American Idol Can Be Unfair

I am sure it isn't news to everybody that Idol is unfair. The fact that the pubic determines the outcome of the competition brings into question how fair a competition this is. The public can be manipulated, and manipulated they are by professional star makers that have deals lined up that are brokered before the competition is even over.

I didn't watch the first season of American Idol. I was unimpressed by the network machine and its efforts to manipulate the public with more reality TV. Reality TV was initially the brainchild of desperate producers dealing with the onset of actor and writer's strikes. This type of television was a producer's dream. You don't have to pay for actors or writers. Just set the camera up and let 'er rip.

During the third season I roomed with some folks that watched Idol religiously. I was hooked when I watched Fantasia's performance of "Summertime" from the floor of the Idol stage. I knew in that moment that she would win, but I had to watch until the end to confirm it. After that I watched every season without hesitation. I guess everyone likes to be right.

This season I noticed some very interesting things that I never quite got before. There are so many auditions that it is difficult to air them all. The 24 picked are not necessarily the 24 that we, the public, have seen in the dramatic audition weeks prior to the actual competition. It seems that we see the ones that the producers feel are the best.

As an example let us consider Buck. Buck was shown briefly but never really showcased the way Carly Smithson, David Archuletta, and plus size model Joanne Borgella. These folks have been given an immediate push to the front by having their faces in the camera so prominently. I suspect they have been pumped up to the public because they have previous experience in the music industry.