Saturday, December 09, 2006
Jennifer Hudson Is Not Showing Up "Idol"
Despite the fact that Jennifer Hudson wisely, politely (and correctly) says "American Idol" was a huge boost to her, the media now wants to say that Hudson's triumph in "Dreamgirls" shows up "Idol" for getting it wrong. That's ridiculous. (Though in fairness to them, Hudson sometimes says her rejection by Simon spurred her on to have more hunger and drive, which is not the same point that I'm making.) In fact, Hudson is the latest example of how stunnigly effective "Idol" has been at uncovering real, lasting talent. Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard and Kellie Pickler (who may have her biggest success with a sitcom) are just the first names that come to mind. Every season has spawned a NUMBER of artists who have received a chance to record albums, have hit singles and get a better shot at glory than 99.9% of the people who sign a record deal. And an astonishing number of them are proving to be more than flashes in the pan. But even if they fail, "Idol" is getting them a shot. And even if they don't win their particular season (like Clay and Jennifer Hudson), that doesn't mean the show "failed." Hudson reached the Top 10 after auditioning along with tens if not hundreds of thousands of people. The judges winnowed that massive group down to 10 or so people and one of them was Hudson. Then America takes over. Hudson didn't win but "Idol" deserves all the credit in the world for picking her out of the lineup, along with Fantasia, who has a second album just out that got better reviews than the first and indicates she too might very well be an artist in it for the long haul. Hudson isn't proof "Idol" got it wrong because she wasn't the final winner. Hudson is proof "Idol" got it right because they plucked her out of obscurity. Talent will out? Not always; you need a lucky break sometimes. And Hudson would not be the star of "Dreamgirls" today if the "Idol" judges hadn't spotted her talent first.
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5 comments:
I find it interesting that it who wins the American Idol crown and who comes close to winning doesn't mean much when predicting levels of future success. I doubt Taylor Hicks will have the sustained appeal of Chris Daughtry...And oh by the way- quietly the wheels of the "machine" are starting to roll for Katherine McPhee, who's album is due out first quarter of next year. K-MAC (you like?) may have what it takes to blow every other Idol finalist out of the water in my opinion.....
Please! Simon did everything that he could to get these impressionable teen to go against Jennifer. Now they want to take the credit for having discovered her. You must work for those jerks. Well, at least thank goodness for Randy that picked Jennifer in the wild card round , this was what gave Jennifer a chance to get more face time in front of the camera's so that others could witness this great talent.
btw...what the heck are they doing to poor Mcphee? She seem to be a sweet, beautiful girl but they're making this girl show off her body as though she's trying to sell something else. What is wrong with these people! Let this young woman sell her music and not her body!
Well, I have to say, the track record of the winners is pretty damn impressive: Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood are definitely all extremely successful. And I think anyone in the Top 12 who succeeds is a testament to smart picks by the judges. Anonymous, I'd definitely give props to Randy and Paula for both Jennifer and Clay Aiken -- they both cheerleaded for them when Simon didn;t get it. But they did get it and their vocal support matters and counts just as much as Simon's. And Randy should definitely be thanked by Jennifer. Simon's attempt to say HE deserves credit (as opposed to the teams of judges and the three final judges and especially Randy) is just Simon being Simon. McPhee's album is scheduled for January now, I believe. It'll be interesting to see how she does. And yes, I hate it when they make women tart themselves up too.
I don't think Kat's handlers are 'tarting' her up. She is a beautiful woman and she, herself, may think dressing up by showing her assets will get her further; which may or may NOT be true! We will see what happens when her cd comes out. Ruben being 'handed' the 'win' could of been his downfall. He was never as good as the judges made him out to be. Clay has proven over and over that HE was the real winner of AI2. The inability of his enourmous fan-base (who knew who the real talent was on that show) to get thru to the one measly phone line given to each of the contestants probably did not show up the majority of his votes. (Ruben's mother got in 200 votes; Clay's mother-2) But, my gut tells me he STILL received more than Ruben, anyway. By receiving 80 percent of the vote every week he was on and never being in the bottom 3, ever, proves Clay was the true winner of AI2. I think the producers 'drew straws' as to who to give the 'win' to and poor Ruben was crowned the 'idol'even though he was never was/is 'idol material'. Even Ryan was so flustered to see whose name was on the card, he messed up the numbers of votes that supposedly separated Clay and Ruben, 3 times!! It's going to take time for some media to stop labeling Clay the 'runner-up'. Most already call him by his rightful title: 'platinum selling super recording star...'!! Being the 'winner' any year is NOT guaranteed success. The performers are the ones who will have to make that possible for themselves!
Hey anonymous, I think that the succcess of Clay and Jennifer Hudson and other top 12ers is proof you don't have to win Idol to use it as a launching pad. But there is zero chance that the winner is rigged -- there's just no reason for the producers of the show to bother with such a scam. The results are independently audited and there's just no reason. And if they WERE to rig the winning, there isn't a chance in hell they would choose a huge, overweight guy like Ruben over whitebread, easier to market Clay. Again and again the show has proven Americans are far less concerned with typical pop star looks than a personality or singing voice they've fallen in love with. And the show has dealt with its massive popularity by doing everything they can to include multiple phone lines and texting so everyone can vote. As for Clay, he's been dubbed the real winner (as far as commercial success) from the moment his first single outsold Ruben's. I just hope he can take control over his albums and overcome the forced flop of a covers album.
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