After this week somehow tipped the stink over to the 'newsworthy' side of the ledger, CNN decided to run an article about just how many people had been gassed out of their living rooms. Because it's timely. And relevant. And as always, there is absolutely nothing else happening on the entire planet.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/03/04/american.idol.season.nine/index.html?hpt=C1

Any time you're using VFTW as a source, you're -- okay, let's be fair: you're pretty much turning to the experts, but you're also setting yourself up for a biased view accompanied by major tweaks of whoever was dumb enough to listen. 'Paula is a genius! She was the real talent behind everything! Lemonade?'

But coming on the heels of what could normally be accused as Death To Non-Caucasians Week and really just worked out to another serving of We're Still Plunging Out The Toilet: Please Stand By, the article gets to benefit from timing. 'See? We knew this svcked all along. We were just waiting for everyone else to figure it out.' As along as 'everyone else' doesn't include anyone who watches the show and can think for themselves, yes...

In the end, this may only be notable because the rest of the audience may be catching up to us: no, they're not out of singers, but they've tapped the well to the stone bottom on sob stories, casting purely for background cells may not be working as well as originally hoped -- and the viewership may finally be on the verge of that long-forecast mass revolt. But it doesn't mean anything unless the producers feel something's wrong. And if we get both Simon and Randy departing next season, they may decide that barring judge interaction, the sob stories will have to carry the day -- along with every single episode.

It could be worse, I guess.

It could be an All-Star (no winners, no final fours) season.

• RE: The mainstream media starts to pick up on the stench...,zazzy, 04:24 PM, 03-05-10
  • RE: The mainstream media starts to pick up on the stench...,KoalaChick, 02:37 PM, 03-07-10

"no, they're not out of singers, but they've tapped the well to the stone bottom on sob stories, casting purely for background cells may not be working as well as originally hoped -- and the viewership may finally be on the verge of that long-forecast mass revolt. But it doesn't mean anything unless the producers feel something's wrong. And if we get both Simon and Randy departing next season, they may decide that barring judge interaction, the sob stories will have to carry the day -- along with every single episode."

Good observation--and it reminds me of a discussion I've had about the Olympics. They have been using the in depth story/sob story approach for years and I think it's been wearing thin in these days of internet real time results.

Then again, the X Factor will be all about getting America hooked on backing certain people and that will be because of their story? I skip most of the beginning of AI so I try to stay away from the back stories. But they keep using them as filler in the semifinals, blech!

I think it's still too early to pick the standout singers of this season. They're still finding their stage presence and developing their professional image. Remember, it was about halfway through the season when Kelly Clarkson or David Cook really emerged.

But how they emerged was due to the coaching and criticism of the judges. That's the missing piece this year. Randy has never been a major force in judging, he simply says "it didn't work for me" or "you blew it out the box" or some such mumble. Simon is brutally honest and has good criticism, and I think Kara does, as well. Ellen? What a mistake. She simply rehashes her same phrases without any working knowledge of music or the industry.

The problem is that Simon has short-timers disease and really doesn't seem invested. Ellen and Randy are useless, Kara seems to be the only one with any sense of how to help these kids. All of them are giving confusing advice...do I make the song my own or do I stay true to the melody? One week the advise is to change it up and add your style, then when they do, it's back to "don't mess with the song so much". No wonder these kids seem like they're floating adrift. They're rookies...help them.

Adding Ellen is what's turning me off. I think I'm about the millionth member of the I Like Ellen, But Not On This Show club. Big mistake, hard to take the show seriously now.