May 7, 2018

Whatever happened to criticism?




35 comments:

Earnest Prole said...

Me-ouch!

eddie willers said...

OK, I clicked on the video. Ouch!...and I don't mean the flub, but the awful singing. And this is someone who has climbed high in the competition?

This is why your American Idol posts don't get many responses. Amateur shows, no matter how gussied up, are still amateur shows.

Big Mike said...

I only ever watched part of one show for part of an hour. But I recall Simon was pretty unsparing. So that’s gone from the show. Not much left, then.

Ken B said...

She wasn’t good, even aside from the dry.

Lyle Smith said...

I feel like Aiken may switch to the Republican Party at some point.

Rob said...

They should put Eric Schneiderman on the panel. He'd not only criticize the contestants, he'd slap 'em around for good measure.

Earnest Prole said...

I feel like Aiken may switch to the Republican Party at some point.

Too late: he's already out of the closet.

PJ said...

Simon Cowell was as much a bad insult comic as a good critic, but in his era he was the only good critic. I watched half an hour of the current iteration and all three judges struck me as utterly unserious. I would much rather see Clay and two more glory-days contestants up there.

JackWayne said...

This is an example of Fen’s Other Law. EVERYTHING gets dumbed down.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

the pussification of 'Merica.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

The name of the show "American Idol" makes me want to gag.

Good for Akin here. Not that I watch the show. Even in it heyday I barely watched it. Maybe out of the corner. Survivor I used to watch, not anymore. Most mainstream TV is like the MSM. Crap.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

The VBS comment was gold.

Ralph L said...

M*A*S*H turned to mush, too.

Long-running shows tend to turn into lovefests or soap opera.

wendybar said...

Make American Idol great again, huh, Clay?? Great slogan!!

walter said...

Gonna catch hell championing achievement.
He ain't woke

Original Mike said...

This is abuse.
No, it’s criticism.
No, this is abuse.
No, it’s criticism.
...

Big Mike said...

I was proctoring an exam so just now listened to the clip. “Flub” is a very kind description.

MikeD said...

C'mon Althouse, you're just trolling now following blowback on American Idol post. That said, I love you blogging your myriad tho'ts and opinions on the uncountable items you find of interest. If your interests (as opposed to opinions) occasionally deviate from mine can I not just ignore? Seems a number of followers can't? Anyway, the categories commenters try to insert Althouse into are legion, keep'em guessing Anne! BTW, tell Meade, again, how lucky he is!

Scott said...

Manic Monday is such a bad song. Did the producers pick it for her?

Michael K said...

I don't watch those shows but somebody tipped me about this girl a few years ago.

I have seen her since. That was a few years ago.

n.n said...

Constructive criticism has the potential to develop self-confidence, but is a deterrent to retaining unearned self-esteem.

Yancey Ward said...

I know! The show needs big gong!

Yancey Ward said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dave in Tucson said...

> M*A*S*H turned to mush, too.

In its first seasons, M*A*S*H was mostly just an excuse to tell jokes about boozing and screwing nurses (cue laff track). After McLean Stevenson left, it mostly became a soap box for Alan Alda's issue of the week. Neither incarnation has aged well, IMO.

As for American Idol, I can't bring myself to care much about actual celebrities, why should I care about manufactured ones?

lgv said...

Aiken is spot on. There is and has not been any reason to have these judges on the show, especially now that it goes to fan voting. Just skip the responses and comments. They should just had out the participation trophy after every performance.

It must pain the producers that all the LGBT participants are gone and only one African American left. Apparently, most of the viewers must be considered racists and homophobes, or worse, country music fans.

Bob R said...

"Amateur shows, no matter how gussied up, are still amateur shows."

This is where the original idol had an advantage. The biggest draw was treating the contestants like the boot-camp rookies they were. Gave the show a genuine "hero's journey" story arc. Unless someone really chews them out, there's no drama in being elevated to D-list celebrity.

J. Farmer said...

I am all for criticism, but one thing that always struck me about the previous iteration of the show (have not seen the reboot) was how unbelievably mean-spirited it could be. When the judges visited the cities for auditions, the footage was intercut with massive audiences waiting in line for their shot. The thing was, those were two very different visits. On one visit, where the crowds are massive, the people are auditioned by producers in very quick secession and then either invited back to sing in front of the judges or rejected. But because the producers need to keep it interesting for the judges, they purposefully pass contestants that they know cannot sing and will be fodder for the judges' ridicule. It seems awfully cruel to lie to someone about their potential just so you can make the an object of public ridicule and humiliation. They engaged in other mean-spirited little gimmicks, too, like on results day lying to contestants about them being "safe" and then announcing in a "twist" that they are actually being eliminated.

exhelodrvr1 said...

No, original Mike, this is getting hit on the head lessons.

Jaq said...

You go girl!

Jaq said...

I think that when Paula left, the show was never the same for me, even though Simon was more about it. Simon was trying to teach them how to make it in the business, but that paradigm was a victim of its own success.

rehajm said...

What happened to criticism? The Voice happened. Critics are mean. There are no critics on The Voice...

Hell, there is no sads on The Voice. Losers are sanitarily shuffled offstage. No tears or reminiscing. Just buh-bye...

Henry said...

They need to put Aiken on the judges panel, right?

Molly said...

The popularity of Cowell was my first hint that someone like Trump could win the Presidency.

Martin said...

Clay Aiken has turned into a crotchety old man.

Just like me.

SF said...

I really thought they'd gotten the judging right towards the end of the first run, when Harry Connick Jr was one of the judges. Felt like he did a really good job of providing constructive criticism. It wasn't as mean as Simon, nor as spineless as the current judges seemed the one episode I have watched post-Connick. Instead it was really interesting to hear his comments, because he was pointing out thoughtful ways the singers could get better.