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ARTS AND LEISURE DESK |
TELEVISION; Why 'Idol' Is Always Oldies Night |
By SARAH HEPOLA (NYT)
491 words
Published:
WHY is ''American Idol'' stuck in the past? For all its patter about next big
things, its guest judges are usually not American idols but fallen ones. Absent
are trends like hip-hop, R & B, anything with burning guitars. Instead, the
show rolls out old-fashioned genre nights -- big band, Motown, disco -- and
spotlights the musty catalogs of artists like Barry Manilow.
According to Ken Warwick, an executive producer of the show, the approach is deliberate. ''By the time the contestants get to the finals, we know they can sing,'' says Mr. Warwick, who apparently hasn't heard the criticism of some of this year's contestants. ''The only way you can test them is by giving them genres they're not used to. We're looking for a star that is going to be there in 10 years. We don't want a one-hit wonder.''
Mr. Warwick acknowledges, however, that the musical selection is also designed not to alienate any viewers. ''We're trying to please the entire demographic,'' he says, ''which is probably the most diverse on television. Four-year-olds watch this show with their grandparents.''
But those old, familiar songs are neither old nor even necessarily familiar to contestants, ages 25 and younger, who pluck their selections from a pre-approved list that can veer toward the bizarre. How does the Southern rock classic ''Drift Away'' end up on soul night? How does disco night feature Bonnie Tyler's ''Holding Out for a Hero'' but not Gloria Gaynor's ''I Will Survive''? ''We try to stay away from hackneyed or karaoke songs,'' says Mr. Warwick. He describes ''I Will Survive'' as ''the queen of karaoke songs.'' But isn't ''American Idol'' the king of karaoke shows?
Asked about rap, he replies, ''we have to do songs that have a certain
modicum of melody.'' The era of rap is also the era of Christina Aguilera and
Britney Spears, however. The show emulates their diva style, but doesn't
showcase their music -- which, as it happens, costs more in royalties than that
of earlier artists. ''We never stay away from a song because of royalties,''
Mr. Warwick insists. ''We will only stay away from a song if we can't get
clearance.'' That includes songs by Michael Jackson and Shania Twain, along
with a conspicuously absent pop supergroup. ''We are desperate to do the
Beatles,'' says Mr. Warwick, who grew up in
They'll need them. The show can't coast by on stale swing and disco forever. Even Simon Cowell seems to agree. During the show's big-band night, Mr. Cowell criticized one contestant's performance of ''Someone to Watch Over Me'' by griping that it had no relevance to music today.
Once again, Simon was right. SARAH HEPOLA