American Idol: Not for Intellectuals Only, by Colette Moran

I think it’s just great that the simple folk are discovering that they too can enjoy the highbrow entertainment of this uncelebrated talent exposition.

Actually, it’s usually more like “You watch American Idol? Seriously?”

Seriously.

Yeah, sure, it’s not the same without Simon, and there are plenty of episodes where almost everybody does bad (this week was pretty close!), and whereas Steven Tyler has brought some fun, he’s a bit pandering (and enough with his pottymouth and ogle-eyes!)

But J-Lo is lovely — Paula without the potential train-wreck factor — and Randy is a solid anchorman who has easily taken on the role of the heavy, albeit without the clever sting of Sir Cowell.

So a quick wrap-up for this week: Choosing a song from the year you were born.

Yep, the oldest person was born after I graduated high school. And the youngest is barely able to drive. Yikes.

Idol has always been kind of vague about how the choices of songs are presented to the contestants. Come on, tell us — can they actually choose any song they want that meets the criteria, as long as you’re able to secure the rights? If so, it is amazing to me how — season after season — contestants make horrible song choices.

It was the last coffin nail for Ashthon last week, and there were some dicey choices this week. But I don’t think that’s what did in the comely Karen this time out.

If the voting had been solely based upon the performances of that night, the unconventional Casey would have been OUT! Cool song, terrible screeching. Karen had a lovely rendition of “Love Will Lead You Back” but I think she was fighting an unturnable tide.

It seems that the big demographics for AI voters is tweenage girls and grandmas. Hence, verycute boys with verylittle talent tend to overstay their welcomes. And the girls who make it through not only have to be outstanding (Pia!) but they have to be relatable (Thia!)

Though fans like my husband may have thought Karen’s neo-Barbarella outfit was muy caliente, tweens and g-mas… not so much. And I don’t know — but the whole bilingual, affable nature kind of gave her a Celine Dion vibe that unfortunately can be (inexplicably imo) off-putting.

Well, AI may no longer have a potential Latin Idol this time around, but Karen Rodriguez can have a long-time career in Latin music if she plays her cards right. All the best to her — she is beauteous.

Colette Moran
www.clearlynebulous.com