[originally published‏ May 25, 2011.]

 

 

 

James Durbin was eliminated from American Idol on May 12, 2011. He was in the 4th spot. Oh, I don’t know anymore. I know that I should not watch but I was seduced by the sweetness and positivity of the judges: Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson were wonderful. This seemed to be a different Idol. The thing is the voters had obviously not changed. In addition Idol maintains a status-quo and difference is not tolerated. Adam Lambert is my favorite example. I thought that Durbin would be safe because he is married and has a child. However, he sang heavy-metal. A no-no on Idol.

 

Scotty who kissed his cross when Lady Gaga mentored and Lauren who is aligned with Miley Cyrus were the 2 in the finale. My hope was for Haley Reinhart to win when Durbin was kicked off. She was sent home next. You know, I heard a definition of insanity:  doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. I am not insane, probably, but I am hopeful. Every year I am disappointed but I watch anyhow. See, I understand the context, the parameters. Maybe some of the contestants hoped to alter them…

 

The contestants were all extremely talented this year. There was never a question of that – on this level choosing was very difficult. It all boiled down to conforming to an established ‘norm.’ See, this absolutely brilliant singer – Jacob Lusk – was too fey. Casey Abrahms – the amazing Jazz guy – was too eccentric. Paul McDonald was way too groovy and it goes on and on.

 

 

Maybe my hope is kind of what I would like from culture in general. The resistance to ‘difference’ is a gentle reminder that work still needs to be done. *sigh*