Uneven playing field an 'Idol' quirk
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
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If "American Idol" is filled with life lessons, then the current lesson is simple: Sometimes life just isn't fair.
This week, viewers finally have their say. A dozen men last night, a dozen women tonight. They'll vote after each night and then learn tomorrow who has been eliminated. (The three-night pattern continues for two more weeks until the show has its top 12. Then it's Tuesdays and Wednesdays.)
That brings up the quirk:
Well, you've seen quick glimpses but nothing more. That's a disadvantage, Lythgoe says, but not a fatal one. Consider Kelly Clarkson the show's first champion: "She wasn't shown at all (during the early weeks)."
Why the inequity? Some people hit bad luck, Lythgoe says. The songs they sang during the early rounds couldn't be cleared for use in time for broadcast.
Some had bigger stories to tell. The show couldn't resist Asia'h Epperson, who sang beautifully, two days after her father's death.
And some found ways to get attention. Losing her voice, Syesha Mercado held up signs for the camera. "When you do something like that, you know we'll put you on," Lythgoe says.
"Idol" has never had an even playing field and this year critics have pointed to the extremes.
Three contestants (Carly Smithson, Michael Johns and Kristy Lee Cook) had major record deals in the past. Smithson released a full album and opened for Ryan Adams.
Then again, "Idol" has never been an even match. At one extreme were teens who still had to take three hours of classes each day; at the other were pros —Chris Daughtry, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks — each with about eight years of full-time, rock 'n' roll experience.
It's an odd mismatch, never quite fair but always interesting. And now viewers have their say.
The 24 "American Idol" contestants are divided according to how much attention they had in the early weeks:
MALE, BIG FOCUS
Other males: Colton Berry, 17, Staunton, Va.; Jason Castro, 20, Rowlett, Texas; Chikezie Eze, 22, Inglewood, Calif.; Garrett Haley, 17, Elida, Ohio; David Hernandez, 24, Phoenix; Luke Menard, 29, Crawfordsville, Ind.; Jason Yeager, 28, Grand Prairie, Texas.
FEMALES, BIG FOCUS
Other females: Alexandrea Lushington, 16, of Atlanta; Ramiele Malubay, 20, of Miramar, Fla.; Syesha Mercado, 21, of Miami; Brook White, 24, of Van Nuys, Calif.; Joanne Borgella, 25, of Hoboken, NJ; Amy Davis, 25, of Cedar Lake, Iowa; Kady Malloy, 18, of Houston; Alaina Whitaker, 26, of Tulsa, Okla.
