American Idol and One of It's Cousins

Last year I was an Idol watcher. In previous Idol seasons I had only watched the last couple of episodes when there were only four or five contestants left, if I watched it at all. The year Carrie Underwood won, I watched only the final episode, and I gotta say, I was more impressed with Bo. Which shows how much I know, cause I guess Carrie's doing OK for herself.

But last year, I got sucked into watching the whole darn thing. I still don't understand what's so entertaining about the auditions. The talented were few and far between, and the untalented were so painful to watch, and the feedback from the judges so cruel at times, I was really disturbed by the callousness of a society that not only watches this, but watches it more than it watches anything else.

But did I turn it off? Nooooooooo.

Because there were just enough good singers that I wanted to follow their progress. Those TV guys, they know what they're doing.

Did my favorite singer win? Nope. I was devastated when she was eliminated. But I kept watching. And then my second favorite was eliminated. And I was done.

Because it wasn't about the best singer at all. It was about who was doing the voting. I certainly didn't vote......that would have meant I was taking it seriously. And while it's OK for a middle-aged woman to shake her fist and yell at the TV when Lakesha and Melinda go down, voting seems rather.....young and frivolous.

So I don't have any plans to watch the next American Idol, but I'm not signing papers to that effect , because those TV guys, they know what they're doing.

My husband made fun of my Idol addiction last year. The tables are turned now though, because what do you know, HIS favorite show this year is The Next Great American Band. Like Idol, it's an alleged talent finder , but in reality it's a popularity contest controlled by a bunch of 13 year olds with cell phones. His favorite group was eliminated Friday night, being squeezed out by a bunch of junior high kids who think they're all that.

I'm trying hard to feel his pain, but I have to stop laughing first.