Seems like most people ended up viewing "Idol Gives Back" pretty cynically. Not to take away from the $30 million the show raised or anything, but I'm in the camp of viewers who thought last night's episode was pretty anticlimactic. The footage was a bit too excessive, and I wasn't anywhere near stunned by the caliber of the vocal performances.
A wasted two hours? Maybe. You really can't criticize the No. 1 TV show for wanting to further the betterment of humanity. But I think a lot of the bitterness came from the fact that two nights of goodwill were juxtaposed with the fact that the philanthropy took place on a show that for 99.9 percent of its season is dedicated to destroying dreams and encouraging careers in an industry that for the part is associated with greed.
I think that "Idol" is, by definition, a selfish show. It breeds narcissism, and derives popularity from failure. And people know that. Which is why -- even though people still voted -- the majority of viewers may have ambivalently viewed a one-night immersion into feelgoodland.
That's also why so many audience members were disappointed at the lack of an elimination. Because "Idol" isn't primarily a fundraising vehicle. It's a competition. And while people may be willing to pony up some cash to help Africa once in a while, they ultimately want consistency.
Even if that does mean destroying dreams.
Thoughts?
I do appreciate the fact that American Idol has made an ATTEMPT to help unfortunate people, especially the Kentucky Hillbillies (seriously what was that about? AIDS & malaria in Africa, Hurricane Katrina....and Kentucky Hillbillies) Seemed a bit out of place..... Oh sorry, back on topic.
ReplyDeleteI was completely uninspired by the celebrity appearances and performances. And what's up with all the Bono hype just to have him show up at the end in a lame video for 16.7 seconds?
The Celine/Elvis thing looked kinda cool, but it was completely lame, I would have prefereed to see unexpected LIVING artists.
And my last complaint... Am I the only person that is sick and tired of having multi-millionaire celebrities telling me that I need to donate MY money. With all of that celebrity support, how did Idol ONLY raise 30 million? They had at least a dozen celebrities on that show that were worth multi-millions each. The celebrities alone should have been able to give a total surpassing 50 million, and they want my $20!? What a bunch of hypocrites.