An American Idol season 11 preview

Normalcy. *contented sigh*

And I’m talking normalcy on television. In music television, y’unnerstan. Music television via reality competition to be exact.

Honestly, seriously: Isn’t it about time we got back to that? (Somewhere in the distance I hear Ivey yelling “NO!”)

I mean … look at the year that just gave up the ghost: 2011 provided a virtual glut of shows which concentrated (or claimed to) on music and singing. Individuals. Groups. Funky competitions, lyrics. Original singing and songwriting. Shows looking for an X Factor. Shows looking for a Voice. More and more and more, more, more.

Did any of them compare to the one that effectively started it all? You know the one I’m talking about: American Idol.

The Voice started out promisingly enough. It was geared toward zeroing in not on a look or style, but simply on a voice. At first. The first episode was terrific, the second uneven … then, shortly thereafter, it degraded into a popularity contest as this type of competition show usually does. The X Factor promised something new as well, but it didn’t live up to the hype. (Still, there was enough in its initial season to be awarded a sophomore turn before the finale even hit the airwaves. The deal there, however, was the fact not one of the top four contestants was worth the $5 million prize package and all that went with it. Not even winner Melanie Amaro.)

Look: What we got out of the myriad of singing shows was a lot of promises of bigger, better, different, unique. And some of them delivered in bits and pieces. But, overall, nothing really held water. Not the way Idol has … time and time and time again — for 10 seasons to be exact.

And yes, Idol is a popularity contest, too, to many degrees. But it’s one that’s got stamina and history on its side. You may despise it, but it’s here to stay. It’s not going anywhere. The ratings for it dipped last season, but that was of little import. Remember: Simon Cowell flew the coop to get the Americanized version of The X Factor off to a start … and he did. That gave the Idol newbies Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler room to figure out what sort of air they wanted to project. And that air was one of lackluster critique and weepiness (Lopez) and incomprehensible critique and goofy antics (Tyler) leaving the lone veteran — Randy Jackson — the “voice of reason”. (I almost couldn’t type that without guffawing … but I worked my way through it.)

So, it’s back to “normalcy” in reality music competition on television in a very short while. The tried and the true. The usual monkey business we’ve come to know and love … or loathe and despise. The naysayers with their hate campaigns at the ready against reality television will no doubt bring their doom and gloom verbiage to the forefront once more, but it won’t make any difference. FOX’s American Idol and its 800-pound gorilla attitude, foreboding shadow ratings-crushing force will come barrelling through your living room (or wherever it is you watch television) once more.

And there’s not a damned thing you can do about it outside turning your boob tube off.

The two-night season premiere launches your way January 18th/19th.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah … normalcy.

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Jan 06, 2012 @ 10:00 EST5EDT