I don’t usually watch or have much interest in reality television, but this year’s seasons of American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent stood out for me. I have to admit I only say two episodes of American Idol this year — the last two — and before that, I hadn’t watched the show since 2002. But for whatever reason, Adam Lambert drew me in. I even ended up watching most of his previous perfomances on Youtube, just to see what all the fuss was about. I didn’t like everything I saw — a lot of the performances were overly schmaltzy and theatrical. But there were two standout performances that I feel made him the best contestant in Idol history (neither of these was ‘Mad World’, which I actually thought was a little too sappy) — ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and ‘If I Can’t Have You’. Especially with ‘Whole Lotta Love’, Lambert proved that he could be and is one of rock music’s most talented vocalists.
But really the whole point of this post is to examine why he lost American Idol and why Susan Boyle, another stunning vocalist, today lost her bid on Britain’s Got Talent. The voting patterns evident on Idol seemed to be a classic division between red states and blue states in America, a pattern that has been evident in the country since the Civil War. One thing that’s been noted is that the majority of Idol‘s voters are located in the south, and have a tendency to vote for contestants from the same area (five out of the last eight winners have been from the south). Of course, there’s also the Danny Gokey factor. Gokey’s voters were more likely to be conservatives that would be more drawn Kris Allen’s modest singer-songwriter vibe rather than Lambert’s flambouyant, sexually ambiguous rock act. I think more than anything, Kris Allen’s win shows the continued power of the Christian right in America, the same force that won the 2004 election. Regardless, both Lambert and Allen were deserving of the title and both will hopefully have successful careers.
Susan Boyle’s loss on Britain’s Got Talent, however, is a different story. Here was somebody sprung into the spotlight from a poor rural town in Scotland, forced to face the scrutiny of the British press (which is far more fierce than the American press). She became a global phenomenon, appearing on Oprah and Larry King Live. But then the pressure started to get to her, resulting in an altercation with the press last week — I have to wonder how that may have affected her outcome on the show. But then, the show itself if an odd creature. It’s impossible to compare the talent of a dance troupe to that of a singer and try to declare a ‘winner’. So again, much like Adam Lambert, Susan Boyle will continue to have a career, regardless of the outcome on the show. Did she deserve to win? Maybe. I don’t think she was as good as all the hype and publicity she received, but she had a strong voice. More than anything, hearing her voice was a silver lining for millions of people dealing with a global recession. It was something that people instantly connected with as something uplifting and positive. I think she’ll hold a place in music histroy for that feat alone.
