{"id":958,"date":"2009-05-22T00:15:53","date_gmt":"2009-05-21T08:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nargalzius.com\/blog\/archives\/2009\/05\/22\/thoughts-on-american-idol\/"},"modified":"2009-05-22T00:15:53","modified_gmt":"2009-05-21T08:15:53","slug":"thoughts-on-american-idol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/archives\/2009\/05\/22\/thoughts-on-american-idol","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts on American Idol"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I don&#8217;t watch TV, I don&#8217;t tune in to AI, but I am aware of the players &#8211; and my sister clued me in eariler in the season for the people to &#8220;watch out&#8221; for.<\/p>\n<p>Sufficed to say, with my sister as my witness (and some other friends who I discussed it with) &#8211; I kinda felt Kris was going to win it&#8230; <em>in spite of the fact<\/em> that Allan had &#8220;superior&#8221; vocals and showmanship.<\/p>\n<p>And the reason I state is the same reason I stated during that same IM conversation with my sister months back. It&#8217;s an &#8220;uncomfortable truth&#8221; as it were, and can be quite controversial&#8230; but I really think it was the case.<!--more--><!-- \/\/ --><\/p>\n<p>To make a long story short, the reason why I personally didn&#8217;t like Adam as much as Kris was plainly because if he [Adam] wasn&#8217;t in fact, gay, he came across as such &#8211; and the uncomfortable truth there is that I really think that fact put him at a disadvantage.<\/p>\n<p>Before you judge me, hear me out. Let&#8217;s do the math:<\/p>\n<p>First of, this was a big deal to discuss because at the time Pia &#8220;tuned me in&#8221; it wasn&#8217;t clear if he was gay (or bi, or whatever). Given that I never really had the drive and interest to do the research, I don&#8217;t know if it was confirmed or not. But regardless, his aura came across to me as <em>o-a<\/em> (overacting)&#8230; and I mean overacting in a &#8220;gay way,&#8221; a behavior which I admit to not being being a fan of. <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_958_1('footnote_plugin_reference_958_1_1');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_958_1('footnote_plugin_reference_958_1_1');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_958_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">1 <\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_958_1_1\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Why can&#8217;t homosexuals be like Neil Patrick Harris? Now THAT&#8217;S a homosexual worth respecting<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_958_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_958_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>So that&#8217;s my personal take, but even if we would strip that little detail of personal preference and stretch it to be more general. Here&#8217;s what I think: Marketing-wise, Kris will get the woman votes precisely because of that aura Adam exuded. It&#8217;s not a matter of equality or not, but the fact that most women will go for the cute <em>straight<\/em> person. So votes on that demographic are now locked in.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, we need not try to figure out who the conservatives would vote for. You can also lump them in with the &#8220;rocker&#8221; vote. As much as it&#8217;s unfair to Adam (and people like him) a gay rocker is kind of an anachronism.<\/p>\n<p>And yes, I&#8217;m aware of very successful gay rockers (Freddy Mercury of Queen, Bloc Party&#8217;s vocalist, etc.) But I would like to remind people that their reputations as musicians preceded their orientation. <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_958_1('footnote_plugin_reference_958_1_2');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_958_1('footnote_plugin_reference_958_1_2');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_958_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">2 <\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_958_1_2\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">They probably became famous before anyone knew they were gay<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_958_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_958_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> I&#8217;m pretty sure given the choice, when rockers want to be represented, they prefer their &#8220;role-models&#8221; brimming with testosterone &#8211; else it just doesn&#8217;t feel right. Then again, I&#8217;m coming from a background in heavy metal, so I guess it would be unfair to expect the same perspective with rock as a whole.<\/p>\n<p>It also didn&#8217;t help he had that <em>emo<\/em> look going on&#8230; everyone <em>hates<\/em> emos, so why copy their dismal fashion sense?<\/p>\n<p>So that leaves one possible area where Adam could outdo Kris: <strong>skill and musicality.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>And so the market we&#8217;re now left with are those people who thresh out the details of musicality <strong>in general.<\/strong> And in that context, suddenly Kris isn&#8217;t that much at a disadvantage now. He may not be as good as Adam with showmanship\/vocals&#8230; but he more than makes up with it overall musicality.<\/p>\n<p>So here&#8217;s the undeniable truth: <\/p>\n<h1>Adam&#8217;s a better <em>performer,<\/em> but Kris is a better <em>musician.<\/em><\/h1>\n<p>When Pia was showing me the clips, the favorite then was Gokey. And I remember saying to Pia, the problem with Gokey was <em>pakitang gilas lang siya. Mataas\/powerful lang boses niya<\/em>&#8230; that&#8217;s about it.<\/p>\n<p>I told her that I see Adam and Kris slugging it out at the end because unlike Gokey, Adam had <em>musicality<\/em>&#8230; but not as much as Kris. And while Kris had the vocal chops, it wasn&#8217;t good enough compared to Adam (and even Gokey now that I mention it). Either way, Gokey didn&#8217;t have a place in that simulation&#8230; and it turned out exactly how I expected it.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;So if Kris was better ultimately even musically, why did you even bring in orientation into the equation?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Glad you asked hahaha; because the truth is, the people who analyze this way (e.g. those who are musicians themselves) are the <em>minority.<\/em> It&#8217;s scientific fact that the more knowledge of music a person has, their receptivity to appreciating music presented to them changes proportionally. Simply put, the average joe who just wants to have a good time will interpret\/appreciate music way differently from those of us who actually make music.<\/p>\n<p>And having said that, it&#8217;s no secret that showmanship will usually trump everything else (all things being equal). So quite frankly, if we were to follow the &#8220;average joe&#8221; votes, it would make sense that Adam should&#8217;ve won. But like I said eariler, he probably lost the women, the straight rockers, etc. etc. So yes, it&#8217;s his orientation that put him at a disadvantage IMHO.<\/p>\n<p>Try putting Adam&#8217;s skill in Daughtry&#8217;s package&#8230; then do a Chris vs. Kris&#8230; now <em>that<\/em> would be a tough comparison (For all it&#8217;s worth, I think Daughtry would win in that case)<\/p>\n<p>Your thoughts?<\/p><div class=\"speaker-mute footnotes_reference_container\"> <div class=\"footnote_container_prepare\"><p><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_label pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_958_1();\">Notes<\/span><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button\" style=\"display: none;\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_958_1();\">[<a id=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_958_1\">+<\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/div> <div id=\"footnote_references_container_958_1\" style=\"\"><table class=\"footnotes_table footnote-reference-container\"><caption class=\"accessibility\">Notes<\/caption> <tbody> \r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_958_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_958_1_1');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_958_1_1\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8673;<\/span>1<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Why can&#8217;t homosexuals be like Neil Patrick Harris? Now THAT&#8217;S a homosexual worth respecting<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_958_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_958_1_2');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_958_1_2\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8673;<\/span>2<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">They probably became famous before anyone knew they were gay<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n <\/tbody> <\/table> <\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> function footnote_expand_reference_container_958_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_958_1').show(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_958_1').text('\u2212'); } function footnote_collapse_reference_container_958_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_958_1').hide(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_958_1').text('+'); } function footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_958_1() { if (jQuery('#footnote_references_container_958_1').is(':hidden')) { footnote_expand_reference_container_958_1(); } else { footnote_collapse_reference_container_958_1(); } } function footnote_moveToReference_958_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_958_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } } function footnote_moveToAnchor_958_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_958_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } }<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I don&#8217;t watch TV, I don&#8217;t tune in to AI, but I am aware of the players &#8211; and my sister clued me in eariler in the season for the people to &#8220;watch out&#8221; for. Sufficed to say, with my sister as my witness (and some other friends who I discussed it with) &#8211; I &hellip; <p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/archives\/2009\/05\/22\/thoughts-on-american-idol\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Thoughts on American Idol&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,11],"tags":[72,86,469,555,803,896],"class_list":["post-958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","category-perspective","tag-ai","tag-american-idol","tag-gay","tag-homosexuality","tag-music","tag-perspective"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}