American Idol

What I like most about this program is that Simon is so unapologetically and openly (if not crassly) commercial about the whole thing. First, he is clearly looking for "Idols" who can be shaped into the cookie-cutter, big record label mold, and sell millions of albums with all the marketing and hype resources a label can bring to bear. Second, he interacts with the contestants and tells them what they need to do to fit into this mold. The issue for him is not whether you can sing well enough to please friends and family at a wedding reception (which appears to be the standard that Paula and some of the guest judges are using). He is telling you what he thinks you should do to be a multi-million dollar earning, album selling superstar. In short, he takes his contestants seriously in their goal to be professional singers. This is refreshing compared to the patronizing praise so many in the entertainment industry offer up to avoid telling someone there is no way they will ever make a living at this. Third, the commercial angle to this contest is right up front and in the open, right down to the cartoonishly obvious Coca-Cola placement spots during the show. (I've not seen anything like it short of the placement spoof segment in the movie "Wayne's World.") Simon makes no bones about the fact he is getting rich of off the celebrity status he creates for his finalists. At the start of the contest, everyone signs an agreement committing them to a deal with Simon's company if they finish in the top 3. The singers will make a lot of money on this deal, but honestly, less money than what they would make if they were free agents and benefiting from all the publicity of going deep into the contest. (Which is why Chris is probably the biggest winner by "losing" just before the contract kicked in.) Guess who keeps the difference? The S-man. And, this is fair because all of these folks could sing before their first audition, but no one was paying to hear them until Simon's show put them front and center for all of us. Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you Simon Cowell, a refreshingly unapologetic media shill. I hope he enjoys the millions he is making off of fluff and nonsense. Matt P.S. Forget who "won." Katherine McPhee and Simon will be making tons of money in the future. She fits so well into the gorgeous, siren singer mold (a la Celine Dion) that dirty old, and young for that matter, men will by her albums to soak up the fantasy. Just watch the financial section of the paper.

What I like most about this program is that Simon is so unapologetically and openly (if not crassly) commercial about the whole thing. First, he is clearly looking for "Idols" who can be shaped into the cookie-cutter, big record label mold, and sell millions of albums with all the marketing and hype resources a label can bring to bear. Second, he interacts with the contestants and tells them what they need to do to fit into this mold. The issue for him is not whether you can sing well enough to please friends and family at a wedding reception (which appears to be the standard that Paula and some of the guest judges are using). He is telling you what he thinks you should do to be a multi-million dollar earning, album selling superstar. In short, he takes his contestants seriously in their goal to be professional singers. This is refreshing compared to the patronizing praise so many in the entertainment industry offer up to avoid telling someone there is no way they will ever make a living at this. Third, the commercial angle to this contest is right up front and in the open, right down to the cartoonishly obvious Coca-Cola placement spots during the show. (I've not seen anything like it short of the placement spoof segment in the movie "Wayne's World.") Simon makes no bones about the fact he is getting rich of off the celebrity status he creates for his finalists. At the start of the contest, everyone signs an agreement committing them to a deal with Simon's company if they finish in the top 3. The singers will make a lot of money on this deal, but honestly, less money than what they would make if they were free agents and benefiting from all the publicity of going deep into the contest. (Which is why Chris is probably the biggest winner by "losing" just before the contract kicked in.) Guess who keeps the difference? The S-man. And, this is fair because all of these folks could sing before their first audition, but no one was paying to hear them until Simon's show put them front and center for all of us. Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you Simon Cowell, a refreshingly unapologetic media shill. I hope he enjoys the millions he is making off of fluff and nonsense. Matt P.S. Forget who "won." Katherine McPhee and Simon will be making tons of money in the future. She fits so well into the gorgeous, siren singer mold (a la Celine Dion) that dirty old, and young for that matter, men will by her albums to soak up the fantasy. Just watch the financial section of the paper.