A.I. Kick Off

Well, folks....it's American Idol season.  Although some people are closet Idol fans, I have no problem in admitting that I enjoy watching each week.  As all A.I. fans know, the first couple weeks are by far the most "entertaining" portion of the show.  Filled with amazing young talent, clowns that know they can't sing but are hoping for their 15 seconds of fame, and plenty of drama throughout Hollywood week, it's a mixed bag as to how people view the beginning of each season.  Now that the circus show is all over, it's time to get down to business of America's vote.  The format they chose this year is the same as it has been, splitting the final 24 by gender with a two night premiere, starting this week.  Tonight was the first go round for the gentlemen, and the talent is pretty deep.  My question I ask myself every year, though, is this.... Is it in the best interest of American Idol to leave the voting strictly to the public?

I understand from a ratings aspect that it can be considered best move for the show, as producers feel that people are more likely to watch so they can vote appropriately for who they like.  My problem is that not every person in America (actually a majority of people) is an expert on musicianship and talent.  Take Pia Toscano for example.  A contestant from last year's season, who in my opinion was by far one of the most talented singers not just from last year but in the history of the show, was eliminated in 9th place.  This was taken as a shock by the judges and everyone watching, but how could it be if Americans are voting for the best singer?  Well, it's because they don't in most cases.  It becomes more of a popularity contest than a real talent judgment.  Of course talent is considered, but the voting system is flawed.  The judges should have more say in the overall results.  Idol has attempted to fix this by giving the judges a "wildcard" save, so in the event someone is eliminated that they feel should stay, they can give that contestant a second chance.  This can only happen once though, and unfortunately America screws it up more than once a season.

There are a couple ways of at least helping to fix the issue.  One way to help control the ruckus is to only allow one vote per text/phone/IP address.  This will help control the teenage girls and moms sitting at home and sending out 500 votes in two hours for the boy they think is cute and don't want to see leave (an opinion shared by many industry experts).  Another option would be to give, as I mentioned, voting weight to the judges.  I mean, come on...  You are paying three people that have extreme amounts of experience in the music industry quite a bit of money to sit at a table in front of everyone else and state their opinion, but they don't have any control over what happens.  These are just a couple of solutions that wouldn't be difficult for Idol to change, and shouldn't have a major effect on the viewer ratings, if any.

Votes are being tallied as we speak, and Thursday night America finds out who the top 6 for the guys will be.  As I see it, the top 6 moving on to next week should be Aaron Marcellus, Adam Brock, Jeremy Rosado, Joshua Ledet, Reed Grimm and Jermaine Jones (who, by the way, was a surprise 13th guy added at the last second by producers...a smart idea considering he is far more talented than a couple of the guys who did make it to the top 12).  Hopefully lackluster performances by the likes of Chase Likens, Colton Dixon, Eben Franckewitz, and Phillip Phillips are not overlooked as the voting is submitted.  Be sure to take a look at the contestants for this season and tune in for Wednesday night's performances from the top 12 (or maybe 13 if they decide to bring someone back similar to what they did this evening) girls.  Most importantly, if you are an expert and watch the show, cast your vote!

This first post I wanted to share a couple links to some interesting articles.  The first article I want to share is from Rolling Stone Magazine.  It's a look on the current state of the music industry and where the economics are heading as we move from hard copy music into the digital age of cloud storage and so on.  I really believe this is a concept that needs to be closely, as royalties in the industry are becoming increasingly difficult to track and understand.  With programs like Spotify and iTunes virtually controlling most of the music industry releases, the revenue split between the company, the artist, the songwriter, and the record label all vary depending on so many different circumstances that even many band managers don't quite know where the money is coming from and how it is calculated.  The article is very intriguing.

The second article is in regards to cinematography growing with the use of smartphones like the iPhone.  It's an interesting view on how our new mobile devices are allowing the freedom of film without the heavy cost of the modest or even professional user.  The technology in smartphones only continues to grow, and as companies like Apple spend a lot of time developing "bells and whistles" on these devices, it  can only force the competition (HTC, LG, Samsung and the like) to continue to develop similar technologies as to not fall behind the curve.  Smartphones have already virtually made digital point-and-shoot cameras obsolete.......are handheld video cameras next in line to be taken down by the mobile movement?