FROM HERE on in, in the annals of the singing tilt, “American Idol,” its April 7 “results” telecast will be known as its lowest point, the key moment when the popular talent competition went from sizzle to fizzle.
What went wrong? That was the telecast when it was announced that the tilt’s millions of largely young, female viewer-voters had decided to give leading contender, Pia Toscano, the boot.
Judges
The rash, brash and most undeserved verdict shocked not just Pia, who was a winner in quite a number of people’s book, but also all three of the tilt’s judges. So much for the show’s viewer-voters’ ability to pick the most talented bet.
Why the near-total uproar? Because Pia was slowly but surely emerging as the season’s top star discovery, with her great combination of looks, voice, charisma and total-performer chops. So, why was she so prematurely, peremptorily and most undeservedly voted out? Because she wasn’t male.
Note that, this season, the girls have been getting kicked out on a regular basis, while the guys have been “surviving” to sing again for at least one more week.
With nine survivors left, only three girls remained standing and singing—and now, with Pia gone, the “score” is 6-2!
Anti-female bias
The anti-female bias has become so clear that we want to be the first to suggest that “Idol” be reformatted next season as a contest exclusively for male singers. That should make its controlling teen-female viewer-voter demographic deliriously happy.
For our part, we are less emotionally involved than in previous years because, at the start of the 2011 season, we had already sadly decided to stop placing great weight on the show’s ability to choose the best singer.
Downward spiral
So, let it and its voters do its worst. In time, the downward spiral created will make the show less influential, and the real talents with genuine star potential will just have to be discovered by other, more enlightened competitions.
Finally, we hope that Pia Toscano, who was our top bet, will still become a singing star, despite her most premature and undeserved expulsion from “American Idol.” It’s happened before—to “loser” Jennifer Hudson, who’s now a major recording and film sensation. And, it can happen again!