>Wow. Two posts in one day. Something in the world must be off-kilter. LOL!

Awhile back I blogged about having a Saturday Showcase where I’d highlight a book. This Saturday that feature will be back with cover art and a great excerpt from a wonderful paranormal. Don’t miss it.

And another (rather long) tidbit: I was blog-hopping and came across a Sanjaya (American Idol) mention on Liz Faulkner’s site. Which brought to mind the whole “Vote For The Worst” ridiculousness. On their website, VFTW claim that they’re doing this because the producers mock so many people during the tryouts, that they keep the worst around because it’s good reality TV, not because they have a shot at AI and it’s somehow cruel.

Seriously? (Sorry, Gray’s Anatomy, couldn’t resist!)

Let’s see…AI has been on how many years now? And how many of those ‘worst’ auditioned just so they could be on TV and KNEW hoped they’d be kept on because they were screaming/warbling/screeching so badly? We’re talkin’ 15 seconds/minutes of fame, baby! Those people weren’t destined to be singing sensations. AI isn’t destroying their career – a dream, maybe. Even the deluded ones have to know that there’s a good possibility they’ll be made fun of. You put yourself in that position, you deserve the result – or need a good wake-up call so you can get over the delusion and get on with life.

As for the contestants who make it to the top 24, they usually have talent, or a winning combination of talent and charisma that makes not only for good TV, but a decent shot at winning. Lot’s of contestants have started out mediocre, but have used the AI advantages and feedback to improve and actually go farther in the competition. That’s the cream rising to the top.

VFTW actually hurts careers, and that’s not fair to those that get voted off, who would have made it to the top ten and have a chance at huge exposure through the AI tours. VFTW readily admits that every vote counts, but turn around and say that AI skews things toward the contestant they want to win. Sounds contradictory to me. The audience votes and the results pick who stays and goes, regardless of AI’s efforts to sway people.

As Simon is so fond of saying, “This is a singing competition.” Let’s keep it that way, shall we?