For those of you who realize that I am in fact Canadian, and that I spent a fair amount of time covering American Idol, you might be wondering why I have yet to even care to mention the recent launch of the summer programming juggernaut that is Canadian Idol. And, for those few of you who meet that description, I have this following explanation: it’s not at all compelling for me.
While the audition stages are always a huge draw for the American Idol audience, and for good reason, I believe that Canadian Idol has never quite figured out how to achieve the desired effect. On American Idol, the audition stages provide a glimpse into the future of the competition: with each episode you get an idea of a certain level of talent, and you connect with these people. I think a lot of it has to do with the judges: the dynamic that Simon, Farley and Paula have created is something consistent, set in stone. When people step before them we can immediately predict their reaction, or approximate it at the very least. This is, in actuality, a good thing: it allows the candidates to be judged on a fairly consistent set of standards.
I don’t know what it is about Canadian Idol’s judging panel, but I swear they’re all of them schizophrenic. They outright jeer certain contestants like an over-sized peanut gallery, but then fawn over others who are merely average. One second Farley’s Mr. Nice Guy, the next he’s destroying some poor contestant. Sass usually has nothing of import to say, and yet she can’t even decide whether she’s mean or nice in the process. Yes, I know most of this is purely natural behaviour: Zack isn’t a villain all the time, so why should be play one on this show? These people have to like people at some point, so what’s the problem?
The problem is that the judges aren’t there to be real people, they are there to help the audience through the proceedings. Their reactions should be readable, consistent so that from their comments we can discern a person’s potential in the competition. When someone squeaks through with Zack voting against them, is that person better or worse than the person who Sass voted against? While it would be ideal if we as the viewing public could discern it for ourselves, we hear so little of some of these performers that we might not know exactly what makes them stand out.The audition period is just too hectic on Canadian Idol, and while it’s certainly less individualistic I’d rather watch American Idol’s any day. For Canadian Idol, things become interesting when they narrow it down to the good singers, and when they enter into the competition phase and regionalism kicks into high gear. So, until that point, I shall be refraining from watching. I’ll head to Toronto just like these contestants: unsure of the level of competition, and hoping for a good season in the process.
Cultural Learnings 