My Name is Kris and I Blah-g

There is a lot of speculation out there about American Idol being “fixed”. I am not sure that “fixed” is the right word…maybe manipulated is a better one. This past week has been pretty amazing when it comes to rumor running amok. Blogs are abuzz about the alleged banning of David Archuleta’s dad. It started with a blurb on TMZ.com and was quickly followed up as “fact” by all the major news outlets, including the AP. Not a peep has come from anyone official at AI so one must wonder, could this “bad publicity” be good for the show? I think AI must think so. Why would people tune in this week if they already have a feeling that the final will be David (Archuleta) vs. David (Cook)? Syesha is pretty much an after thought. Her popularity is just enough to have kept her on the show this long but not out of the bottom vote getters for weeks. Her personality is annoying. And clearly her biggest fan is Syesha. Could she vote for herself that much? I don’t think so. If people tune in this week, it’s not because there is this big mystery about who will move on to the finals. Let’s get real. If Syesha beats David Archuleta, is there any question as to WHO will win? Absolutely not. If she’s in the final two, then the finale will be a huge bore. Not much anticipation in that. At least with David vs. David there is the drama of the supposed “stage dad from hell” to contend with and there is the mystery of who can get the most people to call in and vote. For all we know AI themselves could have drummed up all this broohaha themselves. It is television after all.So, what about all this talk about the falling ratngs? What can be done to save Idol from crashing and burning? Firstly, the ratings are still huge when you compare them to other shows. So AI won’t be crashing very soon. Secondly, how much longer do we have to put up with these contrived controversies? Most of the time the controversy surrounds Paula. Even that is getting boring. In order for the show to remain relevant, they are going to have to divulge vote totals. I would be very interested in hearing how many votes a person receives. How else to motivate the fan base than to know that their favorite literally does need their vote when they find out that coming in second place means they lost by 15 million votes? Was there ever a tight race? Another “fresh” idea would be to allow guest judges – but not celebrity guest judges. I’m talking normal, every day people – the ones who buy the music. Everyone’s a critic so let us be. I would love to tell it how it is to some of these people. How much “Dawg, you’re in the zone” or “You look stunning tonight” do we have to hear? Finally, get rid of theme nights. If you have to have them, then make them relevant to the times. I love Neil Diamond and Andrew Lloyd Webber as much as the next almost 40-something but I’m not your demographic, AI. Get real. The kids want to hear rock and roll and pop. Give it to them. Better yet, don’t give us what you think we want to hear but allow the contestants to sing what they want. Play to their strengths and even out the playing field. May the best man or woman win! Finally, by forcing these “mentors” on us, you’re forcing their new music down our throats so they can sell more albums. We know it’s a gimmick to drum up sales. Knock it off. For some of these folks, their time has come and gone.