cowell never shows up with their glass of cold water. In the end, don’t the audition episodes really point out to us that, viewed under the lights of network television, much of our world may not be just amusingly misguided but in fact -- as Simon labeled Mr. Guyshadow -- “very menacing”? 

"American Idol" may not always have all the answers, but it always shows us the questions to ask.

Postscript: Watching the animated opening where the little character rides the elevator past giant live billboards of past Idols, it seems the figures displayed go straight from Carrie Underwood to Jordin Sparks and that Taylor Hicks has been wiped from the official history. I have replayed the opening five times on my TiVo and can't see Taylor. Does anyone out there see him someplace that I'm missing?

-- Richard Rushfield

Comments

[alms]

IIf the premise of the show is to entertain people ,as quoted above, then that is exactly what Taylor Hicks did so well. He had his voice heard and people loved it. He fulfilled his obligation according to AI rules ,however they did not. The promotion was non-existing & the disparging remarks were uncalled for. Over 800,000 cd worldwide is a very good showing (especially with no promotion or radio play) Which brings me to the biggest question.... why were so many of us told by radio stations in all states and Canada when requesting Taylor Hicks , and I quote my experience " We will NOT play Taylor Hicks" from one station and "we are not ALLOWED to play Taylor HIcks" from another station . This is so unfair to Mr. Hicks and someone with a lot of pull is making this decision. I think like with Kelly Clarkson you do it Clive's way or you don't do it and he will make sure you don't. I don't think this is just a conspiracy" theory." I just think the facts speak for themselves.

[alms]

IIf the premise of the show is to entertain people ,as quoted above, then that is exactly what Taylor Hicks did so well. He had his voice heard and people loved it. He fulfilled his obligation according to AI rules ,however they did not. The promotion was non-existing & the disparging remarks were uncalled for. Over 800,000 cd worldwide is a very good showing (especially with no promotion or radio play) Which brings me to the biggest question.... why were so many of us told by radio stations in all states and Canada when requesting Taylor Hicks , and I quote my experience " We will NOT play Taylor Hicks" from one station and "we are not ALLOWED to play Taylor HIcks" from another station . This is so unfair to Mr. Hicks and someone with a lot of pull is making this decision. I think like with Kelly Clarkson you do it Clive's way or you don't do it and he will make sure you don't. I don't think this is just a conspiracy" theory." I just think the facts speak for themselves.

[Martin]

I am so glad to see someone in the mainstream press actually report this issue about Taylor Hicks being omitted from the opening credits of AI. It's no accident that viewership is down dramatically this season. If the producers want America to pick the winner, then they should respect America's choice and give each winner the full support that goes with the title. It's no secret that Chris Daughtry was the producers' favorite in 2006. Chris was supposed to sing the Bruce Springsteen song, "Dancing in the Dark" but he was voted off. Read Taylor's book. Even after the finale, Chris was treated as the de facto winner. Taylor Hicks made a ton of money for the AI machine; 20 additional tour stops were added and most were near sellouts. Granted, the talent in that season was remarkable and each idol brought a unique sound which will probably not be seen again. However, in his book Taylor alludes to what may be the real reason for his ultimate dismissal by the powers that be. He petitioned for better pay for the contestants during the run of the show, and was basically 'shut down' by management. He refused to sing the coronation song originally picked for him. In other words, he couldn't be controlled. Yet each time Taylor is asked about AI he is gracious and complimentary. The absolute hatred for Taylor by Simon Cowell is visceral. You can see it on his face. This year when Taylor's backup singer auditioned Simon couldn't even look at her. Taylor's label did not promote him the way a winner should be have been promoted, with a single released prior to the album and a music video, plus promotion to the Clear Channel radio stations. And most of the media goes along with the idea that Taylor is a failure. Not so. Having sold over 700,000 albums with basically NO promotion by his record label is anything but a failure. Read some of the press in Indonesia from his recent tour there and performance on Asian Idol and you will see that he gets far more respect there than in his own country. It is really amazing that even after two years AI is still trying to find ways to discredit Taylor Hicks. You would think that they would have moved on by now.

[MCH]

Some interesting comments here. I had similar experiences with radio when requesting Taylor. One replied "We're watching this artist" but would not play him. Watching him? What does that mean? He sold 500,000 CDs in the first two weeks, much more than three-quarters of the artists on radio, but it wasn't enough to be played. I notice Jordin has had no problem with airplay, even with a slow-selling CD.

The other response I got from another station was thanks for listening but not to request Taylor Hicks, as this artist will never be played on our station -- this was an AC station, the type of station his music was targeted to. Of course Daughtry was the No. 1 artist on this particular program director's other station, a Hot AC station. Now all I've heard for the past six months is how Taylor failed to produce a radio hit. Well, I wonder why. I don't know about conspiracies, but something odd was going on here with radio play. Whether it was lack of support from the record company or a failure on their part to "pay" the proper promotions, who knows.

Was AI or Clive Davis behind any of it? No idea. All I do know is I'm tired of their constant dissing of their winner, the latest one being the opening credits, while Taylor on the other hand always has nothing but praise for the show and is always very gracious and thankful. I'll always be grateful to AI for bringing this wonderfully talented man to our attention and for giving Taylor the break he worked so hard for and so deserved to get, but I will no longer be watching.

[Bob]

I did not even know that Taylor Hicks had a CD out......I am not an American Idol fan, just caught my eye when his audition came on and from then on I was very interested in what he would perform week to week. I have not seen his CDs in stores nor have I heard his music on the radio. But I do know how the music industry works and I am not surprised. I will definitely find his CD and buy it. As for American Idol, Taylor is in a whole different league.

[GwenB]

Taylor Hicks is a class act and a working musician who appears to be very happy in his success. American Idol gave him the boost he was looking for, I believe. I agree that he was not promoted nor given the measure of respect he deserves, but his fans love him and appreciate his talent and his character. I believe that Taylor Hicks will continue his successful path, no doubt about it.

[NeverVoteAgain]

I'd just like to add how awkward and arrogant the editing of the show was during Melanie Nyema's audition. After Randy asked which Idol she had been singing with, she turned and pointed to the side and told us it was "him". All we could see at home were pictures of two female Idols. Taylor's picture was still off-screen. They wouldn't even show it when he was being directly referenced! Ruben's picture is also off-screen the majority of the time.

Apparently, according to Nigel, I "got it wrong" when I voted for my favorite in Season 5. Perhaps he also thinks the hundreds of thousands of consumers who bought Taylor's cd were "wrong". I won't be making the same "mistake" again, as I will not bother to vote again. Chances are, I wouldn't have anyway, since I doubt anyone else will interest me enough to prompt my vote.

[SHL]

Great article on Idol. I found myself feeling a bit uncomfortable watching some of the autions.. When the AA man came on I wondered if we were missing a slight handicap of some kind. I also though the same of the circle guy. LOL!! I remember this issue last year and the year before. Helll, posters on the AI site thought Taylor Hicks had terits(sp) HOWEVER, the rest of them truely beleive they can sing or just want their 15mins and AI is more then willing to give it to them. After all this is REALITY TV.

Man I was releaved to read your PS. I thought it was just my Taylor craziness that caused me to miss him in the graphics and on the aution back grounds. BTW, there is no conspiracy. How can there be a conspiracy when TPTB payed zero attention to Mr.Hicks to begin with?

Any who, great article.......

[SHL]

Great article on Idol. I found myself feeling a bit uncomfortable watching some of the autions.. When the AA man came on I wondered if we were missing a slight handicap of some kind. I also though the same of the circle guy. LOL!! I remember this issue last year and the year before. Helll, posters on the AI site thought Taylor Hicks had terits(sp) HOWEVER, the rest of them truely beleive they can sing or just want their 15mins and AI is more then willing to give it to them. After all this is REALITY TV.

Man I was releaved to read your PS. I thought it was just my Taylor craziness that caused me to miss him in the graphics and on the aution back grounds. BTW, there is no conspiracy. How can there be a conspiracy when TPTB payed zero attention to Mr.Hicks to begin with?

Any who, great article.......

[Pamela]

The viewers and fans of American Idol voted for Taylor Hicks and for the show to insult it's own viewers is stupid marketing whatever your taste in music. No wonder millions of those fans tuned out last year, didn't buy concert tickets, and won't support new winners.

[Kathy]

I have never understood why people ever watched the auditions for AI in the first place. They are SO bad for the most part. Certainly not worth the time to watch to hear a few decent singers here and there. I'm sorry BUT most of the bad ones have to be just there for their 15 minutes of fame. The past popularity of the auditions has to be chalked up to our human nature of not being able the avoid looking at an accident on the highway.
Now AI seems to be attacking the very winners of past shows. Not every winner can be a top seller out of the gate. The music industry is full of popular singers or bands who took several CD's before they hit it big. To take pot shots at Taylor Hicks and say the audience got it wrong is ridiculous. AI are the ones who got it wrong. The AI audience are getting older and older each year and Taylor appealed to an adult audience. If they want the teen audience, that's who they should target to begin with. Get rid of the throw back songs, have them sing the song styles that are current now and kids like. How can you know if they are top 10 radio friendly when they are singing Over the Rainbow? If sales is all AI is interested in they should go after votes from the audience they want instead of blaming the audience they have of getting it wrong. Taylor Hicks and Elliot Yamin are both bluesy soulful singers. A style not all that popular on the radio but they are great live performers and if you think you know these singers from AI you are sorely mistaken. Go see a live concert and you will be amazed at the talent.

[Jason]

Taylor Hicks was backed up and given all the promotion a winner normally recieves when his album debutted. Fact is, he sucks, and the general public didn't buy into the gimmick of Taylor Hicks. It was then that the label slowed up on promotion. Taylor Hicks is also a very difficult person to work with. He will have trouble finding a label willing to work with him. This is the music industry. Artists are dropped and change labels all the time. I think some people need to get a grip and deal with it.

[JUST A MATTER OF TIME]

American Idol is digging their own grave with the treatment of Taylor Hicks. As a business owner I play Taylor Hicks music over the loud speakers. Daily I am asked who is this person singing and were can they get his music. It saddens me to tell them you cannot find his CD in store anywhere. So to say Mr Hicks is a failure is not true. If his music was played on the radio and the store stocked his music he would have sold alot more than what he has sold now. I fell lucky that I have his music and have the choice to play it in my business. It is very sad that america is missing out on a great talent.

[Haircut Daddy]

Regarding the missing Taylor Hicks from the AI Opening: It's possible that his image does appear near the end of the Intro where there is a longshot of the AI Stage; Fantasia's image is clear on the right, on her left there is a singer's image blurred out: that could be Taylor. I for one think it is incredible to blot out a winner like that so blatantly, unless Hicks himself wanted his image removed (it's in the worst possible camera position behind the judge's desk in the audition room so he probably did not remove his image).

I think this AI controversy should be bigger than it is, but I guess it's up to Taylor himself to make some noise about it. Meanwhile, the current AI is very dull even with a bunch of professional ringers in the lineup.

[raylindy]

To the business owner who plays Taylor's Music, the only place Taylor's CD can be found is at Amazon.com. They would have to order online, but Amazon has Taylor's music.