![]() ![]() The OneRepublic frontman, who is in Australia to promote their new single Wherever I Go, said the format’s flaw was its focus on “the voice”. If only the producers of "American Idol" could embrace it.THE Voice needs to uncover a talented songwriter rather than a great singer if it is ever going to create a pop star, according to global hitmaker Ryan Tedder. "For me, this whole thing has been a progression," Cook said the night before he won everything, during a moment when it seemed like he had lost. It's hard to know how to mend, or at least acknowledge, the deeper contradictions that afflict not only "Idol" but the mass-culture oriented industry it supports. So maybe Cook will dominate, after all - just in a smaller arena than he once might have imagined.Īnd what of "Idol" itself? Rumors are buzzing that the show will benefit from a major overhaul next season. Yet its fans pride themselves on loving "real," "meaningful" music - the kind you can pass down to your kids or sing in a crowd at a state fair. Meat-and-potatoes rock, which Cook clearly loves and believes in, hasn't ruled the zeitgeist for a while, although it can still move large quantities of product for a few hard-working Joes, like unofficial Idol champ Chris Daughtry and Nickelback. ![]() (Up-and-comers the Jonas Brothers fit in there, no matter how Disney-fied their sound - teen pop is a niche too, just a very well-marketed one.)Īt least David Cook belongs to the rare special interest group that still considers itself an embodiment of the norm. Bryan Adams, Donna Summer, Gladys Knight, guest of honor George Michael - all share the ability to translate a niche sound for the largest audience possible. ![]() This finale's star-studded guest list made the argument for such well-processed diversity. "Idol" always has celebrated the breadth of the Top 40, making room for soul queens - Syesha Mercado, standing up to Seal's hip-shaking invitations, can count herself among them now - and beat-boxing white boys, treacly balladeers and country barn-burners. Smithson and Johns brought the house down with a stomping take on the Box Tops' soul-rock classic, "The Letter." And both Davids seized their spotlight moments, the rocker comfortably hamming it up with ZZ Top and the pop boy crooning gorgeously as OneRepublic played that forgettable hit. Jason Castro again showed why Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is always deserving of another revival, and Brooke White made a sweet duet partner for her folk-pop elder, Graham Nash. The would-be Idols did fine when left to their own devices. Even the Davids lost their footing in the group sings, unable to settle into their particular grooves. Ramiele Malubay's disco-flavored sensuality was buried by the big waves of rock belters Michael Johns and Carly Smithson. Chikezie's soul man moments clashed with Kristy Lee Cook's country twang. In fact, every group number the final 12 contestants performed in what was (in part) a long advertisement for their summer tour reflected this season's mood of friendly friction. Even splitting a power ballad by Nickelback's Chad Kroeger - a blandly ecumenical songwriter if there ever was one - their harmonies grated. What does it mean, though, that Archuleta's and Cook's own sensibilities are so disparate that they can't sing a duet without discord? Their camaraderie can't overcome the flat feeling that arose when their voices combined. They must be at the center of pop's universe! They deserve our passion, our faith. "Idol" is that thread - 97.5 million votes were cast for Cook and Archuleta, Seacrest announced. Panic over the monoculture's death is aiding in the music industry's slow collapse, making rock- and soul-bred parents fret over their seemingly superficial kids, and preventing even popular songs (like "Apologize," the huge hit OneRepublic performed Wednesday night with Archuleta) from seeming anything but ephemeral.Īs a paradigm dies, the romantic side of human nature reaches for some last thread of it to love. This idea was always only part of pop's reality, and in recent years it's become very difficult to maintain: Blame identity politics, the Internet or niche marketing, but the era of blockbuster artists singing for all of us seems to be over. "Idol" relies on a belief in what venerable rock critic Robert Christgau has dubbed the "monoculture" - in pop, that means a sound and style most everybody hears and likes and thinks is important. ![]()
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