disdain for the American "idol"

As many of you know, there are very few things in this world that I hate. I probably couldn't name 5 things that I absolutely cannot stand. But I think I have added one more to my very short list- American Idol.
Why, you might ask, do you hate it so? Aren't you a singer? Isn't that what you would love to do? Umm. No. American Idol isn't singing. It is an embarrassment to the world of vocal arts.

I sat with my mother during our quality time and listened to every auditionee from Seattle and Minneapolis this past week. But it was all I could do not to throw up from the horrible feeling I had for the people auditioning. They were being harassed and ridiculed. These people get the guts enough to go up in front of judges, in front of millions of viewers and sing their little hearts out and they just laugh right in their faces. I'm not by any means saying that they were good- most, if not all of them, could not sing their way out of a paper bag, but they were trying. (Unfortunately they didn't realize they were bad before coming to the show, that would have saved them the embarrassment a little, but still). There are other ways to say that they are not meant for the stage other than laughing at them. It's called tact. It's called constructive criticism. It's called DECENCY. I felt nauseous for the people auditioning- I was physically ill.

On the other hand, I can see it from the judges perspective- "What in the world is this person doing here!? They are tone deaf!" And hearing those kind of people over and over again cannot be fun. But these are the "professional" judges that are supposedly some of the best in the business, yet they use words like "pitchy". They always say "It's a little too pitchy for me." What the heck does that mean? Are there too many pitches? Not enough pitches? It makes no sense. Not in any of my million music classes and/or ensembles have I ever been more or less "pitchy" than I should have been. Why? Because it's not a word, folks.

So instead of having a decent competition between viable competitors, America wants to watch inarticulate "professional" musicians ridicule, dismiss, harass, and laugh at people that cannot sing to save their lives. Does anyone else think this is a little sick?