I'm probably going to catch a lot of flack for this...but I hate American Idol and other reality shows. I used to watch the Biggest Loser and the Amazing Race and I've seen a season of American Idol and Survivor. I also used to watch Bad Girls Club but soon got so sick of the drama that I quit. I also stopped watching Biggest Loser and the Amazing Race because of the drama as well. The Biggest Loser was a great show in its infancy but soon people started playing games and sequestering themselves into rooms to talk about the other contestants. Dancing With the Stars used to be interesting until the stupid public kept eliminating talented dancers to save those that acted as the comic relief but really couldn't dance. And in the end, the person who usually won wasn't the person who deserved it the most. I actually wanted to be on the Amazing Race at one point but I soon got sick and tired of hearing the couples yell at each other and bicker. If I want something real, I'd rather watch something like 20/20 or a "news of interest" type show.
Perhaps I'm becoming one of those people that are just out of the loop because when I look at the covers of magazines in the checkout aisle, I barely know anyone on the cover. I also wonder why these people are famous. What special talent do they have? Why do people tune in to the Kardashians? Why do I care about what goes on in their lives? Same with Paris Hilton--why exactly do I care what she did last night?
I also find it appalling that people are obtaining fame and recognition for things such as acting badly and teen pregnancy. Why the need to glorify this? Raising a child is tough work, and even rougher for a teenager. However nowadays teens can have children willy-nilly and not suffer the same consequences because they'll just go on a TV show. I'm not trying to get on a high-horse and condemn anyone who has been or is a teenage mother. I know a lot of smart, ambitious, intelligent women who were teenage mothers. However, I think that it isn't something that a teen should aspire to be. Hold onto your childhood for as long as you possibly can. You have the rest of your life to devote to adult things such as raising children.
As a singer, I think that most people assume that I will be into American Idol. After all, it's a singing competition and singing is what I do. At one point a specific person would ask me on a weekly basis if I was watching the show. Every week I would assure them that I was not watching it and could not foresee myself watching it in the future. They would recount with: "Oh but you should...it's REALLY good this year." I'm sure that it is. I'm sure that there is a wealth of worthy talent on the show. In fact, I love a lot of the singers that have been on the show. I greatly respect Kelly Clarkson, I love Crystal Bauersox, etc. But there is also this side of me that thinks singers should put in their dues and time like other musical acts have done. One of my sweetest friends, Beaux has had a band for many years. I've known him since 2006 (I like to say: "I knew him when he had short hair and took his shirt off at shows--because now he has long hair and never strips anymore). His band was opening for Jani Lane and I liked them right away because they were good. I never like the opening band but they used a freaking didgeridoo! Beaux doesn't really care about fame or fortune, he's a philanthropist. He was named USO Entertainer of the Year and he and the boys in the band will be spending their summer visiting various bases to entertain the troops. They also donate money to save the silverbacks who are losing their homes due to man's progress. How many American Idol contestants go on the show to give back to the community?
So shoot me if you will but I just can't get into reality shows. Especially when they turn down talent like the female singer in Lady Antebellum. She didn't even get to the round where she saw the judges and she has a great voice. On the other hand, you could say that acts like Britney Spears hasn't really paid her dues either but I'm not much of a fan of hers or other manufactured talent. However, I will make an exception for Justin Timberlake because he is hella talented. In a nutshell, that is why I don't like reality shows. Too much drama...
6 comments:
While I'm right there with you on some of the reality shows like Jersey Shore and the Kardashians and the like, I really do think you're missing out with American Idol, especially this past season.
Much of the negativity that you disliked so much was gone because Simon Cowell was gone. And it would've been worth it to watch if only for the rocker James Durbin (who came in 4th this season) and the presence of Steven Tyler as judge. No one ever knew what Steven Tyler was going to say, and it was a blast. Loved him!!
As for paying dues, some of these kids have (like you mentioned Crystal Bowersox). So despite their youth some of them had been doing through some really tough times on the road to success.
And honestly the dues paying evens out in the end, for while you may feel that it's unfair that some people get seemingly instant success, the ones that do it's very very fleeting. The top AI contestants may come out with one album and generally be forgotten going back to being just a hometown, small following act.
As for the lead singer of Lady Antebellum, I blame this largely again on the Simon Cowell influence. He had huge pull and with the exception of Carrie Underwood largely discouraged country acts from entering the competition. I think the only reason she made it was because she had a pop crossover appeal that wasn't traditional country. I'm quite confident that is the reason why she didn't make it. Cowell had such extensive pull.
This is evidenced by Cowell's absence and the top two acts this season being country. To top it off Scotty McCreary won and he was very traditional country in the vein of George Strait, Tim McGraw and Randy Travis (but not anywhere near as nasal as Randy Travis.)
As for other reality shows I admit that I love the Amazing Race. I adore the traveling and the challenges. The bickering usually just solidifies who I'm rooting for to win--the more you bicker or treat each other like crap the more I want you to end the race and go home. *LOL* I like Survivor also for the challenges, and often times the scenery.
The only real non-game reality show I watch otherwise unless you count home improvement types and house hunting shows, is Sister Wives. I watch that because I love the fact that while they are polygamist they are so very normal. And I find it appalling that adults can't choose whatever lifestyle they want--while gay activists have much more support now, these people have no voice and were even chased out of their hometown because of the authorities trying to butt into their lives.
I'm with you on most of the reality shows. They aren't really reality so it's just an excuse for drama that people seem to feed off.
As for Sister Wives, I have to say, I watched one episode and it makes me want to puke!!! The smug look on that guys face makes me want to resort to violence and I don't consider myself a violent person as a general rule. Those women were raised in that society so I don't feel that they really had the opportunity to "choose" that sort of life. I think that's just all they know.
Interesting points about Sister Wives... Is it a choice or something they were groomed into? I think some probably choose it while others do not. I've never seen the show though.
I am watching Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition right now. I LOVE seeing transformations! But I'm still annoyed at the tactics the program uses like getting ready to say the weight he/she lost then breaking for commercial right before so you have to wait. I just fast forward. That's another thing I hate about reality TV. The recap after the commercial. Do they think I'm so stupid I can't remember what happened a minute ago? Dr. Phil is the worst on this. Before commercial, he shows what's coming up. After commercial, a recap. In an hour-long show there's probably 15 minutes of substance...
@Dianne--actually one of the wives wasn't raised in it at all. And I have to disagree. I don't get the impression at all that they are somehow so groomed/brainwashed that they couldn't choose another sort of life. It's not like the polygamists that marry fourteen year olds and dress them all in prairie outfits. These women do have choice. Just like growing up in our church didn't mean we could only choose to remain in a cult because that's all we knew.
I honestly don't get a smug vibe off of him at all. And anytime he steps out of line, I swear he's got three women to take him down. They're not wallflowers, let me tell you.
I think while you hate American Idol, I count myself among the few who absolutely hate NCIS. And my parents love it. So reruns of the frickin program are on all the time. As I type this I have green beans microwaving unsupervised because I can't handle being forced to watch such a completely irritating program.
Reasons I hate NCIS:
1) The dude with the English accent that sounds incredibly fake.
2) Denozzo--talk about smug. He's just always, always a total and complete ass. He comes on the screen and I want to throw something. One of those characters that I feel like we're supposed to love but I he sucks.
3)Not enough Mark Harmon smiling--Early in his career he was on Moonlighting and was awesome. They gave him clever lines and he got to flash his smile. This character is heavy and dour and he hardly ever shows off the smile that made him famous.
And, ultimately the procedural crime show genre has a glut to me similar to Law and Order. The one remaining show of that ilk that I used to watch more faithfully was CSI:NY. I felt like it distinguished itself by having more story and character driven shows. But once Anna Karakarides (sp?) left and whatsherface replaced her, periodically they fill in plot holes with trying to out-gross and out-goo the original CSI. In my book it has gone downhill, trying to be as bad as CSI:Miami, where David Caruso must overact and supply every line with a dramatic exit or application of sunglasses.
LOL! Got that out of your system? I don't watch any of those shows and I get tired whenever people are floored when I say that. They automatically assume that I love Criminology because of the investigative aspects of it. I don't. I'm just really weird and LOVE delving into the brains of criminals--especially serial killers. I wanna know how they think, why they think that, and what possessed them to act in the way that they did. So I'm not sure why I would watch a show where it's mostly about forensics. Gimme Criminal Minds! Gimme Dexter!
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