Has American Idol Turned Music Into a Sport?

Okay, so this might seem completely disparate, but this article not only discusses the definition of sport but whether American Idol has in fact turned music into a sport.

People have long debated whether bowling, golf and other sports are truly a sport.

My definition of a great sport is that it is a pressured testing of strength, endurance, and mental faculties (instincts, or decision making).  Moreover, to channel competition, angst, and victory.

Golf and bowling have shades of those things, but seem to lack one category all together, while the Big Five cover all bases. 

Bowling for instance, does not appear to require much endurance when you can stuff your face with Cheetos or Doritos while playing.

As for golf, sure it requires strength for a long drive, but if John Daly can win a Major, then it leads me to believe that the strength is not overall, but mostly in the upper body.

Here then is a question.  Most people question the true quality of the music from American Idol. 

Why? 

Well, it seems to me, that it is because American Idol is as Simon Cowell admitted "not about artistry." 

That begs the conclusion, that American Idol is merely about winning, and that once you win, people will think you're great, even if you are not artful or creative.

The last I checked, true creativity is not about winning.  In abstraction, Martin Scorsese went for years without winning an Academy Award for Best Director, but continued high-quality work, even if he didn't win.

However, the Academy Awards do relate to American Idol, since they did award Jennifer Hudson for Best Actress in Dream Girls.

Others like Bob Dylan and Neil Young are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for their music, yet if those two had auditioned for American Idol, they would have likely been featured as the bad auditions.  The producers likely would have bleeped-out the response by Simon Cowell.

Cowell might have even told both of them that they are the worst singers in the world.

Before you get confused, on one hand I respect Cowell's opinions because I think that the true intent of what he says is to challenge people.  If they truly have something, then prove it.  And if it doesn't work for American Idol, find another venue.

Unfortunately though, music competitions like American Idol have begun to compromise the integrity of other music venues.

Take for instance, the CMA Awards.  To me, it is as suspicious as the instinctively unnatural high number of homeruns; to see former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood to become one of the most accoladed female singers in country music in only three years after the release of her debut album.

Why should we believe that a winner of a national contest is better than those that have toiled in real music for years, or better than the true greats of the genre like Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, June Carter Cash, and Martina McBride amongst many others? 

In other words, the winner of a contest got a free ride to an abnormally high amount of hype; the songs of other people; synthesizers; and music videos. 

Meanwhile, others that have toiled in country music are ignored, while the true greats are weakened by award shows (in the case of Woody Allen, he gets physically weak) that claim to be the arbitrators of greatness. 

You know, no one told some of the greatest artists in history that they were great while living; so why should I believe in the so-called greatness of flashes-in-the pan?

Well, I should note that the intent of Award Shows is to promote certain people, in hopes that they will remain.  And something tells me that lately, the effort to prop-up certain people has become more collusion in pursuit of money, than in the interest of the *consumers.*

In another case, a guy like Taylor Hicks won American Idol and has been a flop.  That's all you really need to know, to know that American Idol is not about artistry; it, like sports, is about whether you win the show.  But just because you win that show, doesn't necessarily mean that the quality of your work deserved to win.

Not Just about the Said Winners of American Idol

If you are a true artist, you do not need American Idol in order to succeed.  American Idol is a sport (but not a great sport) that is solely about whether you win.  Unfortunately though, Idol has now eroded the quality of true music.

I'd like to believe that the Steroids era has taught us all a lesson: there's no fast track to greatness.  There can be a fast track to money, but money is easy come, easy go and has no intrinsic greatness. 

Just ask AIG.

But if you want your money, then fine...go get it.  Just don't expect me or anyone else to call you great, simply because you were successful in, what is oftentimes a highly dubious pursuit.

You got your money, so why must you take recognition from the true greats?  The way I see it, it's one or the other (with rare exception).

So there you go.  Please tell me what you think about the questions: What is the definition of sport; and has American Idol transformed from music into a sport?

Sure you need talent in order to win American Idol, but you also need talent to win the World Cup.  The question though is whether the talent of American Idol is artful, and not just a forum for the tools of a talent (like sports).

Meaning, I have seen quite a few Five Tool Players on American Idol, but not much artistry.  So in the absence of artistry, it begs the conclusion that something else is involved and whether that factor has in fact transformed the music into something else.

And sports is my belief as to what that "something else" actually is.