Some Guys Are Normal

Is American Idol Fake?

Ok, so one more quick post about American Idol.

I was doing a little research on American Idol, and I found this very interesting article (top 24 spoiler alert!) about American Idol using already-signed recording artists this year. In fact, according to the article, 11 of the top 24 already had some serious music industry connections. One of the top 50 was even nominated for a Grammy.

Several of these 11 had only done things like win or be on other reality shows, so I can't really blame Idol for that. This includes my current favorite David Archuleta, who won Star Search a few years ago (although oddly, his personal website before he got on Idol has now been taken down). So, for these guys, if they've been on other reality shows, that hardly makes them off limits to American Idol.

But, some of these guys actually released albums with major labels. That's pretty insane if you ask me.

The article I linked to goes a little further than I'm willing to go with accusations. In watching the top 50, it really looked like all of the singers had to prove themselves on their own merit, and the article is strongly inferring that these professional singers are basically given a pass through to the top 24. Even still, doesn't it take some of the fun out of the show when a third to a half of the top 24 aren't the "boy/girl next door turns famous" stories we get so excited about?

I wonder if this is going to change how I view the show. What do you guys think?

posted by Brady @ 9:47 AM