America Lidle

...as Anais would say. It's on again and if anyone saw the audition episode in Seattle you would know that the creeps and freaks are crawling out of the woodwork. People are understanding how reality tv works and boy do they know how to work it! However there were a few genuinely nice people who accepted rejection graciously.

I was quite enamoured of the young Indian brother and sister, children of a sitar player apparently. Normal and nice kids. Plus they remember where they came from, which is kinda deep. When Spewcrest asked the brother which of the siblings the judges thought was better, he very kindly thought of his sister's feelings first and sidestepped the question (the judges liked his singing better but her stage presence more). We all know that one of them eventually has to go first, and I'll have my tissues out for that one! Early bedtime for the kids on that night!

Only 7 got through to the next level out of something like 16 thousand. Poor pickings for a whole city, but then who knows how many really talented people decided they would not put themselves through the horror of a reality tv recording?

OF course, I am really looking forward to watching Simon Cowell. Hi, Simon :) I looked him up on the net and it seems he really could be an a**hole, really for real. However he is the most sane and honest person on the show bar Dawg Man Jackson.

Simon (Hi, Simon!) has come under fire yet again for apparently ridiculing a special needs person who auditioned and his friend, whom he called a "bush baby". I say apparently because they both really couldn't sing and the guy really did look like a bush baby.


So you could say that Simon was giving them honest feedback which the people around them possibly haven't. Face it, this is American Idol and the search is on for a pop star, which requires certain elements, such as the ability to sing, and looks. Sorry.

I know it is a programme which is a complete construct (edited and manipulated to give the most dramatic effect), but based on what we get to see, there are loads of people who understand what reality tv is, but seem to be having a hard time working out the kinks in their own reality!

Seacrust seemed a little nasty himself, making fun of the contestants without them realising it. Don't like Peecrest. At least Simon respects you enough to let you know he's cutting you down as he takes a swing at you... And Paula was pleasantly coherent and not in the least irritating (but maybe that's because the crazies around her made her look normal, comparatively).

I'm really looking forward to the nationwide peep into a people's psyche during the audition process. After that, once they get into the heats, the structure and competition tends to bring out the extremes, and we can pretty much expect high drama. But during the audition process, its people showing up raw, putting themselves on the line and dealing with the first brush of rejection. Some handle it well, others don't. Ultimately, we get to assuage ourselves with how normal we are and maybe feel a little regret that we don't have some of the balls that they do (see? TV has psycho-theraapeutic properties - makes us think about our innards and stuff).

Lovey, C
(Bye Simon)