When Pop Idols first kicked off in the UK I hated it and then continued to hate all of it through all the international versions and all the ridiculous seasons. Most of the hype has died down now and there’s only a few people left who will comment on it. I hate to have to admit it, but I think my views have changed somewhat.
I saw bits of pieces of sporadic episodes over the last handful of weeks going into months and I cringed at some of the pitiful efforts made by some entrants. I think I’m getting soft now because now I feel that they at least deserve the credit for getting up there and giving it a shot. Now in South Africa we are on season 5 and it’s been narrowed down to the remaining X number (I think it was 10) of contestants. I watched it from start to finish last night and I must say I actually found it very entertaining. These people actually have talent and although they are not superstar quality yet you can see that they could be without a lot of work. Am I converted? I don’t know.
And as for the judges, what a mixed bag. We have to remember that Idols is a concept just as “Who wants to be a millionaire” with a general template that should be used worldwide therefore you will always have your good cop / bad cop aspect and a couple of inbetweeners. Makes for interesting debate. I actually like all the judges.
Dave is the serious one. Very blunt but gets his message across in a clear concise way. Not much room for misunderstanding his opinion.
Mara is sweet. She just wants to love and hug everyone and tell them they are all fantastic and gets emotional very easily. Very sweet! Good cop.
Gareth I rate highest out of all of them. When he speaks he actually makes sense. He uses constructive criticism and explains himself very well. If I ever met him I would have to shake his hand and thank him for bringing a level of normality to the show. I like hearing what he has to say.
Randall is just the filler of an unfortunate position. He gets slated daily but what people don’t usually get, is that it is the position of the asshole not him. It all went back to Simon Cowell who was the king of asshole. It’s just that Simon could pull it off better, didn’t stumble over his own words or fuck up clichéd sayings when trying to be a twat. I actually kinda feel sorry for Randall and I’m sure off the show he could be quite a nice chap if given half the chance. I hope he is paid well for his position. Bad cop.
I was actually quite moved last night when Mara asked everyone to stand up and have a moments silence in respect for Jason, one of the contestants, who lost his brother the week before. For a second it looked like Randall was not going to stand and I just angrily thought, “My man, you will be committing professional suicide if you are the twat now!” He did stand however and I quickly went back to feeling sorry for him.
All in all I think South Africa actually does have some good talent and I am looking forward to seeing more episodes and watch them progress. Who knows, maybe by season 7, I could even start voting!
