Slate Magazine - Idolatry

Will AmericanIdol's new judging system ruin the show—or save it?

Katherine Meizel — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:18:42 EST

Two weeks ago, I fell asleep during the Idol results show, and when I woke up, everything was different. While I was snoozing, Anoop Desai had become the first 13th finalist and the judges had claimed the right to rescue a contestant from elimination. It's a twist whose significance has since been hotly debated online: Is it unfair? Is it un-American? Is it May 19 yet? What it is, in any case, is a very big deal, because the entire premise of American Idol has centered on the feeling of power (real or imagined) in the viewers' hands. The new order shifts the balance more obviously toward the judges, whose ranks have swelled this season to include a second and less weepy female presence in Kara DioGuardi, and toward the producers, who are, literally, running the show. It's a jarring reminder that Idol's version of democracy, as I've noted here before, camouflages consumer choice as democratic voice. No matter how furiously you vote on your phone, your other phone, and your boyfriend's phone (what? I only have two phones!), the industry is ultimately a marketplace, not a polling place.

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David Cook's American Idol upset!

Katherine Meizel — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:24:15 EST

Well, the confetti's been cleared and the last ballad belted, and Seacrest is out (not like that) for the final time this season. I was certainly not expecting David Cook to win the Idol title, but, like Simon Cowell, I think I would have been OK with either possible outcome. At first I thought the producers must have felt the same—the two contenders spent much of the finale dressed in various near-identical ensembles, and they even starred in twin Risky Business-themed ads for Guitar Hero. In hindsight, though, I should have recognized those commercials as signs of Cook's impending victory, inundated as the broadcast was with the rock-hero vibe. David A. was thrust out of his comfort zone into a duo cover Nickelback's "Hero," clearly meant as a Cook vehicle. And even Mike Myers made a Guitar Hero crack during his too-long spot promoting the (tremendously politically incorrect) summer film Love Guru. Add Simon's earnest apology to David C., and it's clear the upset was being set up from the start.

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The final week of American Idol.

Katherine Meizel — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:55:40 EST

If you were feeling the déjà vu last night, that's because Idol finale week has brought us right back to the Rocky place where we started in January—complete with a flurry of boxing metaphors, the Davids making their "Gonna Fly Now" entrances in silly gloves and silk robes, and Michael Buffer actually standing on the stage at L.A.'s Nokia Theatre, getting us ready to rumble. I can't help thinking that this would not have happened if Syesha were in the top two; a lady would never let Michael announce her weight like that. (Poor, tiny David A.!)

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American Idol meets the Beatles.

Katherine Meizel — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:40:45 EST

That's a lot of Beatles songs. Don't get me wrong, I was psyched when I heard that American Idol finally acquired the performing rights from Sony/ATV. But four hours, 23 solos, two medleys, and a Katharine McPhee/David Foster collaboration later, I'm ready to let the singers get back to their regular Idol fare. It wasn't all bad—though it's maybe not their thing. The Top 12 worked the hard-won Lennon-McCartney songbook two weeks ago in some innovative and fairly satisfactory ways. And then the producers couldn't just "Let It Be," so there was a second Beatles night last week (this time including songs by the Other Beatles!). Has this ever happened before—two successive weeks of the same theme? The answer is no, and now we know why.

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Catching Up With American Idol

Katherine Meizel — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:23:37 EST

Obsessive analysis of American Idol.

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