Is Idol About the Music or Just Good TV?

LA Times ran an article yesterday about American Idol and what it does for pop music. Is it actually a singing competition that showcases amazing vocals and re-introduces classic songs to a younger generation? Or is it simply a smart TV show that focuses more on the antics and the people to make it entertaining?

"If "American Idol" were really first and foremost a singing competition, as Simon Cowell keeps grousing it is, we'd all be talking about Melinda Doolittle's near-flawless, jazz-inflected performances, for music lovers the true highlight of the No. 1-rated show's sixth season.

Instead, America is engaged in a national debate about Sanjaya Malakar's hair."

To continue reading the article click here.

So which is it, a show that gets America talking about people or a show that really is about the music business? Personally, I think it's both. For me, the show has opened me up to a lot of older, classic songs that I hadn't heard before (and yes, that does say a lot about my exposure to older music.) And you can't deny what the show has done for some of it's breakout stars (i.e. Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood). Idol has definitely made an impact on the current music scene and I am sure it will continue to do so in the future. But the show is also (and sometimes even more) entertaining when discussing each of the contestants. We all have our favorites that we follow and hope will go far. And because of those favorites, we can't believe that other people follow different contestants. Discussing the pros and cons of each of the singers and arguing about who is better is what makes the show fun and interesting. Why do people like Sanjaya so much when clearly Melinda is the best singer of the competition? How can personality win over talent? For these reasons, it'll be very interesting to see how Super Male Voice (Chinese Idol) will do since they're taking all of the extra stuff away and just making the competition about the songs and the voice. It may truly end up being a singing competition, but it might not be very interesting to watch. If American Idol is really just a singing competition then we could have crowned Melinda the winner at her audition. But since there's so much more to the show everyone is on edge trying to figure out what will happen next. That's what makes the show fun. That's what keeps people tuned in. So for me, Idol is a mix of both talent and good tv.