Apparently, American idol is not a strange name in the minds of the youth in, not only America, but also many countries across the world. Taking after the UK found pop idol, American Idol is arguably one of the most popular reality shows in the contemporary world today. Perhaps this is attributable to the fact that it features the most common music celebrities such as Rihanna and Chris brown. It is particularly important to mention that there has been uproar in the social circles concerning the transparency of the procedure followed in selecting the judges and the winners in the said program (Dávid and László 48). There have been many questions surrounding the credibility of the show. While the layman finds the show entertaining, he does not know how many hearts the judges’ break. The layman knows not the errors the judges make in selecting the winners. Only music experts can tell the serious mistakes behind the supposedly most popular reality show in America. Starting from the selection of the judges, to the transparency of the criteria used, American idol is by all standards not a way to judge the music talent of people venturing into the art. This essay is an explication as to why American Idol should not be relied upon in making judgments on music talent.
Arguments against the American Idol
Worth mentioning is the point that there is no clear criterion by which the judges are selected. All that viewers see is a panel of popular music celebrities critiquing the aspiring singers. The ethical lens of the public eye ignores this because in most cases, the public is blinded by the celebrity status of the panel. It is critically important to mention that American Idol is one show that is rather entertaining than it is informative and fair. The show is entertaining in the sense that it brings to the public of viewers some hours of song and gives them the chance to send their views. It is a pity that the innocent judge watching the reality show from home does not know that the text message they send does not in most cases count. What this means is that, there is no transparency in the procedure (Rushfield 67). It is because of the lack of such transparency that people fail to know whether r not their votes count in selecting the winner.
One thing that the public has failed to get clear is the criteria by which the winners are selected. The winners of the American idol are selected on a very narrow set of criteria. Music, as it should be, goes far beyond voice and tonal aspects. Instead, music embraces such things as cultural and moral standards. Looking at the functions of music in the society, it is quite clear that among them is the ability to inform the public (Herro 78). Informing the public means that the music has to be more than just entertaining. It ought to contain some message in its lyrics. Such messages are ignored. Instead, the judges focus on very trivial aspects. Relying on the voice of a musician to judge their talent is not really fair. It’s rather a vague and ambiguous way of going about the exercise. It is critical to mention that the American idol is not a comprehensive platform that can give real talent.
It is indeed essential to note the effects that some of the judgments made would favor some of the contestants. For instance, a dedicated musician who anticipates a win or at least to appear in top three slots would become demoralized in the event that they lost on initial round. Particularly, some of the contestants who leave the competition in the first stage are, in real sense, potential winners of the competitions (Shu 26). However, in the case described, the contestant would feel immensely discouraged. For this reason, he or she would resort to quitting the singing career altogether. This trend occurred in most of the contestants who lost in the past competitions. Some few losers seek to go on to build their musical career. Conversely, others seem to think that the results given after the competition appear as the true verdict concerning their ability to sing well.
According to gurus in music, the image of the musician is an important aspect of music. As such, a musician that appears to be morally corrupted should not triumph over other morally stable celebrity aspirants. Even the younger age group has adopted such musical styles to an extent that they go violating the ethical values. Some communities cannot tolerate the indecent dressing code of the youths due to undue pressure from those celebrities from the western world. The world should, through such shows as American idol try to eliminate negative influence through advocating for decency and respectful approach to social matters (Beeching 49). Essentially therefore, this means that, apart from just voice and strong musical tone, the people behind American idol should try to incorporate values in the selection criteria. This will make music an acceptable means of communication, and will be a great move towards helping the celebrities earn from a decent career.
Another key reason why the existence of this reality show should be given a second thought is the fact that the procedure applied in selecting the eventual winner lack transparency. As earlier stated, most of the winners that tend to emerge from these competitions appear as the one choice of the panel. Moreover, these judgments tend to provoke different questions relating to the credibility of the entire process (Meizel 34). However, I may suggest that there is some degree of subjectivity. Furthermore, the main source of this subjective thinking may include some level of dishonesty. The judges may receive different forms of bribes in order to make some unreasonable judgments concerning who the real winner appears at the end of the contest. As such, most of the musicians who spend a lot of time and resources in the event tend to leave dissatisfied by the verdicts of the panel. In addition, some of the artists do end up ditching their career in music. This would occur probably because they imagine that they do not stand a chance of prospering in the career. However, this should never be seen as the case since clearly, most of the judgments seem unreal considering the majority votes of who the real stars appear. Most of the winners tend to show no interesting progress in the music career immediately after the contests.
Counterarguments
Contrary to the ideas discussed above, there is tremendous support for the operation of the American idols reality show. Moreover, as much as this essay for the most part depicts massive intensely dislike for the American Idols, it is only fair to outline some affirmative aspects of the show. First, many people tend to support this initiative to weigh and a judge musician since they think that it is an appropriate method of separating the perfect musicians from the non performing ones (Kaufman et al 14). Additionally, most of the people who tend to agree with American Idol reality show tend to venerate the perceived winner even in future. They idolize them regardless of whether these musicians promote the music industry or not. This also happens since the winners pocket substantial amounts of money after the unanimous declaration as the winners.
Another reason why the American Idol reality show can be viewed positively is because, it is entertaining. The show gives the viewers a change to understand the essence of entertainment in the contemporary world. Worth mentioning is the idea that according to research, one of the inspirations behind many students taking music as a core subject in school is the inspiration that get from the reality show. Truly, as much as the show may not be 100% transparent and objective, it is not 100% flawed as well. The show has some sense of objectivity since, even if the judges were to be bribed; surely, they would not go for the worst performer. The selected one feels motivated and finds reason to further pursue the music career. As such, the American Idol is a reality show that not only entertains, but also nurtures talent (Dávid and László 7). Nurturing talent comes in the sense that the reality show gives motivation and boosts the self esteem of the winners. Looking at Rihanna and such prominent singers as Mariah Carey, it is critical to acknowledge that the American Idol show is not a complete flaw as many people perceive it to be. On the contrary, it has some level of objectivity. Additionally, the reality show has inspired many shows of the same kind, especially in the third world nations. For instance, in east Africa, there is a reality music show known as the Tusker Project Fame Show. The show has worked to nurture talent in the region, while promoting the music and entertainment industry at large.
Rebutting the counterarguments
In rebutting the above counterarguments, one could argue that, before considering the few souls the show inspires, it is important to consider the many hearts it breaks. The hearts of those people that participate and fail are worth noting. Considering that the people fail in unclear circumstances, the show can be termed as quite unethical and demoralizing (Tieck 24). Ethics and societal norms are paramount. As such, the show should always endeavor to meet such standards and norms. Otherwise, the ethical lens of the public eye will condemn the show to the end of time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to point out that the American idol show is not among the heroic event it is thought to be. The show is not objective at all, as it embraces subjective procedures. Such subjectivity is rooted in the fact that the people forming the panel are selected in a manner that may not be as transparent as for the public eye to see through. Secondly, the show does not embrace moral judgments. Thirdly, there is a very narrow criteria used to judge and finally, the show is not comprehensive as it does not give a clear base for judgment. On the positive side, the American Idol reality show is entertaining. Can motivate people, and has nurtured the entertainment industry of the third world nations. Still the anti-American Idol ideas prevail.
Works cited
Beeching, Angela Myles. Beyond talent: creating a successful career in music. Oxford University Press, USA, 2010.
Dávid, Imre, and László Balogh. "Talent research and teacher training for gifted education." Gifted Education International (2012)
Herro, Steven K. "American ideal: How American Idol constructs celebrity, collective identity, and American discourses." Journal of Communication 62.4 (2012): E6-E8.
Kaufman, James C., Michelle L. Evans, and John Baer. "The American Idol Effect: Are students good judges of their creativity across domains?." Empirical Studies of the Arts 28.1 (2010): 3-17.
Meizel, Katherine. Idolized: Music, Media, and Identity in American Idol. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011. Print.
Rushfield, Richard. American Idol: The Untold Story. New York: Hyperion, 2011. Internet resource.
Shu, L. I. "Learn the Essence of Culture and Cultural Characteristics of Local Music Talent Music." Journal of Baicheng Normal College 5 (2010): 026.
Tieck, Sarah. Scotty Mccreery: American Idol Winner. Edina, Minn: ABDO, 2012. Internet resource.
