American Goofballs

This is definitely my favorite time for viewing American Idol. At the beginning of every season they travel to numerous cities to conduct auditions for the overall pool of contestants, and they spend a lot of time featuring the worst of the worst singers they could find.

It seems that a huge percentage (98%?) of people have some sort of tremendous delusion when it comes to their own singing abilities. I guess if it sounds good in our own heads, it must sound even better if we have a microphone and an audience! I'm sure this premise is what has made karaoke as popular as it is.

The best part of the whole show is when they feature people who are immensely overwhelmed by their own "abilities," and then they wind up getting berated by the judges. I don't know why I get so much pleasure out of watching this happen. I suppose it's largely because I'm not the one being berated.

As you're well aware if you watch the show, the contestants are judged by Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, and Randy Jackson. This year, for reasons I cannot explain, they decided to add a fourth judge. For some demented reason they decided to add Kara Dioguardi to the show, even though she appears to be evil.

Kara is easy on the eyes, sure, but what else does she add to the show? She reminds me a lot of "New Coke." Remember back in the 80s when Coke decided to change its formula, even though people seemed to be perfectly happy with the old stuff? Eventually people revolted, and Coke went back to the old formula. Kara is the New Coke of American Idol. It's only mildly ironic that Coke is a big sponsor of the show, and the judges are always drinking it, being sure to have the Coke logo facing the camera at all times.

Anyway, I'll be interested in hearing your opinions about Kara. I say let her off at the next rest stop, and speed off.