American Idol: 7 Reasons why everyone should try it

I’m often scoffed at for being a die-hard American Idol fan; people just assume it’s a cheesier version of X Factor. But I’m on a mission to dispel that myth – because what started off for me as a family tradition evolved into a lifestyle of obsession for a reason. With season 9 kicking off this week, read below my 7 reasons why even the most cynical TV watcher should at least consider tuning in to one of the world’s most popular shows.

• 1) America is a huge pool of talent, and the standards are getting higher: It may seem obvious, but the mere fact that the USA has 300million+ people gives it a leg up. Factor into that the versatility and the years of pressure from previous seasons mounted on new contestants to be good, and only the absolute cream of the crop get through. On the flipside, if you’re one of those who loves the dodgy auditions, the USA has more than its fair share of crazies.

• 2) The winners (and finalists) actually have long-term success: Few of our reality finalists experience long-lasting music industry success. In the USA, 18 AI artists made it into the mainstream or genre charts in 2008 (I won’t lie; I own an insane 30 AI alumni albums!). This week’s Billboard 100 alone has 6 songs from former AI contestants (and that’s in the off-season). And then there’s also Broadway. In other words, your favourite is more than likely to have some sort of career to follow when the show hype dies down.

• 3) The Blogosphere: There are thousands of blogs dedicated to AI, and there’s nothing quite like feeling a part of such a huge following. The more dedicated ones post very frequent in-the-know updates (personal favourites: mjsbigblog.com and rickey.org). Speculating, theorising and obsessing have never been easier.

• 4) Instruments!: In season 7, instruments were allowed onto the AI stage. Not only did this offer a chance to contestants who wouldn’t have felt comfortable taking part without their accompanying instrument, it also meant that your average AI finalist holds a pretty decent understanding of music.

• 5) Song arrangements have never been so fun: Another recent phenomenon is contestants performing unusual song arrangements, or even writing their own, something unheard of on X Factor. This varies from simply changing the tempo of a song to entirely changing its genre (the more extreme examples include David Cook’s rock balladeer version of Lionel Richie’s ‘Hello’, or Adam Lambert’s sitar-infused take on Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’). It gives them a chance to truly show off the artist they want to be.

• 6) iTunes downloads!: Every performed song is also done in a recording studio and available for download. By the end of a season, you could have an album’s worth of music from your favourite contestant (though we personally can’t access the iTunes downloads in the UK, the aforementioned blogosphere takes care of that for us).

• 7) It’s all about the music and the chance to discover it: The song choices lie entirely with the contestants rather than the judges. This creative freedom often means that rather than picking the obvious, newer contestants in particular have no fear in delving into back-catalogues and honouring their favourite more obscure musicians, especially if it gives them an edge over other performers. It’s how I discovered artists such as Foghat, Heart, Pat Benatar, Martina McBride and Collective Soul. Simply put, it makes the vast history of music much more accessible – and that’s the best part.

If I’ve convinced or intrigued you, American Idol starts Weds at 19:30 and Thu at 20:00 on ITV2.

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