I find the “American Idol” show a great source of entertainment. Probably because I love reality shows. I love the fact that one doesn’t know what to expect and is kept glued to their TV sets in their insatiable quest to quench the suspense.
With ten seasons organized so far, the highly-ranked American television voice talent search has gained roots in entertainment circles around the globe with each new season getting more interesting.
For some, the first few seconds of showing “what they’ve got” is enough to wow the judges and guarantee their entry into the next stage of the competition. Upon exiting the audition room, some skillfully play out some suspense on their families who wait for the “verdict” with bated breath. Almost immediately, they snap their “green light” tickets to “Hollywood, eliciting thunderous rounds of applause from elated family members.
The show, having turned the lives of some fortunate few around, has also unfortunately given others a bitter pill to swallow with their disqualification from the competition due to their not-so-impressive voices.
With your granted permission (and I hope so) to be a little sarcastic, witnessing the not-so-good display of voice talents is in actual fact my “fun” part of the entire competition. (I wouldn’t give this part up for any errand!) With croaky and husky voices which send judges like pretty Paula Abdul and sexy Kyra going under tables, who wouldn’t laugh?
The drama staged by contestants during these auditions is enough to cause uncontrollable rib-cracking. From a lady who brings along a heaped file of songs she has personally composed and is still turned down, to a young man in suit who takes centrestage and makes a mess of the mike with a croaky voice which sends judges into a seemingly perpetual state of shock!
The ultimate question is, “Did these people know they had horrible voices? Why didn’t their family and friends talk them out of it, with regards to the fact that some of them thronged the audition halls with their family and friends?”
This is where British born music producer, Simon Cowell comes in. Although there’s a current flurry of criticisms surrounding the handsome looking American Idol judge, his incredible knack for honesty seems to keep the show on the up and up.
With mainly "sugar coated" words likely to emanate from the other judges, Randy, Paula and new entrant, Kyra, the worst of singers are most likely to be deceived into thinking they can try again the next year or so if they work hard at it. Unfortunately, that’s the bad thing with exercising too much caution so as not to step on “deserving” toes.
Back to Simon Cowell. A horrible singing performance is likely to meet an even more horrible comment from Simon. Reason? He never minces words. “Excuse me, but I think your performance sucks!” or “Don’t try a career at singing. Concentrate on something else”, he’s likely to say. Nevertheless, he showers the needed accolades where the delivery is excellent.
I think we need a million or more Simon Cowells in Ghana who will say it as it is and not mince words. The biggest problem with most people in Ghana is that if someone’s not good at something, they don’t want to talk the person into admitting it because they feel the person might feel awful.
But what they forget is that, if the person tries his hands on something that is not his turf, and does not (and will highly probably not) succeed, he will still get hurt anyways.
The fact that the person is horrible at singing doesn’t mean that he will be horrible at teaching. Its rather up to us as friends, family and loved ones to help that person find himself so that he can channel his resources in pursuit of that dream that is right for him.
Meanwhile we need to also take care not to sound offensive in our pointing out “the truth”. You can say something like, “Sweetheart, I’m sorry but singing is not just for you. I think you will be a wonderful teacher because you can really explain your points to the admiration of all”. Don’t say, “With this kind of voice, do you really think you can be the next American Idol?”.
I entreat all and sundry to emulate Simon Cowell’s good example and not to be too quick to “badmouth” him in his pursuit to help young people understand what they are and not made of.
So what do you think? Your comments are highly welcome.
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