Blog by Sean Gehon, Monday, March 05, 2007

American Idol is a show that many people would call a guilty pleasure. I would agree that Idol is a pleasure, but I wouldn’t feel guilty about admitting it. Some of my favourite artists have come out of American Idol. Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Kimberley Locke, and Fantasia Barrino are among the musicians that have found success after their run on Idol. Over the course of season five, I was adamant that Taylor Hicks be booted from the show. There wasn’t a moment I felt he shone, or stood out as anything special, especially compared to some of the previous winners. I’ve often found my opinion resembles that of judge Simon Cowell.

Recently, Simon Cowell came out blasting current American Idol champion Taylor Hicks. Cowell claimed the reason Hicks’ album wasn’t selling well was because he didn’t deserve to win. Frankly, I couldn’t agree more. American Idol isn’t just about being able to carry a tune, it’s about winning over the country with your personality and charm. From what I can tell, Taylor was no shining example of personality or charm. Contestants like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood were able to maneuver their way through each theme week with ease and a string of praise from the panel. Others like Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, and Taylor Hicks, have one sound, one performance, and it sounded the same no matter what theme they may be singing in.

Taylor Hicks’ debut album Taylor Hicks has failed to be as successful as his Idol predecessors. Currently Idol loser Chris Daughtry is the clear season five champion. Even though the votes didn’t necessarily wind up going in his favour, Chris’ debut album has recently been certified platinum in the United States. For those of you that don’t watch Idol, Daughtry was expected to win the competition, and in an unexpected twist, he was sent packing in the final four. The ‘right’ person may not always win, but the true talent seems to always shine through.

Idol has had a history of turning out some of today’s hottest acts. Many platinum and multi platinum recording artists have come out of FOX’s mega talent hit. Does the failure of Taylor Hicks show the first sign of American Idol’s decline? Probably not. Even though Taylor may not be the most successful Idol, millions of people are still tuning in to see who hits a high note, and who becomes the next William Hung (She Bangs anyone?). Although season five contained, arguably, the most talent in one season of Idol to date, they sure wound up with a flop of a winner.

Selling more than 600,000 albums is no easy feat. Taylor has accomplished something that I will probably never achieve in this life time. To take that away from him is probably unfair. The fact that Taylor is currently falling shy of the million album mark does stand out from the four previous winners. If Taylor doesn’t eventually hit that mark, he will be the first Idol winner to fail. There is the possibility that Idol as a genre is starting to lose its steam. Sure people are watching, but do they care to buy an album when it’s all said and done? Even Canadian Idol has seen a recent upset. Eva Avila was the first Canadian Idol not to debut at number one.

Like I said, I’m a fan of the show, and I’m even a fan of Simon Cowell. You have to respect a man who’s willing to say that their show’s name sake isn’t good enough. Simon may be right, and frankly I agree. Taylor Hicks doesn’t deserve to have his name beside the likes of Carrie Underwood, Fantasia Barrino and Kelly Clarkson. I can’t deny, his failure warms my heart… This is probably why I’m not a judge on an Idol show.

Sean (Kimberley Locke – Change - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-Lq5xssr0M )

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