American Idol: The American Addiction

These days, most of us find it hard to believe that a few years ago, reality television was an obscure and unexplored art form. With the exception of Cops and The Real World, television producers had yet to tap in to the mainstream potential of reality TV. Now it’s everywhere. Each of the major networks has at least one primetime reality series, and all of them seem to do extremely well, but these days, the one that seems the most talked about is Fox’s American Idol. For those of you who don’t know (all three of you), American Idol was Fox’s first home run answer to the reality TV craze. Four years ago, the show premiered as a knockout hit, and is now in its fourth extremely successful season. The show offers a chance for someone out there with a talent for singing to audition and perform on the show, then be voted on by viewers. The last person left is dubbed the “American Idol” and receives a record deal. Pretty simple, right? Nothing complex about it, but this simple show has America screaming for more. It has become the new most addictive program on television. So what is it about Idol that makes us want to watch? What’s so addicting about a bunch of people singing? For one thing, the show is sometimes flat out hilarious. Anyone who’s ever watched the first few episodes of American Idol knows what I mean. To kick off the series, the judges (music industry moguls Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowl) must endure a gauntlet of thousands of would-be stars, most of whom have no talent at all. Let’s face it, it all makes us feel better about ourselves to hear Simon rip into someone for thinking that they ever, ever thought they had the teeniest chance of being on his show. People of all shapes, sizes colors and creeds, from trucks to transvestites, and everything in between audition, and even if you don’t care about singing talent, you can’t help but find it amusing. Then come the later episodes, when those talented few begin performing live on national television for the masses. It was fun to see the people that sucked, but it’s also fun for music fans to see the Idol potentials battle it out onstage. They’re not recording artists yet, but they truly do have talent. The combination of music and reality TV is something that sets American Idol apart. Music fans and reality fans alike can tune in and be impressed. But most importantly, dear readers, America is addicted to American Idol because the show offers anyone in America a chance to live out their dreams, and who among us hasn’t dreamed of being a singing sensation? It doesn’t matter what style of music we like, where we live, how big our paychecks are, we all want a chance to steal the show wreckin’ the mic. On this show we see ourselves. The winners on American Idol are ordinary people with extraordinary talent, just like we hope we are. Young people all across America watch this show and go to sleep with dreams of stardom in their heads, and some of them turn out for auditions the next season. Old people watch and dream of days of yore, when they too had those hopes, and it makes them happy to know that someone is living that dream. The people who become the “American Idol” are people from all walks of life, people who have faced hard times just like the rest of and have overcome to be what they are now, and it is their tenacity and strength that makes America want to watch. Soon, ABC networks is airing a special report on scandal’s within American Idol, perhaps in an effort to bring the show down. If anything, it will only make us want to watch more, because American Idol is a TV show that gives us hope, and hope is extremely addictive.