There are still two more episodes of American Idol this season, but now that James Durbin got the boot, America has already picked its idol: the commercialization of music.
The final three were not judged by their talent but by their appeal to a specific demographic. Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery are two of a kind. They are one-trick ponies who sing country and appeal to the prepubescent girl demographic, the same demographic that would vote for Justin Bieber over, say, Bob Dylan, or for those three annoying brothers whose names escape me (perhaps because they were so forgettable) over the Rolling Stones. While the third contestant, Haley Reinhart, may have had some sass, her performances were mixed. She did, however, appeal to all the little girls, who wanted to be just like her.
It’s not the first time it has happened on Idol. In fact, for the last few seasons, it was never the winners who won in the big world. Chris Daughtry came in fourth as well, but his first album, with his eponymous band, sold 4 million copies, while Taylor Hicks, who won that season, only sold 700,000 copies, and they have long been forgotten.
Then, of course, there is Jennifer Hudson, who only came in seventh yet went on to win a Grammy, a SAG award, a Golden Globe and an Oscar, far more than Fantasia could have hoped for.
It gets worse. Lee DeWyze, who won last year, only sold a paltry 39,000 albums in its first week of release, the lowest ever for an Idol winner. The year before, Kris Allen won, but the star of the season was runner-up Adam Lambert. Arkansas was able to muster up more votes than all of California.
So what does this say about Durbin? He may not be the star of the city with a special concert this Saturday, but he is already being noticed by some of the big names in music. Not only has Steven Tyler seen what he can do. Even the British band Muse took note of him, and chances are they are not the only ones. He will have a long career ahead of him.
What does this say about Idol? It could say that the show would do well to rebrand itself as “American Teenybopper Poster Child.” Or it might say that when push comes to shove, the music world is dominated by a bunch of greedy executives, who want the quick fixes, the Biebers and the Jonas Brothers (yeah, that’s their name) with a short shelf life but lots of quick cash. In today’s world, maybe that’s what makes it so “American.”
