American Idol......Shmamerican Idol! :-)
Hmmmm......have been watching American Idol this season....with reasonable regularity. Something popped up in my mind on the way the judges rate the contestants.
Here's the scenario...the contestants pick a song that is usually a popular number from a famous singer and render it to the best of their abilities. Then the judges rate them...and that's where I see a problem!
I've seen Randy say - "That song was too big for you dawg...you cant pick a Stevie Wonder song and claim to do justice to it".....and Paula and Simon go "If you pick a Whitney Houston / Celine Dion number, you're automatically setting yourself up for failure because you will always be compared to them and fall short".
BUT, that's the whole frigging idea isn't it? to pick a song that's famous so people recognize it and give you some credit? The contestants, in my opinion are doing the perfectly right thing...
No matter what song these guys and gals pick, they seem to be getting into trouble....though in many cases they're singing their hearts out and to the best of their vocal abilities! So it's seems to me like the judges are "rating" current and past musicians when they seem to say - It's OK to pick singer X but blasphemy to pick singer Y? That's ridiculous....
This comparison is universal really...better that the judges get over it soon and rate just that rendition of that song, irespective of what the origins are...
Personal example - M.S.Subbulakshmi singing "Bhaja Govindam" - even if Govinda himself came down and sang this song, I'd be like "The song was too big for you dawg, you just dont pick an M.S. Sub song!!!" :-)
On that happy note, I bid adieu....Have a great weekend!