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Reviewers wonder whether show can restore its musical magic
By Rich Heldenfels
and Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal staff writers
Published on Monday, Jan 14, 2008
The seventh season of American Idol begins with a crucial question: Can this show still sell music?
Yes, the real point of the show is to sell cars, clothes, soap and anything else an advertiser wants to peddle to the hordes who tune into the series, which launches again with two two-hour audition telecasts Tuesday and Wednesday on Fox.
No question about the hordes. It was the most-watched TV series last season. In fact, it was the two most-watched series, with the 30 million viewers for the Wednesday results shows ranking first and the 29.5 million for Please see 'Idol', D3
Continued from Page D1
Tuesday telecasts placing second, according to Nielsen.
The New York Times reported that seven of the 10 most-watched single telecasts in '07 were also installments of Idol. (The others were the top-ranked Super Bowl, its post-game show and the Academy Awards.)
Considering that the writers strike has knocked most of the scripted competition off the air, Idol can expect to draw even more viewers to its seventh season.
But, quick, who won the sixth season?
Who placed second?
And, even more significantly, did you buy or download either one's recordings?
The answers are Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis and probably not.
The Idol Stalker Web site says that Sparks' debut CD had the worst opening-week sales ever for an Idol winner. (For the record, second-season winner Ruben Studdard had the best start, followed by Season Four's Carrie Underwood.)
Not that you have to win the show to score on the charts. The all-time best opening week, according to Idol Stalker, belongs to second-season runner-up Clay Aiken.
Chris Daughtry, an also-ran in Season Five, has sold more than 3 million copies of his band's debut album, demonstrating that the show can be a springboard for musical talent.
And Daughtry's success is dwarfed by that of Underwood, whose first album sold more than 6 million copies, while another 2 million of her sophomore effort have flown off store shelves. If she hasn't already topped the overall sales of first-season champ Kelly Clarkson, she will in 2008.
But look at Season Six. So far, it has produced no one who proved of interest in the music business — or entertainment generally — once the show was over.
And that's a first for Idol. Season One had Clarkson. Season Two, the Ruben Studdard-Clay Aiken war. Season Three, Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson, now an Oscar-winning actress. Season Four, Underwood. Season Five, Daughtry. (We know, Taylor Hicks won. But, however loyal Hicks' fan base may be, he has been eclipsed commercially by Daughtry.)
There may be potential among the Season Six also-rans, in the form of Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones, but it's unrealized to date.
So what happened?
Part of the problem is the myth of American Idol, that it's a ''singing competition.''
It's not, so much so that the show itself has not stayed consistently on message. In TV terms, it is a melodrama with a soundtrack. It is Paula and Randy and Simon. It is theme nights and celebrity mentors and car-promoting videos and ''Idol Gives Back.''
It is, when you think back to Season Six, Sanjaya.
Sanjaya Malakar was the embodiment of everything that went wrong with Idol in the sixth season. He was not merely more entertaining as a personality than a singer, he was all personality, no singer.
When Idol chose to ride the Sanjaya train (which should have been derailed somewhere in the audition process), it suggested to viewers that personality and weeping, tone-deaf fans were more important than any vocalizing.
Then there was the whole mentor issue, the bringing in of celebrity singers who were supposed to guide the young contestants. While the celebs might have been a draw for some viewers, they also took up valuable air time that could have been devoted to the contestants.
Even worse, the presence of someone like Tony Bennett again served as a reason to think the show had no serious interest in music.
Oh, Bennett was serious. But his carefully considered advice was consistently ignored by the singers in the competition. We still think it's no accident that Bennett, supposedly fighting the flu, was a no-show on results night his week.
Even ''Idol Gives Back,'' while a decent cause, took away from the competition (and no one was voted off during the good-feelings-generating telecast). Also, it showcased singers who were better and more interesting than the Idol crew.
So has the show learned its lessons? Maybe. Ryan Seacrest told People.com that this season ''you will see us go back to our roots. We're going to focus more on the kids — where they came from, the background, what they did for a living.''
That's a shift, at least, from the telecasts that felt mentor-heavy. Still, it's not a shift toward musical focus. It's still selling personalities. And when people buy a Carrie Underwood CD, it's not merely because she is pretty and blond. It's because they like the way she sings.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in the HeldenFiles Online blog at http://www.ohio.com. Contact him at 330-996-3582 or rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
Malcolm X Abram writes about popular music for the Beacon Journal and in the Sound Check blog at http://www.ohio.com. Contact him at 330-996-3758 or mabram@thebeaconjournal.com.
The seventh season of American Idol begins with a crucial question: Can this show still sell music?
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