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Joined: Jul 2004
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Here is another one I had written back then.
http://www.beaversonidol.com/article...yourfirst.html
Quote: You Never Forget Your First
by Andrea H. (2004/06/12)
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Do you remember the first time you dared diving from the highest dive board at the town's public pool? Do you recall the first time you rode your bicycle without those small training wheels with a smile on your face? Or the first time you drove your own first car? There is nothing as exciting as that very first time you sit at the wheel that is your own, that you picked amongst the millions of other cars in the world, that you now get to drive at your own free will because it's the one that attracted your fancy. It's the one you want. Through the years, you'll take many drives around in that car. The car will change. Within some twelve odd months, that car might be replaced for a faster, more popular, highly advertised new version of your old one. Yet, no drive will ever be as satisfying and exciting as that first one you experienced in that smaller, relatively unknown, and less advertised vehicle. None will be as memorable.
In many ways, American Idol is just that. A vehicle. A simple yet growing with each installment vehicle. For many artists such as our inaugural winner, Kelly Clarkson, subsequent winners, Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino, as well as runner-ups from each seasons, including Justin Guarini, Tamyra Gray, Clay Aiken, Kimberly Locke and Diana DeGarmo just to name a few, American Idol was the vehicle that propelled them into another stratosphere. It turned them into stars, each within their own limitations and merits, if you will.
But while the viewership has grown tremendously since those very first days back in summer 2002 when ten completely unknown contestants took to the small stage of American Idol, the question remains, has the magic done the same, or did it slowly vanish after that first season? Moreover, has American Idol's credibility followed it right out the door?
One of the things I remember so fondly about Season one of American Idol, aside from the wonders of the unknown, is the genuine approach the contestants took. There was this sense of connection with the contestants. You felt as though you knew them. You loved them not just for their talent, but for how they portrayed themselves, behaved, talked, laughed, and, yes, even cried.
What I have found missing from the subsequent seasons is that exact feeling of connection. While contestants like Clay Aiken have garnered some fanatical fans, there was really no one from season two or three that grabbed the viewers hearts the way season one contestants did. And the differences don't necessarily stop there either. There was something unique about people like Kelly Clarkson, who has tremendously evolved since her American Idol days and keeps striving to improve - something I haven't found any of the other Idols trying to do so far. She went for an image that represented her, not necessarily what the American Idol producers wanted to mold her into. She's the one who pushed for her album to be delayed, wanting and needing for the music to represent her and not be rushed simply to ride the American Idol wave at the time. She insisted to have a say in what went on it and what didn't. If I remember correctly, many people like Simon Cowell and Simon Fuller were pushing for her first single to be the Diane Warren ballad, Some Kind Of Miracle. The fact that Kelly, herself, pushed for it to be what consequently became her biggest hit so far, Miss Independent, proved that she knew what she was doing. She co-wrote on four of the tracks on that first album, plays the violin, the piano and the guitar, not to mention that she was nominated for a Grammy amongst some of the biggest names in the industry. She's her own artist, two years later. While many predicted she'd be a one-hit wonder spawned by a reality TV show, Kelly Clarkson proved them wrong. And, in many ways, gave American Idol the credibility it deserved to have some longevity.
But what Clarkson has that many other contestants coming from the show don't is very simple. It's that small thing called respect from her fans and peers. It is arguable that Barrino gets that same amount of respect from the Entertainment World. Many love her, yet many hate her for being overrated, something, I believe, can easily be attributed to shameless pimping from either the judges or the show itself (Cowell must have forgotten some of the astounding performances by Gray and Clarkson in season one when he forced us to believe Barrino was the best in the world. How easily one forgets). Clarkson, in contrast, never needed Simon Cowell or Randy Jackson to proclaim her the best in the world to garner her respect in the industry. Producers, songwriters, actors, fellow singers, musicians, all fell in love with Clarkson either during her run on the Fox hit show or afterwards. We're not only talking about the likes of Clive Davis or Ben Moody, but also about radio. None of the other idols have had the respect from radio that Clarkson has had. Unfortunately for contestants like Barrino, Studdard, and even Aiken and Guarini, theirs are songs that, for various and very individual reasons, are not played nearly as much as Clarkson's music. While I used to hear A Moment Like This practically every hour on the radio after Clarkson won the competition, I hardly ever heard Barrino's single (penned by Tamyra Gray from season one) and only once or twice caught Studdard's winning anthem.
While people rushed to rave about Clarkson, or Guarini, or Gray, or McKibbin even in season one, it seems that now viewers only feel compelled to pick one and stick with it. The passion and excitement that came with rooting for Clarkson - for talent - for example, has now turned into somewhat of a less colorful obligation to just pick a contestant to win. There is no follow up. It has become the opposite of what it originally felt like. A simple reality show.
We're not falling in love with anyone anymore. At least I know I'm not. We're watching, we're getting addicted to it, but we're not falling in love with a personality in particular. It's not because they lack talent, or because the show has gotten less popular - far from that! But that magic is not there. That uniqueness that Clarkson and her fellow contestants possessed is simply missing.
Fifteen million people watched Clarkson perform on television every week. Thirty million watched Aiken and Studdard, exactly double the audience Clarkson got. And even more watched Barrino and DeGarmo battle it out. Yet, Clarkson sold over 2 million copies of her first album, just under Aiken and a fair distance above Studdard. You do the math.
Will there be anyone from all three seasons that will have accomplished all of what Clarkson accomplished in two years? Will there be anyone that will stand out the way Clarkson does? Moreover, where would these people be if Clarkson had not paved the way for them to have somewhat of an ounce of credibility in the Entertainment Industry?
More importantly, will we still care?
Clarkson has proven she is here to stay. Will we be interested long enough to see the same from any of the others?
| Keep in mind that this was written well before Carrie Underwood's season or Chris Daughtry's success came about  |
That article is absolutely amazing! I LOVED it! 
Thats AMAZING!
I love this part! And especially the last line. She's certainly proved she's here to stay 
