This is not yet another Elke fancies Adam Lambert blog post. That's old news by now and might have jumped the shark anyway. This is about how cruel reality TV can be and how hard it is to take at times - as a viewer!
Yesterday, on American Idol, us viewers witnessed some special cruelty. Granted, this is all about young, hopeful talents who showcase their persona and voices and who must be prepared to have to undergo often harsh or rightout silly criticism from the four American Idol judges. These judges have, in the past, crossed the line occasionally.
Simon Cowell for example was rather disrespectful to David Cook and apologized in the consecutive episode for his unqualified words. In the end, David Cook won anyway and all good! Really? The aftertaste remains...
This time around, it was not just one judge but the whole bunch together with the host of the show who behaved rather like a bunch of giddy preschoolers, so much so that it made me sick to my stomach still almost 24 hours later. If I, a simple viewer of that spectacle, feels that way how must the main recipient feel?
I am referring to Adam Lambert, who had to remain in the middle while Ryan Seacrest was busy dividing the contestants in groups. After Seacrest has separated them in pairs on each side, he made Adam Lambert choose. Ever so self-confident, Adam Lambert chose the group of the presumably "safe group" and he was right in picking those who made it into the next round but he was wrong about his own position in it! Ryan Seacrest literally dragged him from the winning to the loosing group: "The Bottom 3". And while Adam Lambert probably still was thinking that this was a joke, the drama wasn't over. His room mate Kris, got sent over to the winning group and remaining were only Matt Giraurd and Adam Lambert, building "The Bottom 2".
While they were standing there, Taylor Hicks was singing, Jamie Foxx was performing, the judges were chatting and at one point Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson were hugging each other, because they were right in calling Adam Lambert's "Feeling Good" performance "theatrical" and he now was about to loose out on his winning streak. All THEIR theater while Adam and Matt were standing there, awaiting their fate. It almost seemed as if they were punished for trying to reach for the stars.
This was quite painful to watch. No reprise please! What would American Idol's Season 8 without Adam Lambert's performances be? He's THE entertainer on the show right now and without him, it won't be worth watching anymore. I also think that this is my 2nd and last season of watching that show. Without Adam Lambert, the show won't be the same anymore. It'll be over for the show's host and the four judges, while Adam Lambert's stars are just beginning to shine...
-- By Elke
- Photos taken with my iPhone from my TV