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...million Number of call-in votes recorded last week for the two finalists in American Idol 3. (Some people voted more than once...
Perhaps too well. Idol was created in Britain by music executive Simon Fuller not just to make hit TV but also to find lasting talent for him to sign. So far the breakout star of this Idol season is William Hung, famous for butchering Ricky Martin's She Bangs at an audition; his debut CD sold nearly 38,000 copies in its first week. Jackson says he sometimes is worried that Idol the reality show will undercut Idol the music search, which in its first two seasons produced both salable talents and high ratings. "Kelly Clarkson was great," says Jackson...
Then again, when's the last time you bought a CD by someone you didn't like, just because you felt you should support their talent? The voting on Idol, says Fuller, represents "people power," just as record-buying does. "A lot of music purists don't understand that," he says. "The biggest stars are not always the best. Elvis had charisma. He was a good singer, but not the best ever...
...music is about popularity; performance is about personality. And an Idol contestant who gets over on charm or a touching story is in good company. Singers have always used biography, real or concocted, to bond with their audience: Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil, Loretta Lynn growing up a coal miner's daughter. (If only Sid and Nancy had a reality show.) Who a singer is and how he or she lived don't just drive the audience's interest but, at best, inform the performance. In Porgy and Bess, for instance, Clara sings Summertime to her baby...
...creating a persona or being an artist? If she and we are lucky, she will someday become a true performer, for whom there is no difference between the two. That is why it's a false choice to ask if American Idol is a popularity contest or a singing competition. Vocal coach Byrd has a better term for it. "Welcome," she says, "to Star School." --Reported by Jeanne McDowell/Los Angeles