The Different American Idol Blog

Posted on 24. Jan, 2008 by Per Bristow in American Idol, Performance, Singing

American Idol is once again in full swing with season 7, and I will be commenting on each week’s episode here on my blog. I will, however, write from the perspective of being a coach, rather than a judge – perhaps a somewhat refreshing perspective.

American Idol is no doubt a fascinating show and a fascinating marketing apparatus. Part of the draw and success of American Idol is making fun and making fools of the unsuspecting. Not surprisingly, the official website’s main draw, at least now in the early part of the season, are the videos of “bad auditions”. 

On the other hand, it is fascinating that so many are so willing to put themselves in a situation to be made fun of. Contestants should know by now that they only get on camera if…  a) they are really good, or …  b) they lack the awareness of why they are asked to go in front of the camera – i.e. they are lured to believe that they can succeed – and are therefore easily set up to be made fun of. (Average people who have trained hard, but aren’t quite ready for “Hollywood”, are never asked into the room in front of the cameras and judges)

Part of my philosophy and method – and the reason people tend to develop rapidly – is to develop a greater sense of awareness.

The ability for self-awareness is one of the life qualities that is most crucial for success. Heightened self-awareness is the foundation for rapid learning. Self-awareness leads to awareness of others, which enables you to communicate effectively. The success of any performer, teacher, lawyer, entrepreneur, business leader, marketer or salesperson is dependant on the ability to relate to the audience or customer.

There are, however, many who lack this ability. And these are the people who fall prey for shows like American Idol. They also easily fall prey to other authoritative figures who promise the gold.

Having said that, there is much to be learned by watching the performers, especially as the season moves on to feature the real artists.

As a coach I can’t help thinking: “How could this person rapidly become better?”  Can someone who sings off pitch develop the ability to sing on pitch?  Could someone who sounds awful today sound great tomorrow? In most cases, I firmly believe “yes”. 

So, depending on what I notice in each week’s show, I’ll address it on this blog.
(In this week’s episode, for example, there was the mentioning of vocal cord paralysis, which I’ll address in a separate post.