Suspense, drama & great singing in AI 10

I have gone back to watching American Idol (AI) regularly again. And I am glad that Star World has several time slots on schedule. Like if I miss the live feed in the afternoons, I still get to watch the same episode in the evenings. I can even watch again on weekends if I particularly enjoyed the show or if I want to check on something or if there are no other interesting shows in the other channels. I do not know how the ratings are in the US of A but I can honestly say that AI has been able to regain all the suspense, drama and great singing that made the reality show a major sensation 10 years ago.

Of course, I watched last week and I still cannot get out of my head how Stefano Langone must have felt. Remember he and Pia Toscano were the bottom two contestants and a roar of “no’s” went up the hall when host Ryan Seacrest announced that Pia will be going home. Poor Stefano had to stand there and endure the audience’s and also the supposed to be unbiased judges’ disagreement with the results. Why, it was like Langone was being told by a mob that he was the one who should be going home. Get out, it is Pia who deserves to stay. Not you.

Now that was a cruel moment. But that is the show. Honestly speaking it is no different from the arena games of ancient Rome where gladiators battled for their lives and the people had the prerogative of choosing who will live or who will die. They may have been savages but they had rules, that they made sure were followed. One of those rules says that one contestant with the lowest number of votes gets booted out every week. And because there were not enough viewers who voted for her, Pia had to go. It was unfortunate but news have it that Idol’s A&R coach Jimmy Iovine has given Pia a record deal at his Interscope Records and she might in fact be releasing her debut a

Lauren Alaina,Paul McDonald

lbum ahead of this year’s winner.

Anyway, American Idol is now down to eight finalists, who I must add make up a very good batch. Casey Abrams, who got the judges, only save of the season and who continues to impress with his artistry every week; rocker James Durbin, who proved he could be as mesmerizing with slow rock; 17-year-old country baritone Scotty McCreery who showed he could rock the house; the young bluesy rocker Lauren Alaina; the sexy Haley Reinhart, who has shown tremendous improvement; powerhouse soul balladeer Jacob Lusk; Stefano of the cute, pop idol looks; and country rocker Paul McDonald.

Who do you think will go home this week? The Idol aspirants will be doing songs from the movies tomorrow. That means they have a wealth of popular materials to choose from. If they get the right song, they will also get to stay. Truth to tell, I didn’t think Pia did well with the Tina Turner song River Deep, Mountain High last week and look at what happened to her. On the other hand, McDonald’s rendition of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues was an absolute delight. So he got to stay. With him out of the danger zone, I have a feeling that set to go home on Friday would be either Lusk or Langone.

Scotty McCreery and Stefano Langone

Still, as the show constantly reminds viewers, nobody is safe. The contestants need the votes. The talent helps. So do the comments from the judges. But at the end of the day, it is really all about the likeability factor and one’s resources. You need to spend for those votes.

Speaking of likeability, I am glad that American Idol has recovered its likeability this year. Renewed interest in the show can trickle down to the local entertainment scene. Kids can learn from the contestants and the comments of the judges. Then there might be new talent contests hereabouts that might just encourage a new batch of deserving talents to join. And they will have lots of fans, make lots of hits and bring life to the dying music business.