THIS is why I hate American Idol

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THIS is why I hate American Idol

Post by ShyViolet » April 11th, 2007, 8:52 pm

From IMDB news last month:

Simon Cowell has blasted Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson after she called American Idol "a stepping stone" - insisting she wouldn't have been cast in Dreamgirls without the talent show. Hudson was a contestant on Idol in 2004, but was voted off before the final. Over a year later, she auditioned for the role of Effie White in the big screen version of the musical Dreamgirls and was cast. When Hudson accepted her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Dreamgirls last month, Cowell was disappointed she declined to mention the show. He says, "Jennifer Hudson said American Idol was a 'stepping stone' for her. Stepping stone? It was her big opportunity to become noticed and she got noticed and she got Dreamgirls. "Singers like her deliberately turn against the show that made them successful. The reason (people) come on the show is because all the doors had been slammed in their face."
If I were Hudson I would tell SC to get the *bleep* over himself and his lousy excuse for a television show where they purposely humiliate people in front of millions of viewers.....Hudson gave an amazing performance and her singing is awesome, which, if she was voted off the show, SC obviously didn't take much notice of . AI was a stepping stone, what else is she supposed to call it? And because she didn't mention it in her Oscar speech? Big ******* deal. And how the heck does Cowell know what other "doors" Hudson or other contenders have been able to open or not open? His words here reveal his obvious contempt for ALL of AI's contestants.....
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

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Post by eddievalient » April 12th, 2007, 10:40 am

That's why I've never paid attention to AI. I do, however, like to follow America's Got Talent (which is supposed to be returning this summer). At least the judges on that show are a bit more fair and have a sense of humor.
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Post by Meg » April 12th, 2007, 6:24 pm

Here's hoping it gets cancelled this year...:roll:

I agree with you about America's Got Talent, Eddie. The variety of different skills people showcase on that show is a lot more interesting than people singing over and over and over and over again.

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Post by Daniel » April 12th, 2007, 11:05 pm

And it had Regis! :)
Meg wrote:Here's hoping it gets cancelled this year...:roll:
I wish.

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Post by ShyViolet » April 14th, 2007, 5:36 pm

Me too! :twisted:

Then Cowell will see how overrated, over hyped and basically worthless is show is and how there's a reason he's the host of a second rate reality TV series....I haven't exactly heard people knocking down his door, have you? :roll:


I miss Star Search..... :cry:


It wasn't about denigrating people back then, or watching the show so you could see the host insult someone in front of millions of people, it was just about being entertained by talented acts--singing, dancing, even stand up comedy sometimes....Britney Spears was a little kid and got her start there....oh yeah, little kids were on it all time.

I can see why little kids aren't allowed on AI though....insulting them like that on-air would be incredibly traumatic and considered CHILD ABUSE.....but it's OK as long it's adults, of course. :roll:


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Donnie Darko is one of my top five favorite films ever.....other than how great a film it is I loved the whole 80's angle and VERY SUBTLE social commentary on the "death of the Reagan Era" (Richard Kelly's words)--I especially loved the whole "Sparkle Motion" bit with Star Search referred to right before the Patrick Swayze pedophile guy is arrested. It makes sense when you watch it, that's all I'm going to say. :wink:

I was the same age as Donnie's little sister in the film (Daveigh Chase, center) in 1988 (the film's setting) so the movie has an extra meaning for me.....:wink:



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(BTW that book Jake Gyllhenaal's holding with Drew looking on (she's his English teacher here) is Watership Down....the animated film and book also play an important part in the film's symbolism!! :) )
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Post by ShyViolet » April 14th, 2007, 6:08 pm

Also sorry to get off topic AGAIN :P, but I did find this very weird mock LOTR Watership Down poster--


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Post by Ben » April 15th, 2007, 2:53 pm

What the heck is the point in that?

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Post by Daniel » April 16th, 2007, 2:50 am

I have no clue either.

Anyway, the reason I want the show off, is a tad different from you, Vi. I want off because I'm tired of the same routine. That, and it seems the winners keep getting worse every season. I mean, Taylor Hicks?!?! :|

Just out of curiosity, though, did you like the Shrek 2 parody of AI? (For the dvd release) Won't surprise me if you don't, but I thought it was really funny.

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Post by ShyViolet » April 17th, 2007, 9:13 am

Just out of curiosity, though, did you like the Shrek 2 parody of AI?


Well, to be perfectly honest, Dan...:wink:

I hated it with a passion....one of the few things that DW has done that totally made me cringe inside.....BTW on both the Shrek 1 and Shrek 2 VHS the Karaoke/Far Far Ideal thing was tacked on to the film's ending so you didn't even have a choice if you wanted to watch it or not.....bleh!! :x


It wasn't even a "parody"--just pretty much a straight plug!! (Which they still have part of left on Shrek.com :roll:)

I know DW has done a lot of plugging/marketing tie ins (most of which were outside of the films) but I found most of them tasteful/innovative/creative and not cheap, tacky and reeking of desperation....like this was. :(


As I've said before I don't find most of DW's (most, some are kind of out of place) pop-culture references that distracting...


........ but this was just soooooooo inappropriate (a 1000 time worse than Disney characters in Kingdom Hearts) and I think even then, when it was at the height of popularity, most people knew American Idol wasn't going to last all that much longer. This isn't like referencing a classic film like From Here to Eternity in Shrek 2 (Shrek and Fiona on the beach) but like having Shrek telling kids to watch Nickelodeon at the end of the film (And I pray to G-d that never happens...:? :roll:)
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Post by Jeroen » April 17th, 2007, 9:30 am

on both the Shrek 1 and Shrek 2 VHS the Karaoke/Far Far Ideal thing was tacked on to the film's ending so you didn't even have a choice if you wanted to watch it or not.....bleh!!
Have you tried pushing the stop button? :wink:

I don't think there was anything wrong with Far, Far, Away Idol untill Simon appeared.
Besides that, I really enjoyed it.
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Post by ShyViolet » April 17th, 2007, 9:32 am

Anyway, the reason I want the show off, is a tad different from you, Vi. I want off because I'm tired of the same routine. That, and it seems the winners keep getting worse every season. I mean, Taylor Hicks?!?! Neutral

If I'm not mistaken didn't Clay Aiken (He sang "Proud of your boy" on the Aladdin DVD release) get his start in AI?


Maybe I am too sensitive, :wink: :oops:, but (like many reality shows) it's the cynicism of the show that bothers me....like, who cares if the people are even talented or not, just let them on the show so they can humiliate themselves and we can chew them out after, that way we're the real stars, not them!!

That's just so nasty IMHO.

If I ever got a chance I'd bring up to the shows "creators" the question of why kids are not allowed on the show (and there's been many talent shows in the past like Star Search where they have been allowed on, and just had the judges give number grades with no commentary) and force them to admit that:


1.) The show is not about finding talent like those shows were, it's about humiliating people in a public setting and getting ratings that way.

2.) The show is not about finding talent like those shows were, it's about
getting press and ratings by having people "talk" about the show and who they like/hate through blogs, texting and the Internet, exactly like being in High School....like MANY reality shows with who's "hot" and who's "out" based on the "moment"--once again, exactly like Junior High and High School, often not about someone's credentials/talent/ability but if they're "cool" right now or not....


That's why I hate this show and others like it. Not trying to sound superior or anything, but shows like AI/Survivor etc...etc....are rapidly contributing to the, no, not the "infantilizing" more like"adolescent-izing" (don't know how else to say it) of American pop culture....:roll:

I hope I don't sound snobby, and I certainly can't say that I'm very "sophisticated" in what I like, since what I like is mostly cartoons....(not that cartoons are "juvenile"--well, you know what I mean. :wink:)
Have you tried pushing the stop button? Wink
I hadn't thought of that, but that just might work! :P :)

J/K :wink:


The problem was that the Karaoke/AI stuff was IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FILM, not after the credits. If you wanted to watch the whole film up to the credits and really get a feel for it, you had to sit through that c**p!! :(


I owned the Shrek VHS for a long time (before I had a DVD player) and I loved the song on the end credits "I wanna stay home" or something....but I couldn't watch it without getting that Karaoke stuff first! :? Ugh!! :x

It was the same thing with the Disney Lion King VHS re-issue and ditto Beauty and the Beast (which I had as well). "Human Again" was there whether you wanted it or not!! Unlike the DVD, you didn't have a choice! :(
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Post by eddievalient » April 17th, 2007, 10:50 am

But with Beauty and the Beast, "Human Again was supposed to be in there all along but got cut right before going to the animators. Disney just dusted it off and finished it as a tribute to Howard Ashman and I, at least, think it's a great addition. Now with Lion King, on the other hand, "Morning Report" was not a good addition. If they wanted to add a song from the broadway show, they should have added "Shadowlands" or "Endless Night" or one of the other dramatic songs that would have actually enhanced the story. "Morning Report" was just a waste of time and a waste of effort.
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Post by Jeroen » April 17th, 2007, 11:10 am

It was the same thing with the Disney Lion King VHS re-issue and ditto Beauty and the Beast (which I had as well). "Human Again" was there whether you wanted it or not!! Unlike the DVD, you didn't have a choice!
Maybe if VHS wasnt running on it's last legs by then, Beauty and the beast and the Lion King could have gotten 2 re-releases.
Special editon & classic edition.

But, those are different things as well.
Human again didn't interrupt the movie, it was part of it.
(And I really think it made the movie even better)

morning report...a little different, that afwul "why did they do that?" number replaced excisting footage of the movie with a terrible new piece.
It made the movie worse and mostly it had no reason for being in there in the first place.
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Post by Ben » April 17th, 2007, 11:19 am

I've rambled on about <I>why</I> it was Morning Report and not another song elsewhere on the boards, but basically it goes down to who wrote what, credits, royalties, and keeping it simple.

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Post by Jeroen » April 17th, 2007, 11:32 am

I didn't mean "why was it morning report" but "why could they be so stupid to change the Lion King?"

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