The Good Rabbi's Blog

Now don't get me wrong, there are some individuals in this competition that are truly talented. However, for every one of these people there are at least forty-five people that aren't. This is the beginning of what my problem is with these contestants. This is a competition to be the next American Idol. That would mean that these people not only think they can sing, but think they can sing better than everyone else in the country. They all tell the judges that it's extremely important to them, and that they think they're going to wow everyone that they meet. To me, this is like the dude with the extremely hairy back at the beach that's wearing the uber-tight speedo. At some point that day, he had to look at himself in the mirror and say "Yeah, that looks good."

People crack on Simon for being rude. With a few exceptions, however (and I do admit, he does go over the top sometimes), he's not being rude, he's just being honest. These people come and say that this contest means everything to them, and that it's super-important for their careers, yet they can't even remember the words to the song they chose to sing for their audition. Then there are the people that decide to dance, or come in strange costumes as they think that will somehow affect the judging.

Personally, the one thing that I think is missing from these competitions is an element of originality. I'd like to see a requirement for these people to write their own song and music. It's easy to sing someone else's songs, and to even choreograph a performance out of it, but I'd like people to be judged on their talent for creating something. This is one of the true ways to prevent another Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Justin Timberlake. Bring back the Bee Gees. There was a band that knew how to rock!