Idol Smackdown

1. The Fro’ Ain’t Happy. He’s pissed off that the industry isn’t paying the Idol contestants seriously, despite having sold lots of records and all that. He’s especially pissed off at people thinking they haven’t worked hard:

“I’ve worked my butt off. For people to say I’ve just got a lucky break it’s very saddening,” Sebastian told S, during an intimate chat last week.

(SMH, Sebastian not idle on criticism, September 28, 2004)

2. Can’t blame him. First the scream hordes of the deaf thinking they’re the shit, then the endless rounds of auditions, the made-for-tv criticisms where you don’t know whether they think that or whether it’s just for the ratings, then the long rounds of publicity, then the show, the voting and the knowledge that if you fuck up, you’re fucking up in front of millions who then tell of your fuck up to a million more. That’s tough. Really tough. Again from the article:

“I mean, someone like Missy Higgins goes on Triple J’s Unearthed and then [later] kind of bags out Idol,” he said. “Where do you draw the line? What’s the proper way to enter the industry?

3. Another good point. How do you, as a solo singer, get enough publicity to attract the attention of the industry? Countless singers who genuinely have talent have tried and failed, and those who made it were just lucky, really. Had they not been there to take that chance, no doubt someone else would’ve.

4. I have a feeling that those who baulk at the Idol phenomena just doesn’t like that style of music. It’s the same as the Triple J wankers spewing on about how Delta sucks or how Pop is shit or this person or that person has no cred. It’s nothing to do with whether that person has or hasn’t got talent, but it’s always an argument over whether you like the music they produce. Anyone who has had any success in the music industry must have some talent — but to succeed in the music industry there’s a whole lot more to it than sheer musical talent. Take, for example, Kylie. Kylie Minogue is talented. Not just as a singer (there are many who sing better), not just as a dancer (ditto), but as a Businesswoman. She is Brand that sells music, not a musician that makes music. Maintaining a brand like Kylie takes talent, and likely more talent than all the cussing minority has in total.

5. At the end of the day whether you like or dislike the Idol contestants is immaterial. I don’t — I don’t like the way they’ve been rushed and marketed, and I don’t like the way the record companies push songs onto them to record for a few quick bucks, but most of all I don’t like the music. But I respect them for doing it, for putting up with the shit and the humiliation and the frustration and setbacks because they are pursuing a dream. If there is a group of people to hate it’s the record execs and TV producers that take advantage of them for good ratings. And for the record, Missy Higgins can’t sing, can’t play, and writes boring songs destined to be played forever in elevators around the world, wedged between Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. You suck.

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