The Lincoln Log

As I watched and carefully listened to Melissa Stavros from Seattle, I had finally realized why I stopped watching FOX’s American Idol; she was horrible. American Idol is a reality show about three judges: Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell, who search for a new singer to uphold the renowned title of “American Idol,” and has reached a note quite too high.

In the first season was the season. I watched every minute of every episode and loved it. It was the most enjoyable season for me. The judges and producers were definitely looking for an “American Idol” in season one. But now in the series’ sixth season, it seems they are looking for strange, unusual people to sing horribly and laugh at. I think it’s very cruel how judge Cowell, comments on the singing of the people in a negative manner. It is also harsh to show it all on television nationwide. It seems that all “idols” that were born from the very popular show are all a joke excluding Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson, fast album seller Carrie Underwood, and Golden Globe winning “Dreamgirl,” Jennifer Hudson.

Most people that had auditions in Minneapolis and Seattle on American Idol were awful. It seemed as though only five to ten out of 10,000 people from each city were chosen to go to Hollywood. Usually, at least 40 to 50 people from each city make it to the next round. At this rate, the judges will only end up with 60 people going to Hollywood and choosing the next idol won’t be as selective.

Although many of the auditions lacked talent, some of the contestants shown that were chosen to go to Hollywood were actually good. My favorite singer from Minneapolis was Sarah Krueger, 19, who sang, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” She had a very beautiful voice and she could hold it in the air for quite a long time. “I think you were good. You had your own personality. You have a warmth too,” guest judge Jewel said.

My favorite singer from Seattle was NFL’s Phillippe Sparks’ daughter, Jordin. She had a lot of talent as she sang, “Because you Love Me,” but Cowell thought she was “too cutesy” with her smiles. I thought she was outstanding. I was also very impressed with the Malakar siblings, Shyamali, 19 and Sanjaya, 17. I thought they were both wonderful singers as Shyamali sang, “Summertime,” and her brother sang, “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered.” Even though Cowell said, “[You’re] a lot better than your sister,” to Sanjaya after his performance, I thought Shyamali sang better, even though she was overconfident.

With all good performances, there are always bad performances. And most of the two-night four-hour season premiere event turned out to be horrible auditions. One of the worst auditions was Jason Anderson, 16, who auditioned in Minneapolis and was brought to tears at the end. He sang while juggling and Cowell said,” Your singing was horrible and the juggling was not good either.” After the comment, he started juggling pretty good but Jackson lowered his confidence once more in saying, “I think you’re on the wrong show. You should be on ‘America’s Got Some Talent.’ ”

As the judges watched bad auditions, they made rude comments such as, “You look like a monkey,” “I think that you need to lie in a bath with your mouth open for you to sing better,” and “You just put through a giraffe,” all of which were Cowell’s comments. There was also the cursed song of “Don’t Cha” by the Pussycat Dolls; all the singers who sang it for their audition were rejected from continuing to Hollywood. American Idol even showed a compilation of the people who auditioned with the song.

Overall, this season of American Idol was the same as any of the other seasons excluding the first. It is boring, overrated, yet very popular. Even though 57.6 million viewers watched the Jan. 16 premiere, I would think people would come to their senses sooner or later and stop watching this horrifying show.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars