American Idol Commentary by Ron Lemon
March 21, 2007
I think America was ready to send Sanjaya home this week. Enough of us had gotten past his hair and his androgynous good looks to actually listen to him and found there just wasn't much there. The tweenies and the grannies were ready to shift their allegiance to the likes of Chris Richardson and Blake Lewis. People were beginning to notice Jordin Sparks and giving Stephanie Edwards the benefit of the doubt. Sanjaya was headed for bottom three territory with a bullet. He was on his way out tonight.
All of that changed last night. And not for the better. Last night a picture launched a million votes and we saw exactly what the tween vote means.
A picture of a little girl named Ashley sitting on the isle crying her eyes out and gazing with awe at Sanjaya as he bleated and butchered the Kinks "You Really Got Me". He really got her. And her vote. And the vote of all the little girls like her. And the votes of everybody else who thought it was all so cute.
And actually that is how I felt. It was too cute. I'm not going to say it was all a set-up. I have nothing that indicates it was. But I have to say that the moment I saw her crying it popped into my mind. "How perfect for Sanjaya." Doesn't matter that she was probably crying throughout the show. The camera's focused on the Sanjaya experience. Ryan milked it. Even Simon hyped it when he said the little girls face "says it all". Yeah, you and I know what he meant. Doesn't matter.
Ashley's tears saves her Idol.
I don't doubt for a minute that the producers and judges, and even Ryan, will do what ever they can within the framework of the rules (and what they can get away with) to manipulate the outcome of the show. It's in their best interests to do that. I just doubt they would go this far. Because it would be too easy to catch them at it.
And I wonder how they really feel about Sanjaya. There is no doubt that the judge's critiques have been as close to honest as they get on Idol. Nobody is praising Sanjaya's ability as a singer or entertainer.
Instead when they do say something positive it is about his looks and his enthusiasm and what a nice guy he is. And he is. But that is not enough.
And I wonder if there is a perception at Idol that he is commercial. The talk today is all about little Ashley and Sanjaya. It's buzzworthy. It's generating interest. And that translates to commercial opportunity. I wonder how commercial they feel Melinda, Lakisha, or Jordin might be. People talk about their talent, but little else. As we've seen talent is not enough either.
But keep in mind America will vote for who they like for whatever the reason. Not for who has the most commercial potential. Compare the record sales of Taylor Hicks and Chris Daughtry. This competition is about image and story. And what an image and what a story we saw last night.
Sanjaya should thank little Ashley. She saved him from elimination. He'll be on the tour and that little girl will probably have her mommy buy some tickets and she'll cry some more.
And that's the reality of it all.
Ron Lemon is the very opinionated, but not-always-right, editor of Reality TV Calendar. He is a United States Air Force veteran, a Pennsylvania Army National Guard veteran and retired from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. He lives on the southern shore of Canada with his wife and business partner Christine and their spoiled dog, Stash. He, Ron - not the dog, does this because he enjoys it, he hates alarm clocks, and it is better than getting up and going to work everyday. Until such time as he wins the lottery he can be reached at: Editor@RealityTVCalendar.com.
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