American Idol Rant

We got the results of American Idol last night on a channel surf from Lost to AI. Now, I loves me some AI, but ain't no singing competition gonna keep me from getting Lost, er, watching Lost. I mean, I found out what Kate did with Aaron; what Sawyer said before jumping from the chopper; and how Ben Linus came to join the Hostiles. Good, good stuff.

So I flipped channels on Lost breaks and I didn't see Megan Joy get the actual boot, though I did catch a bit of her final screech, and lawdy lawdy lawdy that was not pretty. But the fact is that Megan Joy marched to her own drummer. Now, he may have lost the beat and been out of tune, but she was doing it her way. And I think that's what matters most.

And so Carlos chimed in this morning about Miss Megan's "Please pack your song and go" moment, and then talked about the flame-haired rocker girl Allison. Apparently, on Tuesday's show she wore some hideous outfit and the judges said she looked awful; Carlos trotted out his old chestnut, She looked like a pinata.

And it got me wondering. Does it really matter what they wear? How they comb their hair? If they wear the black nail polish or not?

I mean, Adam Lambert's rendition of Tracks Of My Tears was beautiful, and yet more than one judge commented on the fact that he wasn't wearing the black nail polish that night. What difference does it make? He isn't a nail polish spokesmodel, any more than Allison is a pinata expert, or Megan a dance instructor--y'all know, girl cain't dance.

What would life be like if, say, in the 60s, a young bohemian girl with fur boots and a fringed vest was on a little show called American Idol? Would they rip Cher apart because of the wardrobe? Or would the performance be the key thing?

What about that 80s girl in the cone bra and wedding gown? Would those judges say Madonna couldn't be the next American Idol because she wasn't dressed properly?

Would Amy Winehouse's beehive send her packing?

Would Lady Gaga's plastic clothes and big sunglasses get her a ticket home?

Why don't the judges focus on talent and song choice and stage presence and performance, and lay off the clothes and hair, because, after all, it is a talent show. I mean, if we're gonna critique anyone about wardrobe let's talk about Simon's tight T's and man-boobs. Brit needs a Manzier...or a Bro. And Paula? It looks like a glitter factory and a pharmaceutical company upchucked on her. As for Kara, apparently her clothes are flown in from 1983. And Randy suffers from a similar affliction: he never met a loud shirt he didn't like.

Let's talk about music, and not fashion. Eh?