Idle Idol?

According to Nielsen, American Idol has slipped 7% in the ratings compared to last season. Now show biz insiders are wondering if the show is doomed.

They wish. No matter how much you want the karaoke show to fail, it won't. Idol is posting 29 million viewers a week, making it the number one series on TV. If a show is "failing" with 29 million viewers, then I would love to be the producer of that failure.

I don't buy the Idol concept as a true "reality show." There's nothing real about shows that are lit, costumed, blow dried, and edited, whether they take place on a stage or in a house.

What Dreams Are Made Of
The idea that Idol is a place to find untapped talent is fairly absurd too, as proven by this year's contestants Carly Smithson (she had a flop album a few years ago), and David Cook (he also had a small-time solo album, which can be downloaded via the internet).

But who cares?

The point of the show is to sell various ideas. Teens get to dream that they'll be rich one day, if only they can impress some limey dude at an audition in Tuskegee. Older guys get to dream about banging the blonde Sonic waitress from Orlando. Ladies get to make fun of the contestants' clothes and point out who's losing more weight from week to week, then declare that the gay kid's going to win, anyway. Cynical bastards like me can tune in and hope to watch someone sing an Up With People ditty, so Simon Cowell can abuse them in front of millions by declaring them a "cruise ship act."

There is no stopping a show that appeals to so much escapism, evil or otherwise.